SNEAKS ’91 : A USER’S...

SPRING

Spring, like puberty, is an awkward time. The studios don’t want to open a potentially big movie in April or May for fear of squandering the millions they might make by waiting until school is out. On the other hand, there is the chance that a big-audience movie will catch on in spring and thunder right on into summer--last year, such lightning struck both “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and “The Hunt for Red October.”

“Turtle” fans will not be disappointed. As soon as the producers recovered from the shock of having one of the year’s biggest blockbusters on their hands, they rushed a sequel into production, and it will show up almost a year to the day after the original.

There are plenty of other sequels set for spring--from the promising “The Neverending Story II” to the hold-your-nose-and-hope “Class of Nuke ‘Em High Part II: Subhuman Meltdown”--and a Mel Brooks feature (“Life Stinks”) to satisfy all those fans of bad puns and gastrointestinal gags.

But there are also promising prospects at the high end. Among them: Bruce Beresford’s “Mr. Johnson,” a return, they say, to the style of Beresford’s classic “Breaker Morant”; Oliver Stone’s Jim Morrison biographical film, “The Doors”; Gillian Armstrong’s “Fires Within,” with Jimmy Smits and Greta Scacchi, and “Guilty by Suspicion,” with Robert De Niro and Annette Bening in a love story set against the era of the Hollywood Blacklist.

“All Shook Up”--John Travolta stars as a music teacher who brings rock ‘n’ roll to a Texas classroom in the 1950s. Jeffrey Hornaday (choreographer of “Flashdance” and Richard Attenborough’s “A Chorus Line”) directs this dance musical, which also stars Heather Graham (“Drugstore Cowboy”), Linda Fiorentino (“After Hours”) and newcomer Jamie Walters. (Universal)

“Angels in Red”--A crime drama directed by Lisa Hunt in which a teen-age prostitute must live by her wits after betraying her violent pimp. Leslie Bega and Jeffrey Dean Morgan star. (Concorde)

“Bed and Breakfast”--Roger Moore, a charming con man escaping from the mob, takes refuge in a Maine inn run by three generations of women--Colleen Dewhurst, Talia Shire and Nina Siemaszko. “Reuben, Reuben’s” Robert Ellis Miller directs this comedy. (Four Seasons Ent.)

“The Big Man”--Liam Neeson stars as a Scottish coal miner who can’t support his wife (Joanne Whalley-Kilmer) and family during a strike. He’s offered a chance to settle a grudge for a Glasgow gangster in the boxing ring--and to restore his self-esteem. With Ian Bannen and Billy Connelly. (Miramax)

“Blood and Concrete”--Jennifer Beals and Billy Zane search for an addictive sex drug called Libido in this film noir set in L.A.’s rock ‘n’ roll underbelly. Jeffrey Reiner directs from his and Richard LaBrie’s script. Darren McGavin, Harry Shearer and James Le Gros co-star. (I.R.S. Media)

“Bloodmatch”--A martial-arts kick-fest from the director of “Kickboxer II,” Albert Pyun. The thriller features a group of champion kickboxers doing their stuff for fight choreographers Benny “The Jet” Urquidez and James Nickerson. (21st Century)

“Blue Sky”--Jessica Lange, Tommy Lee Jones and Powers Boothe star in a drama set on a Southern military base in 1962 involving a romantic triangle and a nuclear testing cover-up. Tony Richardson directs. (Orion)

“Born to Ride”--TV’s John Stamos is a rebellious motorcycle racer who is tricked into the Army against his will to lead a military motorcycle unit’s dangerous mission. Graham Baker directs; John Stockwell and Teri Polo co-star. (Warners)

“Bright Angel”--Drawn from the stories of Richard Ford, this intimate drama focuses on the romance between a female drifter (Lili Taylor) and a young man (Dermot Mulroney) in a small Montana town. Valerie Perrine, Bill Pullman, Mary Kay Place, Kevin Tighe, Burt Young and Sam Shepard co-star for director Michael Fields. (Hemdale)

“Career Opportunities”--Another comedy from the prolific word processor of John Hughes. Frank Whaley plays a department store custodian who finds himself locked up with Jennifer Connelly, the most beautiful girl in town--on his first night on the job. Bryan Gordon directs. (Universal)

“Class Action”--Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio are father and daughter lawyers battling each other in a heated class-action lawsuit. “Coal Miner’s Daughter” director Michael Apted shapes this courtroom drama for producers Ted Fields, Scott Kroopf and Robert W. Cort. (Fox)

“Class of Nuke ‘Em High Part II: Subhumanoid Meltdown”--More sci-fi/horror mayhem as students and mutants join forces to battle a corrupt corporation behind a school’s gene-splicing experiments. Eric Louzil directs Leesa Rowland and Lisa Gaye. (Troma)

“Closet Land”--In a nameless country, an interrogator (Alan Rickman) questions a female prisoner (Madeleine Stowe), whose children’s books have been deemed subversive. The battle of wills explores themes of artistic freedom and abuse of political prisoners. A feature debut by writer-director Radha Bharadwaj. (Universal)

“The Color of Evening”--Martin Landau plays an aging artist who tries to recapture his life’s dream and discover the secret to great art. Ellen Burstyn, Ione Skye, Kyle Chandler, Stuart Whitman and Roddy McDowall also star in this love story based on a novel by Robert Nathan. Stephen Stafford produces and directs this Christara Pictures presentation. (Distributor pending)

“The Comfort of Strangers”--A young British couple (“The Handmaid’s Tale’s” Natasha Richardson and Rupert Everett) on vacation in Venice are befriended by a mature pair (Christopher Walken and Helen Mirren) whose generosity masks their sinister designs. Paul Schrader directs this psychological thriller adapted by Harold Pinter from Ian McEwan’s novel. (Skouras)

“Company Business”--Gene Hackman and Mikhail Baryshnikov play aging spies of the CIA and KGB, respectively, who become unlikely allies when a spy swap goes wrong in Berlin. Nicholas Meyer writes-directs this film, formerly known as “Dinosaurs.” (MGM-Pathe)

“Crooked Hearts”--The ties that bind the Warren family threaten to unravel because of the father’s philandering. Jennifer Jason Leigh, Peter Coyote, Vincent D’Onofrio, Peter Berg and Noah Wyle star in a drama based on Robert Boswell’s novel, written and directed by Michael Bortman. (MGM-Pathe)

“Dance With Death”--Maxwell Caulfield, Mike McDonald, Rodger Hall and Maria Ford star in a thriller about an L.A. stripper marked for death. Slightly inspired by Katt Shea Ruben’s “Stripped to Kill” films. Charles Phillips Moore directs. (Concorde)

“The Day the Wall Came Down”--Marc Singer and Mary Crosby star in this suspense-drama that takes place in the streets of East Berlin in 1989. (Concorde)

“Defenseless”--Barbara Hershey is both attorney and suspect when called on to defend her old college roommate Mary Beth Hurt, who’s accused of murdering husband J.T. Walsh. Sam Shepard also stars. The director is Martin Campbell, whose BBC miniseries “Edge of Darkness” was praised by critics. (New Line)

“Delirious”--John Candy plays a daytime soap opera writer who wakes up from an auto accident in Ashford Falls, his show’s fictional setting. He quickly discovers he has the power to write the world--and himself--exactly the way he wants. Mariel Hemingway, Emma Samms, Raymond Burr, Charles Rocket and Dylan Baker also star for director Tom (“Dragnet”) Mankiewicz. Richard Donner exec-produces. (MGM-Pathe)

“Desert Shield”--Rob Lowe and Gale Hansen train to be Navy SEALS under tough instructor Eb Lottimer; both fall in love with marine biologist Tracy Griffith, then wind up on assignment in the Middle East. Written by Shimon Dotan, the film’s director and a former underwater commando, and Stuart Schoffman. (21st Century)

“Dogfight”--Four Marines have a competition to see who can find the homeliest date. When one winds up with a plain but shy girl, he gets more than he bargained for. Stars River Phoenix, Lili Taylor and singer-actress Holly Near. Nancy Savoca directs. (Warners)

“The Doors”--Oliver Stone’s film biography of Jim Morrison, the brilliant, charismatic and obsessed rock star. Stars Val Kilmer (as Morrison), Meg Ryan, Kevin Dillon, Kyle MacLachlan, Frank Whaley, Kathleen Quinlan. (Tri-Star)

“Drop Dead Fred”--Ate De Jong directs Phoebe Cates, Rik Mayall, Marsha Mason, Carrie Fisher and Tim Matheson in a romantic comedy in which a young woman’s imaginary childhood playmate returns to help her recover her youthful dreams. Written by Carlos Davis and Anthony Fingleton. (New Line)

“Drowning by Numbers”--An ironic black comedy from Britain’s highly controversial director Peter Greenaway (“The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover”). In this unconventional murder mystery, shot several years ago, Greenaway explores the connections between three wives and three corpses. (Prestige)

“Fast Getaway”--Corey Haim, Leo Rossi, Cynthia Rothrocks, Marcia Strassman and Ken Lerner in an action-adventure about a father-son team of bank robbers. Spiro Razatos directs. (New Line Cinema)

“Fires Within”--Jimmy Smits, Greta Scacchi and Vincent D’Onofrio are caught up in a romantic triangle when a Cuban political prisoner’s wife falls in love with an American in Miami. Earlier titles: “Distant Shores” and “Little Havana.” Directed by Gillian Armstrong. (MGM-Pathe)

“The Five Heartbeats”--Robert Townsend’s first feature since his “Hollywood Shuffle” success deals with the personal and professional struggles of a singing group during the ‘60s and ‘70s. Townsend directs, co-produces and co-writes (with “In Living Color’s” Keenen Ivory Wayans). Also with Leon, Michael Wright and Diahann Carroll. (Fox)

“Gate II”--Tibor Takacs directs this sequel to his own tongue-in-cheek sci-fi/horror flick about demons who appear in a little boy’s backyard. This time the boy, now a teen-ager (Louis Tripp), wants to harness the demons’ dark powers to solve some of his problems. (Triumph Releasing)

“Guilty as Charged”--In this dark satire of revenge movies, directed by Sam Irvin, Rod Steiger operates his own private electric chair. Lauren Hutton, Heather Graham and Isaac Hayes also star. (I.R.S. Media)

“Hangin’ With the Homeboys”--This ensemble comedy focusing on four young men from the Bronx during one Friday night stars Doug E. Doug, Mario Joyner, Shari Headley (Eddie Murphy’s sweetheart in “Coming to America”), John Lequizamo and Nestor Serrano. Written and directed by Joseph E. Vasquez. (New Line)

“The Hard Way”--Michael J. Fox is a movie star researching a role as a tough homicide detective. James Woods is the unlucky New York cop who shows Fox the ropes, including the one he’d like to tie around Fox’s neck. John Badham directs Daniel Pyne and Lem Dobbs’ script. (Universal)

“Haunting Fear”--Jan-Michael Vincent, Karen Black and Brinke Stevens and Delia Sheppard star in this thriller about an unfaithful husband and his murderous mistress who conspire to drive his innocent wife mad. Fred Olen Ray directs. (Troma)

“Highway to Hell”--A demon cop kidnaps a girl; her boyfriend pursues them both through Purgatory. Chad Lowe, Kristy Swanson and Patrick Bergin star with Ate De Jong directing. (Hemdale)

“If Looks Could Kill”--Richard Grieco, of TV’s “21 Jump Street” and “Booker,” makes his film debut in a mistaken-identity thriller that leads to adventure and romance in Europe. Linda Hunt, Roger Rees, Robin Bartlett and Gabrielle Anwar co-star for director William Dear. (Warners)

“Impromptu”--Judy Davis, Hugh Grant, Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters, Julian Sands, Ralph Brown, Emma Thompson and Anna Massey head an ensemble cast in this romantic comedy based on the affair between author Georges Sand and composer Frederic Chopin. James Lapine, who directed “Sunday in the Park With George” and “Into the Woods” on stage, makes his feature film directing debut. (Hemdale)

“Julia Has Two Lovers”--A wrong number changes the dynamics in a three-year affair. A comic look at contemporary romance starring Daphna Kastner, David Duchovny and David Charles. The script is by Kastner and producer-director Bashar Shbib. (South Gate Entertainment)

“The Killing Streets”--Michael Pare stars as twin brothers, one of whom must rescue the other from Middle Eastern terrorists in Beirut in the early ‘80s. Lorenzo Lamas and Jennifer Runyon co-star for director Stephen Cornwell, who wrote the script with Andrew Deutsch. (21st Century)

“A Kiss Before Dying”--Matt Dillon and Sean Young star in this romantic thriller based on a novel by Ira Levin (“Rosemary’s Baby,” “The Boys From Brazil”) in which a woman unwittingly marries her twin sister’s murderer. With Max Von Sydow and Diane Ladd. “Fatal Attraction’s” screenwriter, James Dearden, writes and directs. (Universal)

“Kiss Me a Killer”--A love triangle turns into a deadly game of murder in this thriller starring Julie Carmen and set in East L.A. Marcus DeLeon directs. (Concorde)

“Leather Jackets”--Inner-city gang warfare provides the backdrop for this tale of three turbulent relationships. Cary Elwes, Bridget Fonda, D.B. Sweeney, Christopher Penn and James Le Gros star for director Lee Drysdale. Elwes’ brother Cassian produces. (Triumph Releasing)

“Lena’s Holiday”--A young East German woman (Felicity Waterman), on a dream vacation to Hollywood, winds up in an adventure involving jewel thieves, hired killers and, of course, romance. Chris Lemmon, Nick Mancuso, Michael Sarrazin, Pat Morita, Bill Dana and Susan Anton star. Michael Keusch directs a script he wrote with Deborah Tilton. (Crown)

“Life Stinks”--Producer-director-co-author Mel Brooks stars as an arrogant billionaire who bets he can survive for 30 days on the streets of L.A. without his money or his connections. Lesley Ann Warren co-stars as a feisty bag lady. With Jeffrey Tambor and Howard Morris. (MGM-Pathe)

“Little Noises”-- Crispin Glover and Tatum O’Neal star in co-writer/director Jane Spencer’s comic drama about a writer who steals poems by a mute boy and claims them as his own. British comic-actor Rik Mayall, Tate Donovan and Nina Siemaszko star along with deaf actor Matthew Hutton as the mute youngster. (Monument Pictures)

“Love Crimes”--Sean Young plays an ambitious prosecuting attorney obsessed with tracking down “Mountain of the Moon’s” Patrick Bergin, who’s posing as a famous photographer accused of sex crimes. Lizzie Borden directs Allan (“Pump Up the Volume”) Moyle’s screenplay. (Miramax)

“Love Potion 9”--A romantic comedy written, produced and directed by Dale Launer (he wrote “Ruthless People”). Tate Donovan and Sandra Bullock play two shy scientists who create a love potion that works--with unexpected results. (Fox)

“Mannequin on the Move”--Meshach Taylor returns as Hollywood Montrose, the director of visual merchandising at this strange department store, first seen in 1987’s “Mannequin.” As in the first film, a store employee (Billy Ragsdale) falls in love with a window dummy (Kristy Swanson) when she suddenly comes alive. Stewart Raffill directs. (Gladden)

“The Marrying Man”--Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger play a couple whose several marriages to each other are built strictly on physical attraction. Robert Loggia, Elisabeth Shue, Paul Reiser, Fisher Stevens and Armand Assante star in this Neil Simon comedy directed by Jerry Rees. (Buena Vista)

“Mind Game”--Lou Diamond Phillips stars in his own screenplay about a writer who insinuates himself into the life of a convicted murderer (Clancy Brown) in a ruthless scheme to write a best seller. Cecilia Peck, Richard Bradford, Grace Zabriskie and Oscar-winner Dr. Haing S. Ngor co-star in this psychological thriller directed by Scott D. Goldstein. (Miramax)

“Mister Johnson”--Bruce Beresford’s first film since the Oscar-winning “Driving Miss Daisy” also focuses on race relations, this time in colonial West Africa in the 1920s. Pierce Brosnan, Edward Woodward and Nigerian actor Maynard Eziashi star. Adapted from Joyce Cary’s novel. (Avenue)

“My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys”--An action-drama set in the modern-day rodeo world starring Scott Glenn, Kate Capshaw, Ben Johnson, Balthazar Getty, Tess Harper and Gary Busey. Stuart Rosenberg directs. (Samuel Goldwyn)

“Nameless”--Michael Biehn (“The Abyss”) must uncover the mystery of his own lost identity. Patsy Kensit (“Lethal Weapon 2”) also stars with Richard Jordan, Tracy Scoggins, Robert Culp and Raymond St. Jacques. Written and directed by Avi Nesher and produced by “Dune’s” Raffaella De Laurentiis. (MGM-Pathe)

“The Neverending Story II: The Next Chapter”--New adventures await young Bastian as his reading once again takes him to the magical world of Fantasia. George Miller (“The Man From Snowy River”) takes over directing chores from Wolfgang Petersen. Jonathan Brandis, Kenny Morrison, Alexandra Johnes, Clarissa Burt and Martin Umbach star. (Warners)

“New Jack City”--Mario Van Peebles makes his movie directing debut with this urban tale about a mobster brought down by an undercover detective. Wesley Snipes, Ice-T, Chris Rock, Bill Nunn, Judd Nelson and Van Peebles all star. (Warners)

“Off and Running”--Cyndi Lauper and David Keith are a mismatched pair who embark on an odyssey from the swamps of Florida to the streets of New York with street-wise kid Johnny Pinto. Ed Bianchi directs. (Orion)

“One Cup of Coffee”--Set against a backdrop of Class D minor league baseball in 1958, this story tells of an unlikely friendship between two outcast players--an aging white pitcher (William Russ) who once pitched in the majors, and a young black rookie (Glenn Plummer). Robin B. Armstrong makes his directorial debut. (Miramax)

“One Good Cop”-- Michael Keaton plays a police detective whose partner’s three daughters are suddenly left in his care. With Anthony LaPaglia, Rene Russo, Kevin Conway and Rachel Ticotin. Heywood Gould writes-directs for producer Laurence Mark. (Buena Vista)

“Oscar”--Mafia capo Snaps Provolone (Sly Stallone) avows to fulfill his father’s last wish as he lay on his deathbed--quit the mob and go straight. Snaps gives it his best shot but on the day he’s to relinquish his “business” and go legit, a parade of shysters confront the well-intentioned fellow and make it very difficult to come clean. Ornella Muti, Tim Curry, Joey Travolta, Bruce Davison, Don Ameche and Yvonne De Carlo co-star; John Landis directs. (Buena Vista)

“The Price of Our Blood” (tentative title)--Martial artist star Steven Seagal co-wrote (with Lance Hillard) and stars in this action-thriller about a cop tracking down a drug lord who was once a boyhood adversary. Jerry Orbach and William Forsythe (“Dick Tracy’s” Flattop) co-star. Veteran John Flynn directs. (Warners)

“A Rage in Harlem”--Forest Whitaker, Gregory Hines, Danny Glover, Robin Givens and Zakes Mokae head this action comedy based on a Chester Himes novel and set in the jazz clubs and ballrooms of Harlem in 1956. Actor-turned-director Bill Duke (he was human prey to the alien in “Predator”) directs from a screenplay by John Toles-Bey and Bobby Crawford. (Miramax)

“The Rapture”--An erotic thriller starring Mimi Rogers, Patrick Bauchau and David Duchovny. Written and directed by Michael Tolkin, produced by Nick Wechsler (“Drugstore Cowboy”), Nancy Tenenbaum (“sex, lies, and videotape”) and Karen Koch. (New Line)

“The Reflecting Skin”--The adult world of pain, passion and violence is seen through the eyes of an 8-year-old boy (Jeremy Cooper). Set in an isolated prairie community in the 1950s, this drama, written and directed by Philip Ridley, also stars Viggo Mortensten and Lindsay Duncan. (Miramax)

“Rich Girl”--Jill Schoelen plays the spoiled girl who breaks away from an overbearing dad and overly ambitious fiance only to fall for (and sing back-up with) the lead vocalist in a struggling Hollywood band. Joel Bender directs. (Distribution pending)

“Robot Carnival”--This “futuristic Fantasia” is a nine-part Japanese animation film with each of that country’s top animators contributing a brief dramatic story using a robot of their own design. (Streamline Pictures)

“Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll”--The film version of monologist Eric Bogosian’s hit New York play. John MacNaughton (“Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer”) directs Bogosian in his own screen adaptation. (Avenue)

“Sgt. Kabukiman NYPD”--Somehow--and we’re afraid to ask--a hardnosed cop is transformed into a crime-fighting Japanese superhero with an amazing arsenal of high-tech weapons. Troma toppers Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman direct a cast that includes Rick Gianasi, Susan Byun and Bill Weeden. (Troma)

“Shadow of China”--John Lone, Vivian Wu (“The Last Emperor”) and Sammi Davis (“Hope and Glory”) star in a contemporary drama set amid China’s political turmoil. Matsuo Yanagimachi directs from a script by Richard Maxwell and himself. (New Line)

“Spirits”--This T.L. Lankford production features Erik Estrada as a fallen priest, Carol Lynley as a demonic nun and Robert Quarry as the head of a team of psychic investigators in search of the secrets of the afterlife. Fred Olen Ray provides direction. (American Independent)

“Stepping Out”--Liza Minnelli stars in the film version of the West End and Broadway hit comedy by Richard Harris about the members of a tap-dance class. Lewis Gilbert, who has transferred several stage hits to the screen, directs a cast that includes Ellen Greene, Bill Irwin, Julie Walters and Shelley Winters. (Paramount)

“Suburban Commando”--He seemed like such a nice guy when he rented the room from Christopher Lloyd and Shelley Duvall. But Hulk Hogan turns out to be an intergalactic mercenary hiding out on Earth from bounty hunters. Veteran Burt Kennedy directs this action-comedy. (New Line)

“Sweet Talker”--Bryan Brown is a con man, newly released from prison, who descends on a sleepy seacoast village and launches a bogus investment scheme. Also stars Karen Allen. Michael Jenkins directs. (The title was “Confidence” in last year’s “Sneaks” roundup.) (New Line)

“Switch”--Writer-director Blake Edwards is in a “Victor, Victoria” mood in this comic tale of a male chauvinist reincarnated as a beautiful woman. The erstwhile lech soon learns what it’s like to have the high-heeled shoe on the other foot. Ellen Barkin, Jimmy Smits, JoBeth Williams and Lorraine Bracco star. Tony Adams, as usual, produces. (Warners)

“The Taking of Beverly Hills”--The Wise Guy meets “Die Hard” when football hero Ken Wahl must foil a heist in which the baddies hold Rodeo Drive hostage. “Doctor, Doctor’s” Matt Frewer, Harley Jane Kozak and Robert Davi co-star for director Sidney J. Furie. (Orion)

“Talent for the Game”--The game is major league baseball--or is it?--as California Angels scout Edward James Olmos tries to sign a young, backwater pitcher (Jeff Corbett) whose talent exceeds his wildest expectations. “Triumph of the Spirit” director Robert M. Young teams with Olmos again for this romantic comedy. With Lorraine Bracco, Jamey Sheridan, Terry Kinney. (Paramount)

“Toy Soldiers”--When commandos take an entire prep school hostage to secure a South American drug lord’s release from jail, a resourceful group of students are the only hope. Louis Gossett Jr., Sean Astin, Wil Wheaton, Keith Coogan and Denholm Elliott star. Director Daniel Petrie Jr. wrote the script with David Koepp. (Tri-Star)

“True Identity”--Charles Lane (“Sidewalk Stories”) directs a comedy he wrote with Andy Breckman, which is based on an Eddie Murphy sketch on “Saturday Night Live.” British comic Lenny Henry plays a black man who must masquarade as a white to expose a Mafia kingpin. With Anne-Marie Johnson and Frank Langella. (Buena Vista)

“Truth or Dare: On the Road, Behind the Scenes and in Bed With Madonna”--Director Alek Keshishian’s cameras follow the rock star on her recent “Blond Ambition” tour into those areas promised in the title. The film was produced by Propaganda Films, a video house that has ventured into film and TV with “Wild at Heart” and “Twin Peaks.” (Miramax)

“29th Street”--Screenwriter George Gallo (“Midnight Run”) makes his directorial debut with his script based on a true story about a neighborhood kid in New York’s Little Italy who winds up a finalist for the New York State Lottery. Danny Aiello, Anthony LaPaglia, Frank Pesce and Lainie Kazan star. David Permut produces. (Fox)

“Whore”--Ken Russell directs Theresa Russell (no kin) in this study of a day in the life of a prostitute. Based on a play by David Hines, the script is written by Russell and Deborah Dalton. (Trimark Pictures International)