SNEAKS ’92

OPENING SOON

The movies that dominated the box office over the holidays should remain strong this month and--the studios hope--into next. But some imminently interesting releases include “Shining Through” and “The Mambo Kings,” both high-profile adaptations of successful novels, as well as “The Dark Wind,” the first Tony Hillerman mystery to reach the screen. We’ll also see the directorial debuts of writer Nora Ephron with “This Is My Life” and rocker John Mellencamp with “Falling From Grace.” “Memoirs of an Invisible Man” reportedly features an uncharacteristically disciplined performance from Chevy Chase.

Aces: Iron Eagle III. Louis Gossett Jr. returns as Chappy and teams up with a trio of maverick fighter pilots battling South American drug lords. Directed by five-time James Bond veteran John Glen. (New Line)

The Adventures of the Great Mouse Detective. Disney dusts off its 26th animation feature for re-release. It’s the tale of an intrepid mouse who defies all common sense as he solves the kidnaping of a master toy maker. (Walt Disney Pictures)

Alan & Naomi. Lukas Haas and Michael Gross star in this World War II drama in which a 14-year-old Jewish boy’s parents insist he befriend a traumatized refugee from Hitler’s Europe. Vanessa Zaoui plays Naomi; Sterling VanWagenen directs. (Triton)

Amazon. Robert Davi and Rae Dawn Chong star in an adventure about a Finnish man who flees to Brazil, where he’s coaxed into a treasure hunt for diamonds and gold. Chong dissuades him from this environmentally unfriendly quest. Mika Kaurismaki directs; Kari Vaananen co-stars. (Cabriolet Films)

Blame It on the Bellboy. When a bellboy botches the itineraries of three travelers in Venice, the unsuspecting trio check into the wrong suites and find chaos. Dudley Moore, Bryan Brown and Richard Griffiths play the travelers, Bronson Pinchot the bellboy and Patsy Kensit a romantic interest. Mark Herman writes and directs. (Hollywood Pictures)

The Dark Wind. Director Errol Morris (of “The Thin Blue Line” fame) and executive producer Robert Redford were criticized when they cast Lou Diamond Phillips (who’s only part-American Indian) in the role of a Navajo police officer. Anyway, Phillips and Hopi reservation leader Fred Ward encounter witchcraft, revenge and murder while solving a seemingly routine homicide. An adaptation of a Tony Hillerman novel. (New Line)

Dingo. Colin Friels is an Australian who wants badly to meet his jazz idol --the late Miles Davis, playing a fictional musician named Billy Cross. Rolf de Heer directs. (Greycat)

Dolly Dearest. An archeologist unleashes a terrifying evil by opening a centuries-old mass grave in Mexico, and when a doll maker introduces his creation to the world, the evil spirits possess it. Denise Crosby, Sam Bottoms and Rip Torn star for director-writer Maria Lease. (Trimark)

Falling From Grace. John Mellencamp’s directing entry is from a Larry McMurtry screenplay. Mellencamp also stars in this story of a famous singer who returns to his rural Indiana hometown for his grandfather’s 84th birthday. With Mariel Hemingway and Claude Akins. (Columbia)

Final Analysis. Richard Gere stars with Kim Basinger in a psychological thriller written by “Cape Fear’s” Wesley Strick. Gere is a prominent Bay Area psychiatrist entangled in love and deception when he meets two enigmatic sisters. Phil Joanou (“U2 Rattle and Hum”) directs; Uma Thurman and Eric Roberts co-star. (Warner Bros.)

Final Approach. Veteran villain James B. Sikking takes a nicer turn in this psychological thriller about an Air Force pilot who must deal with an enigmatic psychiatrist. Hector Elizondo, Madolyn Smith and Kevin McCarthy also star for director Eric Steven Stahl. (Trimark)

Guilty as Charged. Sam Irvin directs a black comedy starring Rod Steiger as a god-fearing vigilante who tracks down criminals--and when he gets them, he sits them down in his homemade electric chair. Lauren Hutton, Isaac Hayes and Heather Graham co-star. (I.R.S.)

Hard Promises. Sissy Spacek plays Chris, a woman about to be married. When her daughter invites her ex-hubby, William Petersen, he tries his best to win her heart again. Directed by Martin Davidson; also features Brian Kerwin and Mare Winningham. (Columbia)

The Human Shield. Low-budget hero Michael Dudikoff stars in this once topical story of an ex-Marine who goes to Iraq to free his younger brother, who’s being used as a human shield. Ted Post directs. (Cannon)

I Don’t Buy Kisses Anymore. Jason Alexander plays a nice Jewish guy stuck on a nice Italian-American girl, portrayed by pop singer Nia Peeples. She’s doesn’t return his feelings, which is fine with his parents, who want him to find a nice Jewish girl. Robert Marcarelli directs; Lainie Kazan, Lou Jacobi and Eileen Brennan also star. (Skouras)

Into the Sun. Anthony Michael Hall is a cocky actor who spends some quality time with a fighter pilot (Michael Pare) in researching a film role. Fritz Kiersch directs; Deborah Moore (Roger’s daughter) makes her feature debut. (Trimark)

K2. Michael Biehn and Matt Craven star as two fearless mountain climbers struggling to ascend Northern Pakistan’s K2. From the play by Patrick Meyers. “Quadrophenia’s” Franc Roddam directs. (Miramax)

Legend of Wolf Mountain. Two escaped fugitives flee to the hills with three children as hostages, but they’re in wolf spirit territory. Mickey Rooney stars, Craig Clyde directs. (Hemdale)

The Lunatic. Erstwhile video director Lol Creme (of Godley and Creme) directs a ribald tale of a Jamaican vagabond who has a torrid affair with a visiting German tourist, which instigates much whispering in the small village. Paul Campbell and Julie T. Wallace head the cast. (Triton)

The Mambo Kings. In the adaptation of Oscar Hijuelos’ Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, two brothers, fresh from Havana (circa 1953), look for love, acceptance and fame with their vibrant and touching mambo songs. Arne Glimcher directs Armand Assante, Antonio Banderas and Cathy Moriarty. (Warner Bros.)

Medicine Man. Sean Connery plays a brilliant but offbeat research scientist pursuing a cure for cancer in the South American rain forests. His studies are interrupted by a female scientist (Lorraine Bracco) who is dispatched by a pharmaceutical corporation to monitor his work. John (“Die Hard”) McTiernan directs. (Hollywood Pictures)

Memoirs of an Invisible Man. Chevy Chase plays a Wall Street analyst who suddenly becomes invisible in a lab accident and encounters comedy, suspense and a little hanky-panky en route to being visible again. John Carpenter directs; Daryl Hannah and Sam Neill co-star. William Goldman (Robert Collector and Dana Olsen help out) has written the screenplay. (Warner Bros.)

Mississippi Masala. “Salaam Bombay!’s” Mira Nair brings us this humorous, romantic look at a black man and an Indian-Ugandan woman whose tumultuous affair turns a sleepy Mississippi town on its ear. Denzel Washington and newcomer Sarita Choudhury play the lovers. (Samuel Goldwyn Co.)

Othello. Castle Hill Productions resurrects this little-seen Orson Welles work, which was sparsely released in 1955.

Past Midnight. Natasha Richardson plays a social worker who strays dangerously close to a client (Rutger Hauer) who was convicted of stabbing his pregnant wife to death. Jan Eliasberg makes her feature directing debut. (New Line)

The Playboys. Aidan Quinn, Robin Wright and Albert Finney star in this story of a strong-willed young Irish woman who falls for an actor whose troupe comes into town, circa the late ‘50s. Finney is the town police sergeant who’ll gladly get between them. Gillies MacKinnon directs. (Samuel Goldwyn Co.)

Poison Ivy. Drew Barrymore plays a wild young hitchhiker who befriends an impressionable schoolmate in order to invade and destroy the girl’s family. Tom Skerritt, Sara Gilbert and Cheryl Ladd co-star for the producer-director, husband-wife writing team of Andy and Katt Shea Ruben. (New Line)

Radio Flyer. Two young brothers escape the harsh realities of an abusive stepfather via their fantasies and a magical little red wagon. Lorraine Bracco, John Heard, Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazzella (as the kids) and Adam Baldwin star. Director Richard Donner’s wife, Lauren Shuler-Donner, produces. (Columbia)

Rescue Me. A bookish 17-year-old is shocked when he witnesses the abduction of a beautiful girl. Michael Dudikoff, Stephen Dorff, Ami Dolenz and Peter DeLuise star for director Arthur Allan Seidelman. (Cannon)

Ruby. Danny Aiello stars as the man who gunned down Lee Harvey Oswald. Sherilyn Fenn plays Candy Cane, the woman who knew what went on in the back room at Ruby’s Dallas nightclub. (Triumph)

Secret Friends. Alan Bates is an amnesiac who fights to distinguish his sexually violent fantasies from actual memories, in the directing debut of screenwriter Dennis Potter (“Pennies From Heaven”), who also wrote the script. (Film Four Intl.)

Shaking the Tree. Dick Clark’s son, Duane, embarks on a directing career in this ensemble piece about the importance of loyalty and friendship. Arye Gross, Gale Hansen and Courtney Cox head this youthful cast. (Castle Hill)

Shining Through. Melanie Griffith plays a Brooklyn-born secretary during World War II who goes to work as a domestic in the home of Liam Neeson, an important Nazi officer, to gather crucial information for the allies. Michael Douglas plays her boss and lover. Joely Richardson and John Gielgud co-star; David Seltzer adapts and directs the Susan Isaacs novel. (Fox)

Spotswood. Anthony Hopkins plays a management consultant called into a failing moccasin factory. The staff is composed of eccentrics and oddballs--Hopkins’ character soon follows suit. Mark Joffe directs. (Miramax)

Stop or My Mom Will Shoot. Sylvester Stallone plays an LAPD sergeant and Estelle Getty his mom in this action comedy about a feisty woman who witnesses a murder. JoBeth Williams also stars; directed by Roger Spottiswoode. (Universal)

Terminal Bliss. The first feature for “Beverly Hills, 90210” heart stopper Luke Perry. Two buddies who fall for the same girl. Jordan Alan writes and directs. (Cannon)

Thank You and Good Night. Jan Oxenberg wrote, produced and directed this comic take on love, devotion and death, which takes off from the very real death--and aftermath--of Oxenberg’s maternal grandmother. (Aries)

35 UP. Michael Apted’s continuing documentary started 28 years ago, chronicling a group of 7-year-old British children, with “7 UP.” Apted, who writes, directs and produces, has visited these subjects at age 14, 21 and 28--and now at 35. (Samuel Goldwyn Co.)

This Is My Life. Nora Ephron’s initial directing stint portrays the trials of two daughters growing up with a funny and suddenly famous mother. Julie Kavner plays the mom, with Samantha Mathis, Gaby Hoffman, Carrie Fisher and Dan Aykroyd co-starring. Nora and Delia Ephron adapt the Meg Wolitzer novel. (Fox)

Under Suspicion. Liam Neeson plays a divorce detective, circa 1959, who makes money fabricating adultery cases with his wife’s help. Then she’s murdered along with a wealthy client. Simon Moore writes and directs; with Laura San Giacomo. (Columbia)

Voyager. Sam Shepard stars as a man dancing with destiny for director Volker Schlondorff in an adaptation of the Max Frisch novel “Homo Faber.” (Castle Hill Productions)

Wayne’s World. Wayne and sidekick Garth (“Saturday Night Live’s” Mike Myers and Dana Carvey) host a late-night cable show from their Illinois basement. Rob Lowe plays a TV executive who sees mass-appeal potential. Tia Carrere, Lara Flynn Boyle and Donna Dixon co-star for rock documentary maker Penelope Spheeris. (Paramount)

Where Sleeping Dogs Lie. Peter Finch’s son, Charles, directs this psychological thriller of a young writer who reluctantly takes on the subject of a brutal murderer, sells a ton of books, then quickly learns to appreciate real terror. With Dylan McDermott and Sharon Stone. (Greycat)

A Woman’s Tale. Eighty-year-old Martha is a proud, feisty woman who refuses to buckle under society’s dismissive attitude toward the elderly. Sheila Florance and Gosia Dobrowolska star for director Paul Cox. (Orion Classics)

SPRING

Although most of the studios hold their major releases for the summer, there’s money to be made in the spring--look at last year’s “The Silence of the Lambs.” The major contender for a hit spring thriller this year is “Basic Instinct,” Paul Verhoeven’s lightning rod for controversy, but other possibilities include “White Sands,” “Thunderheart” and “Deep Cover.” And some offbeat comedies look appealing: “Man Trouble,” with Jack Nicholson and Ellen Barkin, and “White Men Can’t Jump,” from “Bull Durham” writer-director Ron Shelton.

The Adjuster. Victims of fires and other catastrophes are made to feel better by a caring insurance adjuster, but he can’t seem to acquire the serenity he imparts to others. Elias Koteas and Arsinee Khanjian star for director-writer Atom Egoyan. (Orion Classics)

The Adventures of a Gnome Named Gnorm. Highly regarded creature effects expert Stan Winston (“Alien,” “The Terminator”) directs this action-comedy about an unlikely pair in search of a stolen energy source. Anthony Michael Hall, Jerry Orbach and Claudia Christian provide the action. (New Line)

American Me. Edward James Olmos directs himself as a powerful crime lord whose influence begins in a prison cell but spreads into the streets of East Los Angeles. William Forsythe also stars. (Universal)

Article 99. Howard Deutch directs Ray Liotta, Kiefer Sutherland, Forest Whitaker, Lea Thompson, John Mahoney, John C. McGinley, Eli Wallach and Kathy Baker in this story of an acrimonious bureaucratic war within a VA hospital. (Orion)

The Babe. John Goodman plays George Herman (Babe) Ruth with Kelly McGillis as the former Ziegfeld Follies showgirl who tries to tone down his penchant for wine, women and other indulgences. Arthur Hiller directs. (Universal)

Back in the U.S.S.R. Frank Whaley plays a young American student who, while in what once was the Soviet Union, becomes involved with a beautiful, mysterious Muscovite (Natalya Negoda) who drags him through much danger. Roman Polanski also stars for director Deran Sarafian. (Fox)

Basic Instinct. Paul Verhoeven’s thriller about a Bay Area cop (Michael Douglas) whose reckless, vicious past catches up with him in the investigation of a brutal murder. Sharon Stone and George Dzundza co-star in the controversial Joe Eszterhas script. (TriStar)

Beethoven. The title character is a St. Bernard whose antics lead his owner (Charles Grodin) and family to a nefarious veterinarian. Brian Levant directs; Bonnie Hunt and Dean Jones also star. (Universal)

Before I Wake. Kathleen Turner stars in this drama of a mother wrestling with the mysterious withdrawal of her daughter into a soundless world. Co-stars Tommy Lee Jones, Park Overall and Esther Rolle; Michael Lessac writes and directs. (Fox)

Class Act. Kid N’ Play bust out of the “House Party” into this tale of two high school students whose identities are switched--with sidesplitting results. Randall Miller directs Christopher (Kid) Reid and Christopher (Play) Martin, with Pauly Shore. (Warner Bros.)

Claude. Irene Jacob (Cannes actress winner for “The Double Life of Veronique”) stars in this quirky romantic comedy about three refugees from life. Writer-director Cindy Lou Johnson makes her feature debut. (Distribution pending)

City of Joy. Patrick Swayze is a dispirited American doctor who bumps into, then warmly befriends an altruistic Pauline Collins in a brutally impoverished area of Calcutta. Roland Joffe+ directs. (TriStar)

Crisscross. Goldie Hawn plays Tracy Cross, a single mom in Key West during the ‘60s. Keith Carradine is the shellshocked Vietnam vet who has abandoned her. Chris Menges directs; Arliss Howard and David Arnott also star. (MGM)

The Cutting Edge. D.B. Sweeney plays an ex-U.S. Olympic hockey team ruffian who is injured and must leave the game; Moira Kelly is a temperamental figure skater. The two get together for the 1992 Winter Games. “Starsky and Hutch’s” Paul M. Glaser directs. (MGM)

Deep Cover. “Boyz N the Hood’s” Larry Fishburne plays an undercover narcotics officer, with better intentions, who gets caught up in this seductive world via a relationship with an electric Jewish drug trafficker (Jeff Goldblum). Clarence Williams III also stars for “A Rage in Harlem” director Bill Duke. (New Line)

Dick and Marge Save the World. Dull suburbanites Teri Garr and Jeffrey Jones are pitted against evil alien Jon Lovitz. Eric Idle, Wallace Shawn and Kathy Ireland also star for director Greg Beeman. (Warner Bros.)

Double Trouble. Roddy McDowall, David Carradine and James (Scotty) Doohan star in this action comedy that starts with the break-in of a vault containing millions of dollars in diamonds. John Paragon directs. (Motion Picture Corp. of America)

Edward II. Steven Waddington takes the title role in Christopher Marlowe’s classic work of murder, jealousy and doomed love. Derek Jarman directs and co-adapts. (Fine Line)

The Favor. A romantic comedy about two best friends who encounter trouble when one requests a “favor.” The producer is Lauren Shuler-Donner; Donald Petrie directs Harley Jane Kozak, Elizabeth McGovern, Bill Pullman, Brad Pitt, Larry Miller and Ken Wahl. (Orion)

The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish. Bob Hoskins, Jeff Goldblum and Natasha Richardson star in this offbeat romantic comedy following photographer Hoskins and his quest for the perfect model to pose as the crucified Christ. He finds one in a destitute ex-con played by Goldblum. Ben Lewin writes and directs. (Trimark)

Ferngully .... The Last Rainforest. Set inside a most beautiful rain forest, this animated tale focuses on its inhabitants and the jeopardy that surrounds them. Voices by Tim Curry, Samantha Mathis, Christian Slater, Robin Williams and Grace Zabriskie. Direction by Bill Kroyer. (Fox)

Fifty-Fifty. Charles Martin Smith directs himself, Peter Weller and Robert Hays in an action comedy about two American mercenaries hired by the CIA to overthrow the dictator who rules a small island in the South China Sea. (Cannon)

Folks. Tom Selleck is a successful Chicago commodities juggler who’s drawn into a financial crisis that involves his parents. Don Ameche co-stars for director Ted Kotcheff. (Fox)

Gladiator. “Twin Peaks’ ” James Marshall plays a young man who is forced into the dangerous world of underground amateur boxing to clear both his father’s name and debts. Rowdy Herrington directs; Cuba Gooding Jr., Robert Loggia, Ossie Davis and Brian Dennehy co-star. (Columbia)

Howard’s End. James Ivory directs Anthony Hopkins and Vanessa Redgrave in the E.M. Forster tale of greed in turn-of-the-century London. Helena Bonham Carter and Emma Thompson also star in the Ruth Prawer Jhabvala script. (Orion Classics)

Incident at Oglala. Robert Redford narrates this documentary directed by Michael Apted that deals with the 1975 shootout at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in which two FBI agents were killed. Jackson Browne co-produced the music. (New Line)

Interceptor. Jurgen Prochnow is a sadistic arms dealer who plans to hijack a C-5 cargo jet en route to the Middle East and steal two Stealth fighters it carries. Michael Cohn directs. (Trimark)

Johnny Suede. Brad Pitt is Suede, a fairly talented guitarist, and the movie concerns his life of painting apartments and falling in love. Tom DiCillo writes and directs. (Miramax)

Ladybugs. The Ladybugs are a proud team of 13-year-old soccer players coached by Rodney Dangerfield. A comedy directed by Sidney Furie and including Jackee, and Jonathan Brandis. (Paramount)

The Lawnmower Man. A scientist’s unbridled ambition and the devastating effect he inflicts on a simple gardener, from a Stephen King short story. Brett Leonard directs Jeff Fahey, Pierce Brosnan and Jenny Wright. (New Line)

Leaving Normal. Christine Lahti’s an aggressive, cynical waitress who meets up with a twentysomething woman (Meg Tilly), who’s just abandoned her second marriage. They move to Alaska to explore life off the main drag. “Glory’s” Ed Zwick directs. (Universal)

Leprechaun. A vicious little fellow seeks vengeance against the citizens of a rural village when his pot of gold is stolen. Mark Jones writes and directs; Warwick Davis plays the diminutive villain. (Trimark)

Light Sleeper. Writer-director Paul Schrader looks at strange characters (like Willem Dafoe, Susan Sarandon and Dana Delaney) who inhabit a world where unusual things take place. (New Line)

Love Field. Michelle Pfeiffer and Dennis Haysbert star in an interracial love story, set in the chaotic few days following John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Jonathan Kaplan (“The Accused”) directs. (Orion)

Man Trouble. Jack Nicholson and director Bob Rafelson together again with Nicholson playing the owner of an attack dog business who falls in love with sultry client Ellen Barkin. Beverly D’Angelo also stars. (Fox)

Meatballs IV. There was a II and III? Corey Feldman stars in this next installment of the Camp High Jinks series. Bob Logan directs; Sarah Douglas co-stars. (Moviestore)

A Midnight Clear. Peter Berg, Kevin Dillon, Arye Gross and Ethan Hawke star in this filmed version of William Wharton’s novel of six young American soldiers at the German front during World War II. Keith Gordon has adapted the book and directs. (Interstar Releasing)

Midnight Ride. Mark Hamill and Robert Mitchum star in an action thriller about a man who must save his wife from a serial killer. Directed by Bob Bralver. (Cannon)

My Cousin Vinny. Joe Pesci plays the profane Vinny, whose two East Coast college student cousins have been framed for murder and have enlisted him as their attorney in his first trial. His methods are highly unorthodox. Ralph Macchio, Marisa Tomei and Fred Gwynne co-star for director Jonathan Lynn. (Fox)

My New Gun. Diane Lane plays a housewife whose husband gives her a handgun and the situation escalates from a surreal game of “musical guns” into a strange romance with a mysterious neighbor. Stacy Cochran writes and directs; James LeGros and Tess Harper co-star in the IRS Media production. (Distribution pending)

Newsies. Christian Bale, Robert Duvall and Ann-Margret star in this turn-of-the-century tale of the newspaper-hawking youngsters who go on strike and bring some callous publishers to their knees. Kenny Ortega directs, with five songs from Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken and his new lyricist partner, Jack Feldman. (Walt Disney Pictures)

Noises Off. Peter Bogdanovich directs this adaptation of the Tony-winning Michael Frayn play about a group of thespians on the road in a British farce. Mark Linn-Baker, Carol Burnett, Michael Caine, Denholm Elliott, Julie Hagerty, Marilu Henner, Christopher Reeve, John Ritter and Nicolette Sheridan play the gang; Marty Kaplan adapted for the screen. (Touchstone)

No Place to Hide. A bizarre secret society has targeted an abandoned teen-ager (Drew Barrymore), and Kris Kristofferson risks much to protect her. Martin Landau also stars; Richard Danus writes and directs. (Cannon)

Once Upon a Crime. “SCTV” alum Eugene Levy directs John Candy (along with James Belushi, Cybill Shepherd, Sean Young and Richard Lewis) in a comedy revolving around the death of a Monte Carlo society madam. (MGM)

Only You. Andrew McCarthy plays a dollhouse furniture designer who, after being jettisoned by a “perfect” girlfriend, falls into the delicious embrace of another woman--who’s also been recently dumped. Kelly Preston and Helen Hunt co-star for director Betty Thomas. (Live/Rank)

Operation Lookout. Bernie Coulson stars in an adventure of a small-town kid who takes on the world’s most dispassionate drug lord. Jill Schoelen and “Dick Tracy’s” Seymour Cassell also star for writer-director Hil Covington. (Moviestore)

Passed Away. Bob Hoskins heads a large cast in this comedy from the screenplay and direction of Charlie Peters. When 70-year-old Jack Scanlon suddenly drops dead, his four estranged offspring really have their hands full with the funeral arrangements and requisite family gathering. Blair Brown, Tim Curry, Frances McDormand, William Petersen, Pamela Reed, Peter Reigert, Maureen Stapleton, Nancy Travis and Jack Warden co-star. (Hollywood Pictures)

Paydirt. Jeff Daniels is a prison psychologist who learns through a dying convict of a significant fortune buried somewhere in Cherry Hill, N.J. He and Catherine O’Hara locate the loot, but must first fend off Hector Elizondo, Rhea Perlman, Judith Ivey and Dabney Coleman. Bill Phillips writes and directs. (Paramount)

The Power of One. A young British boy attending school in South Africa is a lonely outcast until he is befriended by two sympathetic men--one white, one black. John G. Avildsen directs Morgan Freeman, Armin Mueller-Stahl and John Gielgud. (Warner Bros.)

Proof. Hugo Weaving stars as a blind man obsessed with photographs he can never see and a sexually manipulative housekeeper who makes his life doubly difficult. Written and directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse. (Fine Line)

Roadside Prophets. X’s John Doe and the Beastie Boys’ Adam Horovitz star in this motorcycle quest across our American Southwest. Abbe Wool (she co-wrote “Sid & Nancy”) directs; with cameos from John Cusack, David Carradine, Arlo Guthrie and Timothy Leary. (Fine Line)

Rock-A-Doodle. Don Bluth’s latest animation effort is a “rockabilly” musical in which a live-action boy is transformed into an animated kitten in hopes of saving his family and their farm from a flood. Voices: Glen Campbell, “Mob Boss’s” Eddie Deezen, Sandy Duncan, Ellen Greene, Christopher Plummer and Charles Nelson Reilly. (Samuel Goldwyn Co.)

Rubin and Ed. Crispin Glover and Howard Hesseman are two wacky dudes who set off on a very unusual mission deep into southern Utah. Trent Harris writes and directs. (IRS)

Rules of the Game. Arye Gross and Courtney Cox play the main couple in this romantic comedy that looks at all facets of a relationship. Kevin Pollak and Julie Brown co-star for director Matthew Meshekoff. (Miramax)

Shadows and Fog. A black-and-white comedy from Woody Allen set in the Roaring ‘20s. Starring with Allen: Kathy Bates, John Cusack, Jodie Foster, Mia Farrow, Madonna, John Malkovich, Lily Tomlin. (Orion)

Shakes the Clown. Bobcat Goldthwait stars, directs and writes this noir look at a town that looks like L.A. except for one thing: Most of the men spend the day in clown regalia. Shakes is a total loser and boozer who ends up being framed for murder by a rival happy face. Julie Brown co-stars and Florence Henderson has a cameo as a groupie. (IRS)

Singles. “Say Anything’s” Cameron Crowe writes and directs this romantic comedy sorting out the interwoven fortunes of a group of young people who actively seek--but shy away from--true love. Matt Dillon, Campbell Scott and Bridget Fonda star. (Warner Bros.)

Straight Talk. Dolly Parton is a small-town dance instructor who heads for Chicago, where she hits the big time as a radio personality and meets a reporter (James Woods) for a Windy City newspaper. Griffin Dunne co-stars, Barnet Kellman directs. (Hollywood Pictures)

Society. A young man’s “perfect” family suddenly becomes strange and bizarre. A sci-fi flick directed by Brian Yuzna, starring Billy Warlock. (Zecca Corp.)

Step Kids. Joan Micklin Silver directs this story of a 15-year-old lost in an ever-changing world of parents and stepbrothers and sisters. A madcap road trip up the Pacific Coast Highway teaches her what “family” is about. Hillary Wolf and Griffin Dunne star. (New Line)

Stepfather III--Father’s Day. Robert Wightman replaces Terry O’Quinn as the dastardly dad. After plastic surgery, our antagonist marries a woman (Priscilla Barnes) who has a paraplegic child and not a clue about the terror that awaits her. Guy Magar directs. (Trimark)

Stephen King’s Sleepwalkers. Mick Garris directs King’s first original screenplay in a tale of a small town, a mother and daughter and .... a few cats. Brian Krause and Mdchen Amick star, with cameos by King, Clive Barker, Joe Dante, Tobe Hooper and John Landis. (Columbia)

Thunderheart. Val Kilmer plays an FBI agent assigned to a murder on an Indian reservation. He soon becomes a pawn in a plot threatening the bonds and traditions of American Indians. Co-produced by Robert De Niro, with Sam Shepard, “Dances With Wolves’ ” Grahame Greene and Fred Ward co-starring for director Michael Apted. (TriStar)

To Kill For. A 20-year veteran police detective makes the mistake of coveting the prime suspect in a murder case. An erotic thriller. Michael Madsen and Laura Johnson star for director John Dirlam. (Moviestore)

Sniper. Tom Berenger plays a crackshot Marine sniper who, along with new (and very green) partner Billy Zane, goes into the Panamanian outback for action and suspense. Lucho Llosa directs. (TriStar)

Storyville. “Twin Peaks” co-creator Mark Frost wrote and directed the story of a powerful New Orleans family’s sexual exploits, political deception and criminal intrigue. James Spader leads a cast that includes Joanne Whalley-Kilmer, Jason Robards and Piper Laurie. (Distribution pending)

The Vagrant. Bill Paxton plays an ambitious junior exec whose life seems like a bed of roses .... until he purchases a house that contains a disgusting derelict who stalks him. Marshall Bell plays the creep; Chris Walas directs. (MGM)

A Very Good Year. Tim Daly and Penelope Ann Miller play two opposites--she’s hard-working, he’s indifferent--who meet in Europe and team up to thwart an evil guy who wishes to steal some expensive wine from them. Peter Yates directs William Goldman’s script. (Columbia)

Waiting. A struggling artist-surrogate mom is giving birth to a child for one of her best friends. When the two throw a little get-together for friends, resentments surface. Noni Hazlehurst stars for writer-director Jackie McKimmie. (Aries)

We’re Talkin’ Serious Money. Dennis Farina, Leo Rossi and Fran Drescher star in this comedy of two Big Apple goofballs whose outrageous get-rich-now schemes only bring them embarrassment. James Lemmo directs. (CineTel)

Where Angels Fear to Tread. In the adaptation of E.M. Forster’s novel, Helen Mirren is the widowed Lilia Herriton, who travels to Italy with companion Helena Bonham Carter, where they see much more than the Sistine Chapel. Charles Sturridge directs; adaptation by Sturridge, Tim Sullivan and Derek Granger. (Fine Line)

White Sands. A thriller from “No Way Out’s” director, Roger Donaldson, set in New Mexico. Unsettling evidence that a small-town sheriff discovers in a murder investigation may point to the FBI. Starring Willem Dafoe, Mickey Rourke and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, with Samuel L. Jackson, Mimi Rogers and M. Emmet Walsh. (Warner Bros.)

White Men Can’t Jump. A basketball hustler played by “Cheers’ ” Woody Harrelson teams up with Wesley Snipes to win a few bucks on the toughest courts in L.A. “Bull Durham’s” Ron Shelton writes and directs. (Fox)

Wind. When Matthew Modine’s crew becomes the first ever to relinquish the coveted America’s Cup to the Aussies, he and Jennifer Grey design and build a special yacht to win it back. Carroll Ballard (“The Black Stallion”) directs; with Cliff Robertson and Jack Thompson. (TriStar)

SUMMER

OK, it’s summer, so we’ve got sequels: “Alien 3,” “RoboCop 3,” “Lethal Weapon 3,” “Batman Returns” and “Honey, I Blew Up the Kid.” We’ve historical epics: Tom Cruise in “Far and Away,” Daniel Day Lewis in “The Last of the Mohicans,” Winona Ryder in “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” and Clint Eastwood in “Unforgiven.” Some intriguing possibilities outside established summer formulas: Meg Ryan and Alec Baldwin in “Prelude to a Kiss,” Tom Hanks coaching Geena Davis and Madonna in “A League of Their Own” and Eddie Murphy trying a romantic comedy, “Boomerang.”

Afraid of the Dark. Screenwriter Mark Peploe (“The Last Emperor”) makes his directing bow in this story of a lonely, isolated boy whose fear of his impending blindness blurs the boundaries between fantasy and reality. Stars Fanny Ardant. (Fine Line)

Alien 3. Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley arrives on an orbiting space station where, once again, she must battle to within an inch of her terror-filled life. David Fincher directs co-stars Charles Dance, Charles Dutton and returning “artificial person” Lance Henriksen. (Fox)

Army of Darkness. In his first movie since “Darkman,” Sam Raimi sets up a sword-and-sorcery showdown in the Dark Ages where Bruce Campbell (“Evil Dead”) leads an army of the dead in a quest for their souls. (Universal)

Batman Returns. So do Michael Keaton and director Tim Burton. Danny DeVito as the Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman enliven the $75-million sequel. Word is that Dan Waters (“Heathers”) and Wesley Strick (“Cape Fear”) have come up with a darker-than-the-first screenplay. (Warner Bros.)

Bebe’s Kids. A fellow’s first date with a woman is upended by three inner-city kids who turn their trip to an amusement park into a living hell. Bruce Smith directs this animated feature executive-produced by Reginald and Warrington Hudlin from an idea attributed to the late Robin Harris. (Paramount)

Blood In Blood Out. Taylor Hackford directs an intricate saga of three childhood Latino friends whose lives overlap in East L.A.--in and out of prison, and on either side of the law. Ben Bratt and Damian Chapa star. (Hollywood Pictures)

Boomerang. Eddie Murphy is a stylish ladies’ man who lets love get the better of him with a woman who’s decided her career comes second to no man. Robin Givens plays the woman for director Reginald Hudlin. (Paramount)

Bram Stoker’s Dracula. “Hook’s” Jim V. Hart has adapted Stoker’s classic 1897 novel, Francis Coppola’s directing. Dracula (Gary Oldman) travels from his native Transylvania to London, drawn by a woman who eerily resembles a love of his a few hundred years back. Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins and Keanu Reeves co-star. (Columbia)

Candyman. Based on Clive Barker’s “The Forbidden,” it concerns a mythical hook-handed killer who nastily disemboweled and plucked apart several people in Chicago’s Cabrini Green housing project. Virginia Madsen plays a university student whose studies compel her to be there. Bernard Rose writes and directs. (Distribution pending)

Car 54, Where Are You?. Orion sold “The Addams Family” to Paramount and watched in horror as it did spectacular business. The studio kept this one, which stars David Johansen and John C. McGinley as police officers Gunther Toody and Frances Muldoon. Bill Fishman directs; Fran Drescher, Nipsey Russell and Al Lewis (the “Munsters’ ” Grandpa) co-star. (Orion)

Cliffhanger. Sly Stallone plays the leader of a mountain rescue team out to save survivors of a plane crash, but the people he tries to rescue are fugitives who take their benefactors captive. Renny Harlin directs. (TriStar)

Clifford. A 10-year-old boy (Martin Short, assisted by oversize props and other tricks) is left in the care of his bachelor uncle (Charles Grodin), who must deal with the tyke’s one-track mind and obsessive desire to visit Dinosaurworld. Mary Steenburgen and Dabney Coleman also star for director Paul Flaherty. (Orion)

Cool World. Ralph Bakshi fans rejoice--the flamboyant filmmaker returns in this live action-animated feast starring Gabriel Byrne as a cartoonist who falls into the two-dimensional world he’s conjured up. Kim Basinger (the seductress) and Brad Pitt (the detective) also star. (Paramount)

Death Becomes Her. Bruce Willis plays a plastic surgeon who’s drawn into a rivalry by the two vain, age-obsessed women he loves: Meryl Streep, as his actress wife, and Goldie Hawn, a writer of beauty books. Tracey Ullman and Isabella Rossellini co-star for director Robert Zemeckis. (Universal)

Delta Heat. Anthony Edwards is a hot-shot L.A. detective who enlists the help of a New Orleans crime fighter (Lance Henriksen) to check out the nasty homicide of his partner in the Crescent City. Michael Fischa directs. (Distribution pending)

Diggstown. James Woods is a confidence man and ex-con who descends on Diggstown to enhance the boxing career of “Honey” Roy Palmer. Louis Gossett Jr. plays Honey. Oliver Platt, Heather Graham and Bruce Dern co-star for director Michael Ritchie. (MGM)

Encino Man. MTV’s Pauly Shore has his first leading-man role as a dude who finds a frozen caveman while digging around the back yard. Hopes of talk-show fame fizzle when the caveman thaws out. Les Mayfield directs. (Hollywood Pictures)

Far and Away. Tom Cruise stars with wife Nicole Kidman in an epic adventure directed and co-produced by Ron Howard. Cruise, a poor farmer in 19th-Century Ireland, is the reluctant traveling companion of Kidman, a wealthy landlord’s daughter. They emigrate to the United States, bound for the Oklahoma land rush. From a Bob Dolman script. (Universal)

Honey, I Blew Up the Kid. Rick Moranis’ bumbling genius this time points one of his contraptions toward his new baby, Adam. Now every time Adam comes in contact with electricity he becomes 112 feet tall. Marcia Strassman and others return for new director Randal Kleiser. (Walt Disney Pictures)

Honeymoon in Vegas. Andrew Bergman writes and directs this James Caan toplined comedy of a New York private eye (Nicolas Cage) who flies to Vegas to marry fiancee Sarah Jessica Parker. (Columbia)

Housesitter. Steve Martin plays a recently dumped architect whose one-night fling with a con artist (Goldie Hawn) turns into strangeness when she moves herself into his vacated country home and passes herself off as his wife as she strives to steal his heart. Frank Oz directs. (Universal)

The Incredible Journey. In a remake of a 1963 Disney film, three household pets--a golden retriever, bulldog puppy and Himalayan cat--embark on a trek through the Pacific Northwest en route home. Robert Hays and Kim Greist star for director Duwayne Dunham. “Edward Scissorhand’s” Caroline Thompson wrote it. (Walt Disney Pictures)

The Last of the Mohicans. Daniel Day Lewis plays Hawkeye, the frontiersman raised by Mohicans, in director Michael Mann’s vision of the classic James Fenimore Cooper saga. Madeleine Stowe plays the beautiful daughter of a British officer who falls for Hawkeye during the Revolutionary War. (Fox)

A League of Their Own. Tom Hanks, Geena Davis and Madonna go back to war-torn 1943, where the men were away fighting and a group of women formed the All-American Girls Baseball League. Lori Petty, Jon Lovitz, David Strathairn, Garry Marshall and Bill Pullman co-star; Penny Marshall directs. (Columbia)

Lethal Weapon 3. Riggs (Mel Gibson) and the nearly retired Murtaugh (Danny Glover) are back, this time fighting wayward arms dealers. Joe Pesci returns from No. 2. Richard Donner directs and Joel Silver produces. (Warner Bros.)

Live Wire. After international terrorists begin picking off U.S. senators, Pierce Brosnan uses an unorthodox bomb diffusion method to foil the bad guys. Christian Duguay directs. Ron Silver, Ben Cross and Lisa Eilbacher co-star. (New Line)

The Looters. Walter Hill directs this script from the “Back to the Future” creators, Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale. Two rural firefighters are combing a St. Louis tenement for stolen cash when they bump heads with local toughs, who also want the booty. Bill Paxton, William Sadler, Ice-T and Ice Cube all star. (Universal)

Love Potion 9. Dale Launer, “Ruthless People’s” wicked writer, produces, scripts and directs this romantic comedy concerning two shy scientists who concoct a love potion that actually delivers. Tate Donovan and Sandra Bullock star. (Fox)

Me, Myself and I. JoBeth Williams is a certifiable crazy type and George Segal a womanizing screenwriter (and former Rolling Stone reporter) who becomes fascinated with her in this black comedy. Pablo Ferro directs. (IRS)

Miracle Beach. The L.A. beach scene provides the backdrop in this romance/comedy/fantasy of three men and their adventures and mishaps. Newcomer Skott Snider directs Dean Cameron, Ami Dolenz, Alexis Arquette and Pat Morita. (Motion Picture Corp. of America)

Mr. Baseball. Tom Selleck plays an aging player who jumps at the chance to play for the Chunichi Dragons of Japan. “Black Rain’s” Ken Takakura plays the Dragons’ manager, who clashes with him during a pennant race. Fred Schepisi directs. (Universal)

Mo’ Money. Damon Wayans writes, executive-produces and stars in this action comedy about a street hustler (Wayans) who goes straight when his own heart is stolen by Stacey Dash. But a credit-card scam he’s forced into tosses jeopardy into the mix. Peter Macdonald directs. (Columbia)

Night on Earth. “Mystery Train” director Jim Jarmusch has woven together five separate but concurrent sequences. The common thread?: They each involve taxi drivers and their passengers. Gena Rowlands, Winona Ryder and Armin Mueller-Stahl appear in the Jarmusch-written collection. (Fine Line)

Ninja Kids. Three young brothers study the life of the Ninja and use their knowledge to help their FBI agent dad battle an evil arms dealer. Max Elliott Slade stars for director Jon Turteltaub. (Distribution pending)

Once Upon a Forest. “The Phantom of the Opera’s” Michael Crawford provides one of the voices in Fox’s second animated entry in the 1992 environmental sweepstakes. Glenn Close, Ben Vereen and Andrae Crouch also chip in on this tale of woodland creatures and their comrades who thwart a threat to their pristine habitat. Dave Michener directs. (Fox)

Pinocchio. Geppetto’s little wooden boy comes to life again in this Disney reissue of one of its most beloved animated classics. Ben Sharpsteen and Hamilton Luske supervised the production so many years ago. (Walt Disney Pictures)

Patriot Games. “Dead Calm’s” Phillip Noyce directs this adaptation of Tom Clancy’s smash best seller, this time starring Harrison Ford as CIA analyst Jack Ryan. A wave of violence propels Ryan and his family into the world of international terrorism. Anne Archer and Patrick Bergin also star. (Paramount)

Prelude to a Kiss. Alec Baldwin and Meg Ryan star as a couple whose wedding is acutely disrupted when an uninvited, elderly guest (Sydney Walker) transposes his soul into hers upon kissing her. Kathy Bates, Ned Beatty and Patty Duke also star. Director Norman Rene collaborates with playwright Craig Lucas in this screen adaptation of Lucas’ Broadway hit. (Fox)

The Public Eye. Joe Pesci and Barbara Hershey star in this 1942 New York story of tabloid snapshot man “Bernzy” Bernstein, who has a keen eye for the underside of big-city life. Based on the work of the real-life photographer Weegee. Howard Franklin directs. (Universal)

Rapid Fire. Bruce Lee’s son, Brandon, stars in this action thriller as an unwilling witness to a drug lord/Mafia dispute and then becomes a martial arts hero who helps a Chicago cop bust up a heroin cartel. Powers Boothe plays the cop for director Dwight Little. (Fox)

RoboCop 3. Robert Burke (now sporting Peter Weller’s old armor), Nancy Allen and Rip Torn star in the new one, which concerns the destruction of Detroit’s largest neighborhood by the ominous OCP and RoboCop Murphy’s determined efforts to save it. Fred Dekker directs. (Orion)

Sidekicks. A Walter Mitty-inspired tale of a nerdy, teen-age computer hacker who feels out of place in his Texas junior high school, so he daydreams of Chuck Norris and himself in adventures all over the world. Norris’ brother Aaron directs Beau Bridges, Joe Piscopo, Jonathan Brandis, Mako and Chuck Norris as Chuck Norris. (Distributor pending)

Single White Female. A psychological thriller set in a New York apartment of two young women (Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh), one of whom begins to overwhelm the personality of the other. Based on the novel “SWF Seeks Same” by John Lutz. Directed by Barbet Schroeder (“Reversal of Fortune).” (Columbia)

Stay Tuned. When a suburban couple try to put the zip back into their marriage by getting a satellite dish, they are zapped into a television dimension better known as Hellvision. Peter Hyams directs John Ritter, Jeffrey Jones, Pam Dawber and Eugene Levy. (Warner Bros.)

Swoon. The disturbing story of Nathan Leopold Jr. and Richard Loeb, the two men convicted for the 1924 kidnaping and murder of young Bobby Franks. Writer-director Tom Kalin incorporates archival footage into the feature. Ron Vawter, Michael Stumm and Michael Kirby star. (Fine Line)

There Goes My Baby. A drama about eight early-’60s high school grads written and directed by “American Hot Wax’s” Floyd Mutrux. With Dermot Mulroney, Rick Schroder and Kelli Williams. (Orion)

Traces of Red. James Belushi and Tony Goldwyn play two Palm Beach County policemen whose probe of a brutal murder causes hell to break loose. Lorraine Bracco is the sexy, powerful woman who enters their lives. Andy Wolk directs. (Samuel Goldwyn Co.)

Unforgiven. Clint Eastwood returns to the Western as a vigilante out to avenge the death of a friend. He also produced and directed. Supporting cast includes Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman and Richard Harris. (Warner Bros.)

Universal Soldier. Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren play two warriors groomed to be the perfect fighting machine. But our two stars come to their senses and revolt. Roland Emmerich directs. (TriStar)

Untitled Sidney Lumet Project. Melanie Griffith is a New York police detective who goes undercover to crack a missing-persons caper but finds murder, jewelry thefts and more in the reclusive Hasidic community. (Hollywood Pictures)

Watch It. Peter Gallagher and Lili Taylor lead this ensemble cast in a comedy trailing the lives of seven people and the summer they spend together after college. Directed by Tom Flynn. (Distribution pending)

Where the Day Takes You. A serious-minded film about homelessness that shows how youths survive on a nasty section of Hollywood Boulevard. Cast includes Dermot Mulroney, Lara Flynn Boyle, Balthazar Getty, Sean Astin, Will (Fresh Prince) Smith, Rachel Ticotin and Laura San Giacomo. Directed by Marc Rocco. (New Line)

FALL / CHRISTMAS

Fall and Christmas offer the year’s prestige pictures. This year’s would-be Oscar candidates come in adapted plays (“Glengarry Glen Ross,” “A Few Good Men”), sweeping biographies (“Chaplin,” “Malcolm X,” Ridley Scott’s Columbus film), literature (“The Age of Innocence,” “A River Runs Through It,” “Of Mice and Men”) and high-toned action (“The Bodyguard,” “Sneakers”). But children exert a powerful force on year-end box office, and this season brings the new Disney animated feature “Aladdin” and Macaulay Culkin’s resourceful return in “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.”

Aladdin. An all-new animation spectacle from Disney, featuring songs from “Beauty and the Beast” team Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. Robin Williams is the voice of the Genie, who resides in the powerful lamp with which young Aladdin wins the hand of Princess Jasmine and neutralizes evil Vizier. John Musker and Ron Clements direct. (Walt Disney Pictures)

The Age of Innocence. The fashionable world of 1870s New York City as depicted in Edith Wharton’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and seen by director Martin Scorsese. Starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Daniel Day Lewis and Winona Ryder. (Columbia)

The Bad Lieutenant. Harvey Keitel plays a drug-addicted officer on the take and heavily involved in gambling. This drama revolves around the World Series and explores the limits of decency. Abel Ferrara (“King of New York”) directs this Edward R. Pressman production. (Live Entertainment)

Bitter Moon. Peter Coyote plays a mysterious man involved in a torrid and destructive liaison with a French woman, Emmanuelle Seigner. Directed and produced by Roman Polanski. (Carolco)

Blue Sky. The late Tony Richardson directed Tommy Lee Jones and Jessica Lange as a nuclear engineer and his volatile wife, who are transferred to a military base and find themselves in a nuclear bomb testing cover-up. Powers Boothe co-stars. (Orion)

The Bodyguard. Kevin Costner is an ex-Secret Service agent hired out to protect a popular actress-singer, played by Whitney Houston, who’s being followed by an obsessed fan. Lawrence Kasdan produces and writes for director Mick Jackson. (Warner Bros.)

Charlie. The Charlie Chaplin film biography, directed and co-produced by Richard Attenborough, stretches from Chaplin’s childhood to his 1972 appearance at the Academy Awards. Robert Downey Jr. wields Chaplin’s cane; the supporting cast includes Dan Aykroyd, Geraldine Chaplin, David Duchovny, Moira Kelly, Kevin Kline, Diane Lane, Penelope Ann Miller, Marisa Tomei and Nancy Travis. William Boyd wrote the screenplay. (TriStar)

China Moon. Ed Harris is a weathered detective whose romance with a wealthy young widow, Madeleine Stowe, seriously undermines his investigation of a decidedly brutal crime. Directed by John Bailey. (Orion)

Christopher Columbus: The Discovery. Tom Selleck and Rachel Ward are King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, Marlon Brando is Torquemada and George Corraface plays the explorer. Directed by John Glen, from Alexander and Ilya Salkind, producers of “Superman.” (Distribution pending)

The Dark Half. Based on Stephen King’s book, in which an author tries to get rid of his murderous subconscious alter ego. Timothy Hutton plays the writer; George Romero directs, adapts and is executive producer. (Orion)

Dreadnought. Steven Seagal turns back a group of unsuspecting terrorists who have taken over the battleship Missouri and plan to hawk its nuclear warheads. “Above the Law’s” Andy Davis directs. (Warner Bros.)

Excessive Force. Thomas Ian Griffith (“Karate Kid III”) stars as a New York cop with a short fuse but fast fists. He really starts cooking when he’s suspected of wrongdoings by his department--and the Mob. (New Line)

A Few Good Men. Rob Reiner directs Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of his Broadway play. A Navy lawyer must uncover the absolute truth during a tense trial. The cast: Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon, Kevin Pollak, James Marshall and J.T. Walsh. (Columbia)

Glengarry Glen Ross. The adaptation of David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize- winner of survival and ruthlessness in the high-stakes real estate game. Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Ed Harris and Alan Arkin star. James Foley directs. (New Line)

Hero. Stephen Frears directs Dustin Hoffman as a conniving crook who stumbles into heroism. Andy Garcia steals the credit and Geena Davis is a TV reporter who runs into the biggest story of her life. (Columbia)

Hexed. Arye Gross plays a hotel clerk who tangles with Hexina, a fashion model who drags him through a series of comedic adventures. Alan Spencer writes and directs; Claudia Christian and Adrienne Shelly co-star. (Columbia)

Hoffa. Danny DeVito directs Jack Nicholson in David Mamet’s script about Jimmy Hoffa, the Teamsters chief who mysteriously disappeared in the mid-’70s. DeVito plays Hoffa’s sidekick, Ciaro. (Fox)

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Producer-writer John Hughes and director Chris Columbus reunite with Macaulay Culkin as he loses his folks while in Manhattan. Bumbling burglars Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern return, along with dad John Heard and mom Catherine O’Hara. Also with Brenda Fricker and Tim Curry. (Fox)

Innocent Blood. Anne Parillaud of “Le Femme Nikita”’ stars as a beautiful vampiress who falls in love with a man with whom she has necked. John Landis (“An American Werewolf in London”) directs. (Warner Bros.)

Jack the Bear. Marshall Herskovitz (co-creator of “thirtysomething”) directs Danny DeVito as a single father raising his young boys, ages 12 and 3, after his wife’s death. He becomes a hero to them when he gets a job as host of a late-night TV horror show. Steve Zaillian (“Awakenings”) adapts Dan McCall’s novel. (Fox)

Jennifer Eight. L.A. cop Andy Garcia joins the small police force of a Northern California town, where he becomes entangled in an investigation of a serial killer whose code name is Jennifer. Bruce Robinson writes and directs; Uma Thurman, Lance Henriksen, Kathy Baker and John Malkovich co-star. (Paramount)

Lorenzo’s Oil. The true story of Augusto and Michaela Odone, played by Nick Nolte and Susan Sarandon, who apparently have come up with a cure for their stricken son, who’d been written off after he contracts a rare and fatal illness. Peter Ustinov co-stars for director George Miller (the “Mad Max” films, “The Witches of Eastwick”). (Universal)

Mad Dog and Glory. Robert De Niro is timid police photog Mad Dog, who unwittingly saves the life of a gangster (Bill Murray), who in turn presents Mad Dog with Glory (Uma Thurman) for a week. Problems arise when the gangster doesn’t get her back. John McNaughton directs Richard Price’s script. Martin Scorsese co-produces. (Universal)

Malcolm X. Spike Lee directs Denzel Washington as the incendiary black leader who was assassinated in 1965. Lee co-stars (with Al Freeman Jr.) and co-writes this historical drama. (Warner Bros.)

Married to It. Three very different New York couples’ marriages and friendships are scrutinized by director Arthur Hiller in Janet Kovalcik’s screenplay. Beau Bridges, Stockard Channing, Robert Sean Leonard, Mary Stuart Masterson, Cybill Shepherd and Ron Silver star. (Orion)

Mr. Jones. Lena Olin is a doctor drawn toward a severely troubled patient, Richard Gere, thrust into her care. “Internal Affair’s” Mike Figgis directs Eric Roth and Michael Cristofer’s script. (TriStar)

Mr. Saturday Night. Billy Crystal directs, produces, stars and co-writes (with “City Slickers’ ” Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel) a bittersweet story of stand-up funnyman Buddy Young Jr. over five decades. David Paymer co-stars. (Columbia)

Night and the City. Irwin Winkler follows “Guilty by Suspicion” with a Richard Price adaptation of the Jules Dassin classic. Robert De Niro plays a conniving, small-potatoes New York lawyer who enters the dangerous world of boxing promotion. With Jessica Lange, Cliff Gorman, Jack Warden and Alan King. (Fox)

Of Mice and Men. Horton Foote (“To Kill a Mockingbird”) adapts John Steinbeck’s poignant tale of big, dumb Lennie and his trusted friend George in 1930s California. John Malkovich and Gary Sinise, who also directs, play the two with Casey Siemaszko, Ray Walston, Joe Morton and Sherilyn Fenn. (MGM)

Passenger 57. Wesley Snipes stars as an airline security agent who must negotiate with a terrorist who has commandeered a planeload of hostages. And the agent knows the man responsible shares--and may take advantage of--a secret about his past. Kevin Hooks directs. (Warner Bros.)

The Pickle. Danny Aiello is a director stung by a string of flops who throws together a teen sci-fi flick about a flying pickle to play to the masses. Paul Mazursky writes, produces and directs; Dyan Cannon, Clotilde Courau and Shelley Winters co-star. (Columbia)

Raising Cain. John Lithgow stars in Brian DePalma’s new thriller as a child psychologist who kidnaps his own daughter then masterminds a scheme to frame his wife’s ex-lover for the deed. Lolita Davidovich (“Blaze”) and Steven Bauer also star; Gale Anne Hurd produces. (Universal)

The Rest of Daniel. Steve Miner directs Mel Gibson as a cryonically frozen test pilot who awakens decades later and is befriended by a young boy. (Warner Bros.)

Rich in Love. Albert Finney and Jill Clayburgh star for director Bruce Beresford in Alfred Uhry’s adaptation of Josephine Humphreys’ novel. When 17-year-old Lucille’s mom suddenly departs, she’s left in charge of everything--including her depressed father. The ensemble cast includes Kathryn Erbe, Kyle MacLachlan, Piper Laurie, Ethan Hawke, Suzy Amis and Alfre Woodard. (MGM)

A River Runs Through It. Robert Redford produces and directs this adaptation of Norman Maclean’s novella about the relationship between two brothers and their mutual love of fly-fishing. Craig Sheffer, Brad Pitt, Tom Skerritt and Emily Lloyd round out the cast. (Distribution pending)

Ruby Cairo. Andie MacDowell plays a woman trying to track down the particulars of her pilot husband’s mysterious and fiery death in an aircraft. Along the way, she meets a charismatic doctor played by Liam Neeson. Viggo Mortensen, Jack Thompson and Olympia Dukakis co-star for Graeme Clifford. (Fox)

Scent of a Woman. Al Pacino stars as a blind retired lieutenant colonel who shows a poor scholarship student the time of his life during a weekend spree in New York. Chris O’Donnell co-stars in the Bo Goldman script. Martin Brest produces and directs. (Universal)

School Ties. “F/X’s” Robert Mandel directs this drama of an outsider who disrupts the fragile social harmony of an elite preparatory school in the mid-’50s. Stanley R. Jaffe and Sherry Lansing (“The Accused”) produce the Darryl Ponicsan script. (Paramount)

Sessions. The sudden death of a patient sends a psychiatrist played by Annabella Sciorra into a perplexing series of revelations and events. Jamey Sheridan and Anthony LaPaglia add suspense for director-writer Christopher Crowe. (Paramount)

Simple Men. Director-writer Hal Hartley tells the story of two brothers and their mutual search for a long-lost father. Robert Burke and William Sage star. (Fine Line)

Sneakers. Robert Redford plays a fugitive from the ‘60s who heads a group of high-tech security experts. When the government finds out, Redford and his “sneakers” are sucked into a highly suspect operation. Dan Aykroyd, Ben Kingsley, Mary McDonnell, River Phoenix, Sidney Poitier and David Strathairn also star in Phil Alden Robinson’s first film since “Field of Dreams.” Co-written by Robinson, Walter Parkes and Lawrence Lasker (“Awakenings”). (Universal)

That Night. The night in 1961 is observed through the eyes of Alice, a precocious 10-year-old who compares her dullsville life to that of her “fast” 16-year-old neighbor, Sheryl. C. Thomas Howell, Juliette Lewis, Helen Shaver and Eliza Dushku star for director-writer Craig Bolotin. (Warner Bros.)

This Boy’s Life. Robert De Niro and Ellen Barkin, under Michael Caton-Jones’ direction, star in this adaptation of Tobias Wolff’s autobiographical ‘50s novel about a young man, his recently divorced mom and a strict but colorful stepfather who profoundly affects the youngster. (Warner Bros.)

Toys. Robin Williams and “Good Morning, Vietnam” director Barry Levinson reunite in a comedy about a whimsical toy maker who makes a gallant effort to save his dad’s cherished toy factory from a demented uncle. (Fox)

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. Kyle MacLachlan reprises his role as FBI agent Dale Cooper, and much of the quirky cast returns to the weirdest town in the Pacific Northwest, to splice together the puzzling events that led to Laura Palmer’s murder. Series co-creator David Lynch directs Sheryl Lee, Michael Ontkean, Ray Wise, Peggy Lipton and Joan Chen with David Bowie, Harry Dean Stanton and Chris Isaak. (New Line)

Unlawful Entry. Kurt Russell, Ray Liotta and Madeleine Stowe head this psychological-thriller about a cop who involves himself in the lives of a young couple whose house has just been burglarized. Jonathan Kaplan directs. (Fox)

Untitled Ridley Scott Project. The “Thelma & Louise” director casts Gerard Depardieu as the most celebrated discoverer of all time--Christopher Columbus. Roselyn Bosch wrote the screenplay; Armand Assante and Frank Langella also star. (Paramount)

Untitled Woody Allen Project. In his first directing project away from longtime home Orion, Allen plays a college professor and “Cape Fear’s” Juliette Lewis one of his star pupils. Judy Davis, Mia Farrow, Liam Neeson and Sydney Pollack also appear. (TriStar)

Used People. Shirley MacLaine plays a woman who is finally being courted by a man who has been an admirer for 23 years. Trouble is, the fellow (Marcello Mastroianni) picks the day of her husband’s funeral to begin. Jessica Tandy, Kathy Bates and Marcia Gay Harden co-star for director Beeban Kidron. (Fox)

We’re Back. Walter Cronkite, John Goodman, John Malkovich, Julia Childs, Jay Leno and Martin Short provide voices in this animated feature, from Amblin Entertainment, that follows some confused dinosaurs through contemporary New York. (Universal)

Wilder Napalm. Comedy erupts when two estranged brothers, Dennis Quaid and Arliss Howard, both decide to pursue Debra Winger. “Clean and Sober’s” Glenn Gordon Caron directs; Jim Varney co-stars. (TriStar)

FOREIGN

Although foreign film distribution languishes in a sorry state, there are some promising releases this year. In “Best Intentions,” Ingmar Bergman wrote the story of his parents’ courtship, then gave it to Bille August (“Pelle the Conqueror”) to direct. The critically lauded novel “Waterland,” about a high school teacher who brings history to life for his students, features Jeremy Irons. And the French keep confronting their wartime shame in Christian De Chalonge’s “Docteur Petiot,” the story of a physician who lured Jews to their death in his basement furnace.

Adam’s Rib. How several Russian women make the best of a claustrophobic situation--a demanding, bedridden matriarch who orders her daughter and two granddaughters about by the ring of a bell. Vyacheslav Krishtofovich directs Inna Churikova. (October Films)

Alberto Express. In this French film, Alberto is faced with the formidable task of paying his father back for his entire upbringing. But the debt must be repaid before Alberto’s first child comes into the world, and this day rapidly approaches. Directed by Arthur Joffe; Sergio Castellitto and Nino Manfredi star. (MK2)

A Beating Heart. Two people meet on a train and commence a torrid affair that may put their respective marriages in jeopardy. Francois Dupeyron writes and directs; Dominque Faysse and Thierry Fortineau star in the French drama. (MK2)

Best Intentions. Ingmar Bergman has written, but does not direct, this highly personal account of 10 years in his parents’ life, following Henrik Bergman and Anna Akerbom through love and adventures. Bille August (“Pelle the Conqueror”) directs. (Samuel Goldwyn)

Danzon. Julia is a telephone operator by day but totally loses herself in her dancing twice each week at the Colonia Dance Hall. When her hoofing partner of more than a decade misses his session one day, she searches high and low for him. Maria Novaro directs; Maria Rojo plays the lead. (Orion Classics)

Delicatessen. A black comedy of true love amid a war between the hearty meat-eaters above a butcher shop versus the lentil-fed denizens of the sewer below. A first effort by directors Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro. (Miramax)

Docteur Petiot. The true story of a respectable physician in occupied Paris during World War II who offers Jews the chance to escape but instead robs them, murders them and burns their bodies in the basement furnace. Christian De Chalonge directs Michel Serrault. (Aries)

For Sasha. Alexandre Arcady writes and directs this French drama of four childhood friends on a Kibbutz during the Six Day War. (MK2)

The Hairdresser’s Husband. Patrice Leconte (his last film was “Monsieur Hire”) here tells the story of 12-year-old Antoine who is so overwhelmed by a lady barber that he vows one day that he will marry a beautician. Jean Rochefort and Anna Galiena star. (Triton)

Halfaouine. A Tunisian film depicts the upbringing of 12-year-old Noura, who stands defiantly at the brink of manhood. Ferid Boughedir writes and directs; Selim Boughedir and Carolyn Chelby star. Subtitled. (Aries)

Herman. Norwegian director Erik Gustavson brings us this touching look at a young boy who loses every hair on his head and faces far more than the usual taunts from his peers. But Herman grows up stable thanks to his loving parents--and a very special grandfather. Anders Danielsen is the boy; “Fanny and Alexander’s” Jarl Kulle co-stars. (Blue Ridge/ Filmtrust, overseas; domestic distribution pending)

Jacquot de Nantes. Agnes Varda directs this film biography of Jacques Demy, which will tell of his youth, his experiences in Nazi-occupied France and his fascination with the cinema. Philippe Maron stars. (Orion Classics)

La Discrete. A young man is jilted before he can do the jilting, and his “revenge” consists of finding an unsus