Sneaks ’93 : Old and New, Borrowed and Blue : Amid the sequels and remakes, Hollywood has some originals in store for 1993

If the truth be told, being a film critic is a lot like rooting for the Chicago Cubs. Every January, no matter what the past has proved, no matter what the rational mind tells you, no matter how misguided your friends think you are, the critic, like the implacable Chicago fan, thinks this is going to be The Year. The year when all the movies are going to be good and the Cubbies are going to go all the way.

Don’t hold your breath.

Still, looking at the splendid repast laid out for the coming months, it is still possible to dream in this cinematic Hot Stove League that even if all the new films aren’t going to be good, at least many of them will be. Never mind that more than a few are based on cartoons (“Dennis the Menace”), old TV shows (“The Beverly Hillbillies” and “The Fugitive”) even video games (“Super Mario Brothers”). Thinking positive is the order of the day. After all, doesn’t Walter Matthau sound like he’d make a hell of a Mr. Wilson?

The same is true for all those sequels that 1993 has in store. Maybe you’re not exactly dying to see “Weekend at Bernie’s 2,” “Hot Shots! Part Deux,” “Wayne’s World 2,” “Stakeout II” “The Addams Family 2,” not to mention “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III” and the zillionth rebirth of “Friday the 13th: Jason Goes to Hell” (where he’ll no doubt fit right in). Won’t it be nice to see “That’s Entertainment III,” filled with the best outtakes MGM has to offer, and doesn’t “Blake Edwards’ Son of the Pink Panther” feature Roberto Benigni, as funny a physical comedian as the screen has produced in years? If you can’t look on the bright side now, when can you?

Ditto for remakes. Perhaps you’re ambivalent about seeing what Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson do to “Born Yesterday” and how Abel Ferrara handles “Body Snatchers.” But how about Bridget Fonda kicking out the jams in “Point of No Return,” a remake of “La Femme Nikita,” or Richard Gere, Jodie Foster and James Earl Jones grappling with ambiguity in “Sommersby,” a reworking of “The Return of Martin Guerre.” Perhaps the past can be prologue after all.

Speaking of the past, 1993 does seem to offer more film versions of high quality classic novels than almost any year in memory. Some of the most promising include:

* “The Age of Innocence,” directed by Martin Scorsese from the Edith Wharton novel and perfectly cast with Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer and Winona Ryder. For Wharton junkies who just can’t wait, the Liam Neeson-starring “Ethan Frome” debuts next month.

* “The Adventures of Huck Finn.” Down the Mississippi one more time with Elijah Wood as young master Huck.

* “The Secret Garden.” Everyone’s favorite children’s book directed by Agnieszka Holland and graced by the presence of Maggie Smith.

* “Orlando.” A splendidly visual re-creation of the Virginia Woolf novel, with the wonderfully named Tilda Swinton.

* “Utz.” Prague and porcelain star along with Armin Mueller-Stahl in this version of Bruce Chatwin’s novella.

* “The Remains of the Day.” The Merchant-Ivory-Jhabvala team, Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson are at it again, this time mounting Kazuo Ishiguro’s Booker Prize-winning novel.

* “This Boy’s Life.” Robert De Niro and Ellen Barkin go at it in an adaptation of Tobias Wolfe’s autobiographical work.

Aside from these, a glance at the year’s major studio releases includes the following group that look to be of more than passing interest:

* “Blood In . . . Blood Out.” Taylor Hackford’s multigenerational story of crime and Latino culture.

* “Indecent Proposal.” Can Robert Redford and a million dollars convince Demi Moore to spend a night away from hubby Woody Harrelson? Stay tuned. . . . In “Mad Dog and Glory,” mobster Bill Murray gives Uma Thurman to Robert De Niro in payment for a good deed. Remember, it’s just a movie.

* “Bopha!” Set in South Africa, starring Danny Glover, Alfre Woodard and Malcolm McDowell and directed (for the first time) by Morgan Freeman.

* “Heaven and Earth.” Oliver Stone is (surprise!) back in Vietnam, telling the story of a Vietnamese woman before, during, and after The War.

* “I’ll Do Anything.” An off-beat musical comedy anchored by Nick Nolte from uncompromisingly unpredictable writer-director James Brooks.

* “Wolf.” Jack Nicholson turns into same, Michelle Pfeiffer looks on, and Mike Nichols tries to direct without getting bitten.

* “Being Human.” A comedy summit conference, with Robin Williams working for Scot Bill Forsythe, the auteur of arch.

* “The Firm.” Tom Cruise beams, Sydney Pollack directs, and the John Grisham novel sells a few more million copies.

* “Rising Sun.” Sean Connery and Wesley Snipes try to solve a crime without fatally unsettling Japanese-American relations.

* “Sleepless in Seattle.” Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are both romantic and comedic for director Nora Ephron.

And, if it does nothing else, 1993 will answer a few very pressing questions. For instance:

* Can Macaulay Culkin act? He stars as a bad seed in “The Good Son,” a non-”Home Alone” role if ever there was one.

* What can Tim Burton do with animation? In “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” the once and future animator brings his Prince of Darkness sensibility to cartoon folk.

* Is Nazi Germany a good setting for a Disney musical? “Swing Kids,” rife with Big Band tunes, will no doubt settle that question for all time.

* Will the real Steven Spielberg please stand up? Is he best with dinosaur-heavy special effects a la “Jurassic Park” or will the sensitive “Schindler’s List” prove more his style? This is not a trick question.

Can Sylvester Stallone play a character who is cryogenically frozen? This is not a trick question either. Watch “Demolition Man” and find out. If you dare.