SUMMER SNEAKS : What’s ‘Sneaks’...

Following are capsule summaries of upcoming summer movies, listed by opening dates, according to the latest available information. Unscheduled movies are listed at the end of each month.

MAY 21

Hot Shots! Part Deux. Charlie Sheen, Lloyd Bridges and Valeria Golino are back, as Commander in Chief Bridges enlists Sheen and his commandos for another spoof-filled mission. Director-writer Jim Abrahams and writer Pat Proft also return. (20th Century Fox)

Sliver. Take two parts “Basic Instinct” (Sharon Stone and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas), one part Ira Levin (who wrote the bestseller), and you get the story of deadly goings-on in a New York high-rise. William Baldwin and Tom Berenger co-star for director Phillip Noyce. (Paramount Pictures)

MAY 26

Menace II Society. Straight-outta-MTV twins Allen and Albert Hughes, all of 21 years of age, make the leap from videos to their first feature with the tale of a fatherless boy who grapples life in the inner city. Tyrin Turner and Vonte Sweet star; Charles Dutton, Samuel L. Jackson and Bill Duke turn in cameos. (New Line Cinema)

MAY 28

Cliffhanger. From “Rocky” to the Rockies: Sylvester Stallone stars as an expert mountaineer who puts his skills to the test after an airplane crash-lands and a gang led by John Lithgow takes the survivors hostage. Renny Harlin directs; Janine Turner (“Northern Exposure”) co-stars. (TriStar Pictures)

Happily Ever After. This animated sequel to “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”--apparently Disney doesn’t mind--finds the 16-year-old heroine about to marry her Prince when danger threatens. With the voices of Tracey Ullman, Malcolm MacDowell and Zsa Zsa Gabor. (Filmation)

Made in America. Richard Benjamin directs Whoopi Goldberg and Ted Danson in a comedy of a teen-age girl who learns that her thought-to-be dead father is a local TV car salesman. (Warner Bros.)

Super Mario Bros. Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo play those popular Nintendo game boys, who make the leap to the big screen. Also starring Fisher Stevens, with Dennis Hopper as the chief bad guy. Directed by Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel. (Hollywood Pictures)

JUNE 4

Bum Rap. As in true bummer: A New York cabbie and wanna-be actor suddenly finds out he has three days to live. Starring Craig Wasson, Blanche Baker and Al Lewis. Directed by Daniel Irom. (Millennium Pictures)

Guilty as Sin. Don Johnson stands accused of shoving his rich wife out a window, and Rebecca De Mornay plays the attorney who--at first--believes he couldn’t have done such a nasty thing. Directed by Sidney Lumet. (Hollywood Pictures)

Life With Mikey. Former child star Michael J. Fox runs a foundering talent agency for kiddie performers, when salvation arrives in the form of Christina Vidal, as a precocious little con artist who may bail him out. Nathan Lane and Cyndi Lauper co-star for director James Lapine. (Touchstone Pictures)

JUNE 9

What’s Love Got to Do With It. Angela Bassett portrays Annie Mae Bullock, who escaped an impoverished childhood in Tennessee to become a singer, marry Ike Turner (Laurence Fishburne) and, as Tina Turner, find fame, heartbreak--and a big comeback. Directed by Brian Gibson. (Touchstone)

JUNE 11

Fires of Kuwait. The IMAX team looks at the international firefighting corps working to cap the oil fires in Kuwait torched by the Iraqi army during the Gulf War.

Joey Breaker. A new agent with hot deals in the offing works at an influential New York talent agency. But real life intrudes when Joey agrees to care for a man dying of AIDS. Staring Richard Edson. Steven Starr writes and directs. (Skouras Pictures)

Jurassic Park. Director Steven Spielberg tackles Michael Crichton’s bestseller about genetically re-created dinosaurs that are bred for the ultimate theme park--and then get out of hand. Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough head the cast. (Universal Pictures)

JUNE 16

Equinox. Matthew Modine plays identical twins, one a car mechanic, the other a guy with underworld connections. A struggling writer stumbles on the origins of their birth. With Lara Flynn Boyle. Directed by Alan Rudolph. (I.R.S.)

Romper Stomper. This Australian film chronicles urban gang warfare among neo-Nazi skinheads and Asian immigrants moving into their turf. Directed by Geoffrey Wright; starring Russell Crowe, Daniel Pollack and Jacqueline McKenzie. (Academy Entertainment)

JUNE 18

Dennis the Menace. Mason Gamble is the towheaded terror and Walter Matthau the put-upon Mr. Wilson in this adaptation of Hank Ketcham’s comic strip, written and produced by John Hughes. Christopher Lloyd, Joan Plowright and Lea Thompson also star for director Nick Castle. (Warner Bros.)

House of Cards. Michael Lessac directs this drama about a mother’s struggle to understand her daughter’s withdrawal from the real world. Starring Kathleen Turner, Tommy Lee Jones, Park Overall and Esther Rolle. (Miramax Films)

Last Action Hero. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays the action-movie idol of young Austin O’Brien, who is able to join his hero’s on-screen adventures. Schwarzenegger reunites with “Predator” director John McTiernan in this action-fantasy. With F. Murray Abraham, Anthony Quinn and Mercedes Ruehl. (Columbia Pictures)

Once Upon a Forest. Michael Crawford, Glenn Close, Ben Vereen and Andrae Crouch lend their voices to an animated tale of woodland creatures and their comrades who try to save their pristine habitat. Dave Michener directs. (Fox)

Un Coeur en Hiver. Emmanuelle Beart and Daniel Auteuil star in a love triangle, with Beart as a violin virtuoso who becomes involved with a violin repair shop owner and his most trusted employee. Directed by Claude Sautet. (October Films)

JUNE 23

Orlando. An adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s fantasy novel, in which Orlando travels through time from Queen Elizabeth I’s court to Central Asia, and undergoes some startling changes. Tilda Swinton and Lothaire Bluteau star. (Sony Classics)

JUNE 25

Sleepless in Seattle. Tom Hanks stars as a widower in Seattle whose bright young son (Ross Malinger) goes to great lengths to find the perfect woman (Meg Ryan) for his dad. Directed by Nora Ephron from a story by Jeff Arch. (TriStar)

JUNE UNSCHEDULED

Benefit of the Doubt. Amy Irving is a woman who as a child testified against her father in a murder trial --and now he is being released from prison. Also starring Donald Sutherland and Graham Greene. Directed by Jonathan Heap. (Miramax)

JULY 2

The Firm. Tom Cruise is a young lawyer who accepts a position in a small but mysteriously rich Tennessee law firm in director Sydney Pollack’s movie of John Grisham’s bestseller. Also starring Gene Hackman, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Wilford Brimley, Gary Busey, Ed Harris, Hal Holbrook and Holly Hunter. (Paramount)

The Long Day Closes. This story follows life at a 1950s Liverpool school one summer for 11-year-old Bud. Terence Davies writes and directs; Marjorie Yates and Leigh McCormack star. (Sony Classics)

Son-in-Law. A bright young collegian (Carla Gugino) brings the hip-to-the-minute, dressed-down-to-the-grunge Pauly Shore home to the family farm to meet the folks during a college break. Steve Rash directs. (Hollywood Pictures)

JULY 9

Free Willy. Two outsiders--one’s a 12-year-old with an attitude and the other is an orca whale separated from his pod and placed in an aquatic show--find a common bond. When danger threatens the orca, the boy decides to do something about it. Starring Jason James Richter, Michael Ironside and Lori Petty. Directed by Simon Wincer (Warner Bros.)

In the Line of Fire. Clint Eastwood returns to the fold, sans cowboy hat, playing a Secret Service agent who is determined to stop crack assassin John Malkovich from getting to the President. Also starring Rene Russo. Directed by Wolfgang Petersen. (Columbia)

The Music of Chance. Mandy Patinkin is a fellow who inherits a little cash and hits the road. James Spader is a down-and-out gambler who persuades him to stake his cash against a couple of millionaires who they think don’t know anything about poker. Philip Haas directs. (I.R.S.)

Rookie of the Year. A sandlot fantasy comes true: A 12-year-old southpaw in Little League suddenly acquires a pitching arm so good, the Chicago Cubs want him to win the pennant. Thomas Ian Nicholas, Gary Busey and Daniel Stern star in Stern’s directing debut. (Fox)

Weekend at Bernie’s 2. The weekend’s over and Bernie is still a corpse. Starring Andrew McCarthy, Jonathan Silverman and Terry Kiser return for writer-director Robert Klane. (TriStar)

JULY 16

For a Lost Soldier. A film set during World War II about a young boy’s sexual awakening, based on an autobiographical novel by choreographer Rudi van Dantzig. Starring Maarten Smit, Andrew Kelley and Jeroen Krabbe. Directed by Roeland Kerbosch. (Strand Releasing)

Hocus Pocus. Something wickedly funny this way comes: Three 17th- Century witches (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy) return to modern-day Salem, Mass., to wreak havoc among the kids. Directed by Kenny Ortega.(Walt Disney Pictures)

The Thing Called Love. Three young hopefuls come to Nashville and juggle budding country music careers and love. Starring River Phoenix, Samantha Mathis and Dermot Mulroney. Directed by Peter Bogdanovich. (Paramount)

True Romance. A newly wed couple flee Detroit with a suitcase full of mob booty and head for L.A. where they tangle with the mob and the police. Starring Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette. Written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Tony Scott. (Warner Bros.)

JULY 23

Coneheads. On their way to conquer Earth, Beldar and Prymaat Conehead make a wrong turn at Machu Picchu and end up in Lake Michigan. Stranded, they make their way to Paramus, N.J., to take up your normal everyday suburban life. Starring Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, Larraine Newman, Michelle Burke and Michael McKean. Directed by Steve Barron. (Paramount)

For Love or Money. Michael J. Fox is a concierge at a snooty Manhattan hotel who handles the rich and the super rich with a deft hand, including one man’s mistress, while dreaming of the day he can own his own place. Also starring Gabrielle Anwar, Michael Tucker, Anthony Higgins and Bob Balaban. Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. (Universal)

Poetic Justice. John Singleton directs Janet Jackson as Justice, a hairdresser and recluse who creates poetry to help cope with a violent episode in her past. Rapper Tupac Shakur co-stars as her companion on a trip from South-Central L.A. to Oakland. (Columbia)

Stakeout II. Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez return as the Seattle detective partners who this time must pose as a “family” along with Rosie O’Donnell as an assistant D.A. to help locate a witness in a mob trial in an upscale neighborhood. Directed by John Badham. (Touchstone)

Tom and Jerry. That famous animated cat and mouse duo find their home has been destroyed in a demolition accident and meet up with adventures and new friends as they search for a new home. With the voices of Richard Kind, Dana Hill, Charlotte Rae, Tony Jay, Henry Gibson and Rip Taylor. (Miramax)

JULY 30

Josh and S.A.M. The acronym is for “Strategically Altered Mutant,” and that’s what 12-year-old Josh has persuaded his younger brother Sam he is, a fantasy that sustains them in their unhappy home life. The boys use this fantasy to keep them going as they make a cross-country odyssey. Starring Jacob Tierney, Noah Fleiss and Martha Plimpton. Billy Weber directs. (Columbia)

Rising Sun. Michael Crichton Part II: Detectives Sean Connery and Wesley Snipes investigate the murder of a young woman found in the offices of a large Japanese corporation amid escalating prickliness between the United States and Japan. Starring Harvey Keitel, Kevin Anderson, Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa, Mako and Tia Carrere. Directed by Philip Kaufman. (Fox)

Surf Ninjas. Two brothers are surprised to learn they are princes of a South Sea island, where they help overthrow the dastardly Col. Chi with their surfing and martial arts skills. Neal Israel directs Ernie Reyes Jr., Leslie Nielsen, Tone Loc and Rob Schneider. (New Line)

JULY UNSCHEDULED

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

Road Scholar. Andrei Codrescu, a National Public Radio commentator and poet, created a documentary on America, going on the road to come to grips with his cultural identity, half Romanian and half American. (Samuel Goldwyn Co.)

AUGUST 6

The Fugitive. Harrison Ford takes on the role of Dr. Richard Kimble, a man accused and convicted of his wife’s murder. A stroke of luck sets him free on his way to the penitentiary and he goes on an obsessive search for a one-armed man he feels did the deed. But a deputy U.S. marshal (Tommy Lee Jones) is hot on his trail. Directed by Andrew Davis. (Warner Bros.)

Heart and Souls. Four recently departed souls receive one last chance to redeem their earthly existences. Ron Underwood directs Robert Downey Jr., David Paymer, Charles Grodin, Alfre Woodard, Kyra Sedgwick, Tom Sizemore and Elizabeth Shue. (Universal)

Jamon, Jamon. A story of two lovers expecting a baby and planning a marriage but the young man’s wealthy mother wants nothing to do with her and tries to get the sexiest man in town, a curer of hams, to break them up. Starring Penelope Cruz, Stafania Sandrelli and Javier Bardem. Directed by Bigas Luna. (Academy Releasing)

The Meteor Man. Robert Townsend is an inner city school teacher, your basic nice guy with a fear of heights, who becomes the be-caped hero “Meteor Man” when hit by a strange emerald meteor. Townsend not only stars, he writes and directs this comedy, which also features Bill Cosby, Marla Gibbs, Frank Gorshin, Robert Guillaume, Sinbad and Luther Vandross. (MGM)

So I Married an Axe Murderer. Mike Myers is a confirmed bachelor who softens his stance when he meets a woman who may or may not have another side. Nancy Travis also stars for director Thomas Schlamme. (TriStar)

AUGUST 13

Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday. But will he stay there? Series originator Sean S. Cunningham returns to produce what is billed as the conclusion to this 13-year old maniac killer. Kane Hodder stars as Jason for director Adam Marcus. (New Line)

Johnny Zombie. Bob Balaban directs this comedy about a young man who’s killed before his much-anticipated prom night. But death is no impediment and back he comes, horrified to discover he’ll decompose on his date unless he feasts on living flesh. Starring Andrew Lowery, Traci Lind, Edward Herrmann, Mary Beth Hurt and Cloris Leachman. (Touchstone)

King of the Hill. Steven Soderbergh directs this story of a St. Louis 12-year-old who by sure wit and gumption survives the down-and-out life in a 1930s rundown hotel. Adapted by Soderbergh from A. E. Hotchner’s memoirs and starring Jeroen Krabbe, Lisa Eichhorn, Elizabeth McGovern and Spalding Gray. (Gramercy Pictures)

Needful Things. This adaptation of a Stephen King novel follows an outwardly peaceful stranger who opens an antique shop in a New England village. Ed Harris, Bonnie Bedelia, Max Von Sydow, Amanda Plummer and J.T. Walsh star for director Fraser Heston. (Columbia)

AUGUST 20

Calendar Girl. In 1962, three friends set out for Hollywood from their small Nevada town to meet Marilyn Monroe. Jason Priestley stars, John Whitesell directs. Penny Marshall is executive producer. (Columbia)

Manhattan Murder Mystery. Woody Allen’s latest film, a suspense comedy shrouded in the usual pre-release lack of plot details, stars Allen, Diane Keaton, Alan Alda and Anjelica Huston. (TriStar)

The Man Without a Face. Mel Gibson stars in and directs a film about a scarred recluse in a small Maine town befriended by a 12-year-old boy (Nick Stahl) who also feels he’s an outsider. (Warner Bros.)

Mr. Nanny. Hulk Hogan plays nanny to kids who try to get attention from their workaholic dad. Also starring Sherman Hemsley, Austin Pendleton and David Johansen. Directed by Michael Gottlieb. (New Line)

AUGUST 27

The Ballad of Little Jo. After bearing a child out of wedlock, Josephine Monaghan moves out West where she assumes a male identity. Suzy Amis stars for writer-director Maggie Greenwald. (Fine Line)

Blake Edwards’ Son of the Pink Panther. Roberto Benigni stars as the hitherto unknown son of Inspector Clouseau who gets involved in the search for a lost princess. Also starring Herbert Lom, Burt Kwouk and Debrah Farentino. (MGM)

Father Hood. Patrick Swayze, a petty criminal whose three kids have been out of sight and out of mind in a foster home, finds himself an active dad when the mistreated kids burst back into his life and the foursome hit the road to a new life. Directed by Darrel James Roodt. (Hollywood Pictures)

Kalifornia. A young couple on a trip is joined by a sociopathic killer who takes them on a tour of historic murder sites. Dominic Sena directs Brad Pitt and Juliette Lewis. (Gramercy)

AUGUST UNSCHEDULED

Airborne. A California teen way into Rollerblading is sent to live with his hopelessly out of touch aunt, uncle and cousin in Cincinnati while his parents go to Australia. Starring Shane McDermott, Seth Green, Brittany Powell and Chris Conrad. Directed by Rob Bowman. (Warner Bros.)

Amongst Friends. A film about some upper-middle-class friends from the Five Towns of Long Island who get into crime out of boredom, emulating the gangsters they’ve seen in movies. Directed by Rob Weiss. (Fine Line)

Baraka. A 70-millimeter film shot in 24 countries about the Earth’s evolution, man’s interconnectedness and his impact on the world he inhabits. The director of photography is Ron Fricke, from a concept by Fricke, Mark Magidson and Bob Green. (Samuel Goldwyn Co.)

Being at Home With Claude. A male prostitute in Montreal kills his lover and turns himself into the police who subsequently find him reticent about motives and facts. Starring Roy Dupuis and Jacques Godin. Directed by Jean Beaudin. (Strand Releasing)

Betty. A Claude Chabrol film based on a Georges Simenon novel about a woman who leaves Paris and ends up drunk in a Versailles bar where she finds a sympathetic listener in a woman whose lover owns the place. Starring Marie Trintignant and Stephane Audran. (MK2 Productions)

House of Angels. The story of a streetwise young Swedish woman who buys a country house to the great distrust of the local villagers. Starring Helena Bergstrom, Rikard Wolff and Sven Wollter. Directed by Colin Nutley. (Sony Classics)

Into the West. Mike Newell directs a Jim Sheridan script in which two young children steal a horse, pursued by the police and others. With Gabriel Byrne and Ellen Barkin; filmed in Ireland. (Miramax)

Man’s Best Friend. A bionically altered killing machine dog accidentally gets loose from the facility that created him when a TV reporter comes to do a story. Starring Ally Sheedy and Lance Henriksen. Directed by John Lafia. (New Line)

Mother’s Boys. Jamie Lee Curtis plays a mom who left her three sons but abruptly returns three years later to kill her husband and his lover. Starring Peter Gallagher Joanne Whalley-Kilmer Vanessa Redgrave. Directed by Yves Simoneau. (Miramax)

Only the Strong. A young army discharge (martial arts champ Mark Dacascos) returns to his Miami high school to turn the lives of 12 tough students around as he teaches them Capoeira (a Brazilian martial arts form). Directed by Sheldon Lettich. (Fox)

Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Mel Brooks’ spoof of the Sherwood Forest legend and his very merry men, which stars Cary Elwes, as the Head Man in Tights as well as Richard Lewis, Roger Rees, Tracey Ullman and Isaac Hayes. (Fox)

Ruby Cairo. Andie McDowell is a peripatetic L.A. housewife who tries to get to the bottom of her husband’s mysterious death in a Mexico plane crash, with the help of doctor Liam Neeson. Directed by Graeme Clifford. (Miramax)

The Secret Garden. The classic children’s tale of the lonely orphan girl taken in by her uncle, who resides in a gloomy British manor house. But an overgrown walled garden on the grounds provide unexpected happiness and new friends. Agnieszka Holland directs; Maggie Smith and Kate Maberly star. (Warner Bros.)

Sure Fire. A story about an overbearing father and his relationship with his son and its tragic consequences. Starring Tom Blair and Robert Ernst. Directed Jon Jost. (Strand Releasing)

The Wedding Banquet. A comedic look at modern sexual and social values versus the Old World traditions by filmmaker Ang Lee. Starring Winston Chao, May Chin and Mitchell Lichtenstein. (Samuel Goldwyn Co.)