SNEAKS 94 : Spring

Spring can bring a break away hit to the box office. This year, stay tuned for Ron Howard’s “The Paper,” in which Michael Keaton tries to bring a Pulitzer-caliber story to print; “The Cowboy Way,” in which transplanted cowpokes Woody Harrelson and Kiefer Sutherland set up camp--in Central Park; “Angie,” featuring Geena Davis as an unmarried Italian American woman who decides to have her baby out of wedlock, and the latest from Joel and Ethan Coen, “The Hudsucker Proxy,” sure to be an off-kilter look at corporate America.

Above the Rim. Duane Martin plays a high-school basketball standout who has a dilemma: Follow the tutelage of a decent man who can get him up to the pro ranks, or take the quick fix and hit the jackpot via a drug dealer (played by Tupac Shakur). (New Line)

Across the Moon. Christina Applegate resides in Beverly Hills, Elizabeth Pena in Los Angeles’ East Side, but they have one significant thing to share: Their fellas are serving time at a prison in the desert, and their lives converge while visiting them. Lisa Gottlieb directs. (Hemdale)

Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer. Documentarian Nick Broomfield brings us a closer look at America’s first female serial killer. Wuornos confessed to killing seven men in 1989 and 1990. (Strand)

Angie. Geena Davis plays funny, irreverent Angie Scacciapensieri, an Italian-American woman who decides to have her baby outside of marriage. The Brooklyn neighborhood gossip mill shifts into high gear. Martha Coolidge directs; Stephen Rea co-stars. (Hollywood/Caravan)

Backbeat. The Fab Four once numbered five, and this film delves into the relationship between John Lennon and bassist Stu Sutcliffe. They were inseparable during the 1960 Hamburg period, but Stu would soon drift off with a local artist (and shortly after die of a cerebral hemorrhage). Stephen Dorff (as Stu), Sheryl Lee and Ian Hart star. (Gramercy)

Bad Girls. This follows the tale of four women of the Old West who take to gunslinging to win their money back. Madeleine Stowe, Mary Stuart Masterson, Andie MacDowell and Drew Barrymore brook no back talk. Jonathan Kaplan directs. (Fox)

Blue Sky. The late Tony Richardson’s last directorial effort is a powerful drama set among a tempestuous military family headed by Jessica Lange and Tommy Lee Jones. Lange’s erratic and scandalous behavior is stripping some of the luster off her husband’s career. (Orion)

Brainscan. Edward Furlong continues his post-”T2” career as a virtual reality devotee who discovers that the brutal murders he indulges in may not come under the “fantasy” category at all. Frank Langella also stars. (Triumph)

Bruce Brown’s The Endless Summer II. Brown narrates and directs this look for the perfect wave, ‘90s style. Robert (Wingnut) Weaver and Pat O’Connell span the globe with their boards, surfing Australia, Hawaii, Fiji and Bali. Nice work if you can get it. (New Line)

Camilla. When Bridget Fonda heads down to Georgia with her hubby for a well-deserved vacation, she becomes fascinated by an eccentric old woman (Jessica Tandy). So enthralled, it seems, that they soon hit the road together in a rickety old Volkswagen Beetle. (Miramax)

The Chase. Charlie Sheen finds himself on the run as a falsely convicted bank robber, so he grabs heiress Kristy Swanson to shield him from apprehension. The high-speed run for the Mexican border should provide a few thrills. (Fox)

Chasers. These are the Navy’s equivalent to MPs, and Tom Berenger plays one of them. His assignment: transport a stubborn prisoner (in the form of onetime Playboy centerfold Erika Eleniak) back to the base before she finds additional trouble. Dennis Hopper directs. (Warner Bros.)

China Moon. Ed Harris is an honest small-town detective who suddenly finds himself in a relationship with Madeleine Stowe. But Stowe is a troubled woman who happens to be wed to a rich and abusive pillar of the community, and soon Harris is drawn into a dangerous triangle. Noted cinematographer John Bailey directs. (Orion)

Clean Slate. Director Mick Jackson follows his “The Bodyguard” blockbuster with this comedy starring Dana Carvey as a private eye. The title refers to Carvey’s suffering from a special form of amnesia, one that causes each day to be literally the first day of the rest of his life. James Earl Jones and Kevin Pollak also star. (MGM)

Clifford. This comedy, another dusted-off-the-shelf Orion bankruptcy casualty, stars Martin Short as a pesky 10-year-old left in the care of a bachelor uncle. Charles Grodin plays Uncle Martin, who uses this golden opportunity to impress fiancee Mary Steenburgen. Things, um, don’t go very well. (Orion)

Color of Night. Unconventional therapist Bruce Willis decides to head to L.A. after witnessing a patient leap to her death. When his colleague and pal is stalked and stabbed to death, Willis suspects a member of his deceased friend’s therapy group. You guessed it: Willis takes over the sessions and gives this fiend his/her due. Richard Rush directs. (Hollywood)

Cop Tips Waitress $2M. Nicolas Cage is the cop and Bridget Fonda the broke waitress who’s promised a lottery ticket by the admiring man in blue. Rosie Perez plays Cage’s materialistic wife, and she’s incensed to learn that her husband has given away a fortune. Andrew Bergman directs. (TriStar)

Cops and Robbersons. Chevy Chase and movie wife Dianne Wiest’s family, the Robbersons, are thrown for a loop when a gruff, no-nonsense cop played by Jack Palance moves in next door to stake out a neighbor. Palance has enough on his plate with this mobster he’s trying to nail, but Chase and Co. make things much worse. Michael Ritchie directs. (TriStar)

Corrina, Corrina. Ray Liotta plays a widower in the 1950s who enlists the help of a housekeeper to care for his home and charming 7-year-old. Whoopi Goldberg plays the woman who comes into their lives. Jessie Nelson writes and directs. (New Line)

The Cowboy Way. Woody Harrelson and Kiefer Sutherland are a couple of rodeo cowpokes from New Mexico who wind up in Manhattan on a search for a missing buddy. Well, they’ve never seen anything like this, and pretty soon New York starts feeling the same way about them. (Universal)

Cronos. Winner of nine Ariel de Oros, the Mexican equivalent of the Oscar (including picture and director). This Gothic horror tale centers on the Cronos Device, which bestows eternal life upon its owner, and we’ll see things people do to acquire it. Federico Luppi and Ron Perlman star. Spanish with English subtitles. (October)

Desperate Remedies. Jennifer Ward-Lealand is a lovely woman who lives with a female companion in a fictional 1860s New Zealand town. She has a sister who’s addicted to opium, so she recruits a handsome immigrant to help her with her problem. This situation turns into a most unusual love triangle. (Miramax)

De Eso No Se Habla. Marcello Mastroianni is an eligible older bachelor who falls desperately in love with the daughter of the community’s long-widowed shopkeeper. It’s a love story with a twist. Spanish with English subtitles. (Sony Pictures Classics)

Dream Lover. Newly divorced architect James Spader meets and falls for the mysterious Lena. Madchen Amick plays the femme fatale who effortlessly draws this innocent man into her dark world. Screenwriter Nicholas Kazan (“Reversal of Fortune”) makes his directing debut. (Gramercy)

Erotique. Fasten your seat belts for a quartet of shorts long on eroticism. Clara Law, Monika Treut, Ana Maria Magalhaes and Lizzie Borden are the directors, with Priscilla Barnes starring in Treut’s segment. Exotic locales provide backdrops for this journey into the female sexual psyche. (Group 1)

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues. Director Gus Van Sant and Fine Line Features thought it best to move back the release date to fine-tune this quirky movie originally scheduled out late last year. It’s based on Tom Robbins’ novel, with Uma Thurman as big-thumbed cowgirl Sissy Hankshaw on a psychedelic journey to the West. Features an eccentric cast and k. d. lang soundtrack. (Fine Line)

The Favor. Harley Jane Kozak and Elizabeth McGovern are best pals, with Bill Pullman the latter’s preoccupied math-professor husband, in this romantic comedy that subjects the women’s friendship to the ultimate test. Can lust and loyalty be compatible? Donald Petrie directs. (Orion)

The Films of Satyajit Ray. Eight restored works by the late Indian director are offered thanks to a collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions. Ray’s famed “Apu Trilogy” of the mid- to late-’50s is included. (Sony Pictures Classics)

Four Weddings and a Funeral. “Enchanted April’s” Mike Newell directs this romantic comedy of a young bachelor (Hugh Grant) who flits about the British social circuit, attending just about every wedding in town but his own. Then Yank Andie MacDowell comes along. . . . (Gramercy)

Fresh. The title character’s a 12-year-old who excels in school and maintains a closeness with his Brooklyn family but also runs drugs for local kingpin Giancarlo Esposito. Will it be college or a coffin? With Samuel L. Jackson and Sean Nelson. (Miramax)

A Good Man in Africa. Just tell Sean Connery his character plays golf, and he’s in. Bruce Beresford directs Connery (as a doctor) and Colin Friels as a reluctant diplomat in this story of a fellow who is assigned the post at a newly independent African state. He wants out, but a political imbroglio inspires him to see out his duties. Louis Gossett Jr. and John Lithgow also star. (Gramercy)

Greedy. Michael J. Fox plays a long-lost nephew of Kirk Douglas in this comedy of avarice from director Jonathan Lynn (“My Cousin Vinny”). Turns out that rich, soon-to-expire Kirk has taken on a young “nurse,” and the family has recruited Fox to make sure this outsider doesn’t bilk them out of his vast fortunes. (Universal)

Guarding Tess. Shirley MacLaine is a former First Lady now widowed 10 years. She’s beloved by the masses despite her cantankerous nature, and Secret Service agent Nicolas Cage has more than a handful keeping her safe and sound. (TriStar)

Hans Christian Andersen’s Thumbelina. Animator Don Bluth presents the classic tale of a bite-sized little dancer born to parents of normal stature. She’s lonely, but soon a fairy prince will make her feel 10 feet tall. Voices include Charo, Gilbert Gottfried, June Foray and John Hurt. (Warner Bros.)

Holy Matrimony. Patricia Arquette stars for director Leonard Nimoy as a sexy, street-smart woman in trouble with police. She finds unlikely refuge in the strict religious colony of the Hutterites. Zeke, a teen-age boy in the sheltered sect, becomes her husband so brace yourself for the requisite high jinks. (Hollywood)

The Hudsucker Proxy. If you’re a Joel and Ethan Coen fan, you’ve been patiently waiting for this abstract look at big business and corporate greed. Tim Robbins rises smoothly from mail room to executive suite, blissfully unaware he’s the pawn in a nefarious scheme. Jennifer Jason Leigh and Paul Newman also star; Joel Coen directs. (Warner Bros.)

The Inkwell. Matty Rich directs this story of a shy African American teen reluctantly dragged up with the folks to Martha’s Vineyard to stay with wealthy, albiet overbearing, relatives. Ironically, the change of scenery does him a world of good. Larenz Tate stars. (Touchstone)

The Innocent. Campbell Scott, Anthony Hopkins and Isabella Rossellini star for director John Schlesinger in a story set just after World War II. Scott is sent over to Germany on a hush-hush U.S.-British intelligence operation but falls for Berliner Rossellini. Friend and colleague Hopkins is not thrilled. (Miramax)

It’s Pat. Julia Sweeney brings her lovable, one-gender-fits-all “Saturday Night Live” character to the wide screen. Pat has a crummy job, but a person by the name of Chris has burst into . . . his or her life. Pat’s smitten and wants to get married, but conjugal nirvana may have to wait till Pat figures out who’s what. (Touchstone)

Jimmy Hollywood. Barry Levinson produces, directs and writes the saga of Jimmy Alto, as played by Oscar winner Joe Pesci. Actor Jimmy hangs around the imposing gates of movie studios, hoping to be invited in for a crack at fame. Christian Slater’s his gullible but weird pal. (Paramount)

La Scorta. A political thriller about an Italian magistrate investigating the Mafia and the attendant corruption in government did very well in its native country. In Italian with English subtitles. Claudio Amendola stars. (First Look)

Leprechaun 2. Warwick Davis reprises his role as the vindictive little green one who comes through time to avenge those who deprived him of wedded bliss exactly 1,000 years ago. (Trimark)

Les Visiteurs. This time-travelling comedy, hugely successful in France, finds a good knight and his serf catapulted from medieval times to modern-day France. (Miramax)

Lightning Jack. Paul Hogan writes and stars in this comedy Western (financed through an Australian stock offering) about an outlaw who appears to be rougher and tougher than he actually is. Jack grabs mute store clerk Cuba Gooding Jr. as hostage, but soon they’re an unlikely pair on a tear. Beverly D’Angelo also stars for director Simon Wincer. (Savoy)

Little Buddha. Bernardo Bertolucci’s latest epic concerns a modern American family whose small boy is believed to be the reincarnation of the founder of Buddhism. Expect to see relevant 6th-Century events. With performances from Keanu Reeves, Chris Isaak and Bridget Fonda. (Miramax)

Lulu. Hot sauce runs through the veins of “Jamon, Jamon” director Bigas Luna. In this, his latest, Francesca Neri is Lulu, the young girl whose hunger for sexual discovery takes her into the most dangerous of worlds. (Academy)

Major League II. Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen and others (no Wesley Snipes, alas) return in this sequel that finds the recently triumphant Cleveland Indians back in the doldrums. Their off-season celebrations have rendered them portly, so Berenger is talked into coaching them as they defend their title. Director David Ward returns. (Warner Bros.)

Maverick. Mel Gibson stars for director Richard Donner as the charming con man and card player extraordinaire who meets his match in the spirited Jodie Foster. James Garner, TV’s original Maverick, plays an enigmatic lawman who wants some of those poker riches for himself. William Goldman wrote it. (Warner Bros.)

The Mighty Ducks 2. If the success of the original could spawn a hockey franchise , then you certainly would expect this. Emilio Estevez returns to coach these quackers, who this time aspire to win the World Pee Wee Olympics. Will training in glitzy L.A. distract these kids? (Walt Disney)

Monkey Trouble. Harvey Keitel is the con artist who has taught a darling little simian how to excel as a pickpocket. Thora Birch later adopts the animal, and adventure ensues when Keitel attempts to retrieve his former partner in crime. Mimi Rogers co-stars; Franco Amurri directs. (New Line)

Mother’s Boys. Jamie Lee Curtis heads this potent cast in the tale of a mom who abandons all three of her boys, only to return three years later to wreak torment on her husband. Peter Gallagher plays the poor guy, Joanne Whalley-Kilmer his new love and Vanessa Redgrave is Curtis’ concerned mother. (Miramax)

The Myth of the White Wolf, the Further Adventures of White Fang. “thirtysomething’s” Ken Olin directs, with Scott Bairstow in place of Ethan Hawke as Fang’s twentysomething owner. This trip out, Bairstow heads out on a wilderness adventure downriver, only to be separated from his trusty half-wolf, half-dog companion. Lily, a lovely Native American woman, makes things better. (Walt Disney)

Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult. Director David Zucker has taken a powder, but Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, George Kennedy and O. J. Simpson are back for more yuks. Actually, Zucker remains involved as a co-producer and co-author, but Peter Segal takes the directing reins on “33 1/3.” And toss in Fred Ward as a terrorist. (Paramount)

Naked in New York. Eric Stoltz is an Ivy League college grad who tries his best to maintain a torrid love life while also making the transition into the real world. The ensemble piece also stars Tony Curtis, Mary-Louise Parker, Timothy Dalton and Ralph Macchio. (Fine Line)

November Men. James Andronica stars in this twisting tale surrounding the assassination of the president. When a filmmaker becomes obsessed over the staging of the ultimate murder, he actually becomes part of the Chief of Staff’s circle. (Arrow)

Oh Mary This London. Jason Barry heads the cast of newcomers in this film, the title of which is based on a well-known Irish ballad. It’s the offbeat saga of three Irish youths trying their best to survive the tough London streets. (Samuel Goldwyn Co.)

The Paper. Michael Keaton and director Ron Howard reunite for this tale of the competitive world of big-city newspapers. Editor Keaton is about to break a Pulitzer-caliber story, but brutal managing editor Glenn Close and very pregnant wife Marisa Tomei are making his deadline all but unmeetable. Robert Duvall and Randy Quaid also star. (Universal)

PCU. An “Animal House” for the ‘90s, this comedy lampooning political correctness takes place at Port Chester University. Jeremy Piven, Megan Ward and “SNL’s” David Spade star in the tale of a rebellious dorm that flies in the face of PC. Actor Hart Bochner directs. (Fox)

A Place in the World. This former Uruguayan Academy Award foreign language film entry (later disqualified by the Academy in a dispute over its country of origin) centers on a young boy and his parents who struggle to make the world a better place for him. Spanish with English subtitles. (First Look)

The Princess and the Goblin. This animated fairy tale, with voices by Claire Bloom and Joss Ackland, is inspired by the George MacDonald classic. The princess has long been secure in her castle, but now the evil goblins have come to take over the kingdom. (Hemdale)

The Prison Colony. It’s the year 2022, and Ray Liotta is a Marine captain who is convicted and zipped off to a state-of-the-art maximum security prison. A quarrel with the warden gets him exiled to a special area where the baddest offenders are left to die, and he’s not having any of it. (Savoy)

Rapa Nui. Kevin Reynolds directs this tale of man vs. man during the late 17th Century on Easter Island. Jason Scott Lee and Esai Morales, once childhood friends, are now bitter foes, as they covet the same woman. They’ll settle things in a grueling test called the Birdman ritual. (Warner Bros.)

The Ref. In-your-face comic Denis Leary plays a jewel thief who kidnaps a couple on Christmas Eve only to be stuck there for the annual holiday dinner. Kevin Spacey and Judy Davis are the feuding pair in this comedy that includes the typically annoying in-laws and such. (Touchstone)

Savage Land. Corbin Bernsen leads the way in this detailed look at the trend by America’s pioneers to relocate westward circa 1870. When one family’s stagecoach is attacked by bandits, they have a particularly hard time making the trek. Dean Hamilton directs-writes-produces. (Hemdale)

Serial Mom. Director-writer John Waters (who better?) serves up this twisted look at family life in America. Kathleen Turner is the title character, outwardly the exemplary matriarch of the perfect suburban family. Inwardly, she’s a different story. (Savoy)

Sirens. Sam Neill plays Norman Lindsey, an Australian artist whose erotic works provoked much press back in the ‘30s. Hugh Grant is the English clergyman who visits him, hoping to dissuade the bohemian artist from exhibiting his steamy works. Grant’s wife tags along, and Lindsey finds her palette-able, you might say. John Duigan directs. (Miramax)

Sleep With Me. This romantic comedy ensemble piece was filmed through a series of parties and social get-togethers, with Eric Stoltz, Meg Tilly and Craig Sheffer as the main pieces. From a wedding rehearsal to the guys’ poker night, all aspects of life will fall in place. Rory Kelly directs. (Domestic distribution pending/August Ent. handles foreign)

The Slingshot. The passion between a Swedish Socialist man and a Russian Jewish woman has produced Roland, by now a plucky 12-year-old. This film, based on Roland Schutt’s autobiography, chronicles Roland’s deftness in facing various conflicts--family and otherwise. Ake Sandgren writes-directs; Jesper Salen stars. Swedish with English subtitles. (Sony Pictures Classics)

The Stoned Age. It’s the late ‘70s, and the typical suburban teen-age fella is out for exactly three things: good-lookin’ girls, fast cars, heavy metal and a great time. OK, so their math isn’t so good. Michael Kopelow, Bradford Tatum star; James Melkonian directs. (Trimark)

Surviving the Game. A small group of hunters track human prey (in the form of Ice-T) in the Pacific Northwest. What they’ll painfully learn is that their quarry will fashion his street smarts into an effective method of retribution. Rutger Hauer and F. Murray Abraham star; Ernest Dickerson directs. (New Line)

Suture. Scott McGehee and David Siegel have written, produced and directed a hypnotic thriller and have decided to shoot it in black-and-white. Steven Soderbergh exec-produces this strange one, boasting of two “lookalikes” who aren’t similar at all, something only the audience is aware of. Dennis Haysbert stars. (Samuel Goldwyn Co.)

A Tale of Winter. Felicie enjoyed a sizzly affair with Charles almost four years ago, but gave him a wrong address when they split up. She now raises their daughter and juggles two other men, but still dreams of Charles on a daily basis. Eric Rohmer directs; Charlotte Very stars. French with English subtitles. (MK2)

That’s Entertainment III. Gene Kelly, Lena Horne, Ann Miller and Mickey Rooney are just a few of the folks to take us back to the Golden Age of Hollywood musicals. Footage of Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra and more courtesy of producers-editors Bud Friedgen and Michael J. Sheridan. (MGM)

Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould. The late, great and eccentric pianist is immortalized in this unique collection of vignettes, all choregraphed to Bach’s “Goldberg Variations.” We’ll follow Gould’s life from a precocious 4 to his too-early death at 50. Colm Feore stars; Francois Girard directs. (Samuel Goldwyn Co.)

Trial by Jury. Joanne Whalley-Kilmer sits on the jury in the murder trial of New York’s most feared mobster. When the mob attempts to get her name in the paper (as in the obituary column), prosecuting attorney Gabriel Byrne steps up his case. Heywood Gould directs; William Hurt and Armand Assante co-star. (Warner Bros.)

3 Ninjas Kick Back. The sequel to “3 Ninjas” finds these three young and deadly American dudes in Japan. New adventures await them, and Grandpa gets into the fray, battling an old adversary. Victor Wong stars; Charles T. Kanganis directs. (TriStar)

Threesome. Lara Flynn Boyle, Stephen Baldwin and Josh Charles propel this story fashioned from a love triangle, with a contemporary mood. Thrown together as college roommates, the three develop passions for one another. Andrew Fleming directs. (TriStar)

Trading Mom. Sissy Spacek and Maureen Stapleton star in a family film of three kids who’ve had enough. . . . They want a new mom! When they cast a magical spell, she’s gone, but when the trio goes shopping for a new one, they find out the perfect mom just doesn’t exist. Tia Brelis directs. (Trimark)

When a Man Loves a Woman. Andy Garcia is the man, Meg Ryan the woman in this family drama concerning a married couple grappling with alcoholism, which threatens their happiness. Luis Mandoki directs. (Touchstone)

Widow’s Peak. Joan Plowright and Mia Farrow star in this one set in a small Irish lakeside town circa the mid-1920s. Plowright’s a snappy old woman and Farrow the demure younger one who begins to grow vicious when new arrival Natasha Richardson takes an interest in the local dentist. John Irvin directs. (Fine Line)

With Honors. “Truth or Dare’s” Alek Keshishian attempts to make a fictional feature, this one focusing on a group of Harvard residents who befriend an outspoken bum played by Joe Pesci. Pesci has somehow taken possession of one student’s senior thesis paper, and he parlays that to the hilt. Brendan Fraser, Moira Kelly co-star.

Wolf. Jack Nicholson is Will Randall, a Manhattan book editor who encounters an unusual beast while driving aimlessly one snowy night. The creature, very much alive, nips Randall on the wrist before it scampers off. This book editor will never be the same. Michelle Pfeiffer also stars for director Mike Nichols. (Columbia)

Younger and Younger. “Bagdad Cafe’s” Percy Adlon directs Donald Sutherland and Lolita Davidovich. Sutherland is Glendale’s self-storage czar and an inveterate womanizer whose bedraggled and long-ignored wife just ups and dies. She soon appears to him--each time younger and more beautiful--until he realizes what he’s lost. (Academy)

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