SNEAKS ’96 : OPENING SOON : Big stars like Travolta, Demi and Julia aren’t waiting for summer; neither are arty types like Kenneth Branagh and John Dahl. So why should we?

Angela. In this debut by writer-director Rebecca Miller (daughter of Arthur), religious mysteries become two young sisters’ key to the emotional life of their erratic mother. (Tree Farm)

Angels & Insects. Entomologist Mark Rylance is plunged into a web of secrets when he returns to England from his research in South America and marries Patsy Kensit. (Samuel Goldwyn Co.)

Anne Frank Remembered. In this first documentary to have the cooperation of the Anne Frank House, Glenn Close reads excerpts, Kenneth Branagh narrates. (Sony Classics)

Antonia’s Line. Dutch filmmaker Marleen Gorris directs this generations-spanning saga focusing on the life of a formidable woman and her female descendants. (First Look)

Beautiful Girls. Ted Demme directs an ensemble effort about five friends at their 10-year high school reunion. Matt Dillon, Timothy Hutton, Rosie O’Donnell, Mira Sorvino and Uma Thurman star. (Miramax)

Bed of Roses. Workaholic investment banker Mary Stuart Masterson is courted by secret admirer Christian Slater in this New York romance. (New Line)

Before and After. Ted Tally (“Silence of the Lambs”) based his script on Rosellen Brown’s novel about a family plunged into turmoil when the son is accused of murder. Liam Neeson, Meryl Streep and Edward Furlong star for director Barbet Schroeder. (Hollywood/Caravan)

Big Bully. When they were school kids, Rick Moranis and Tom Arnold were victim and tormentor. When they meet again as adult dads, well, there they go again. (Warner Bros.)

Black Sheep. Director Penelope Spheeris oversees the antics of Chris Farley and David Spade, as a gubernatorial candidate’s brother and the campaign worker assigned to keep him out of trouble. (Paramount)

Bottle Rocket. Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson and Bob Musgrave are inept criminals in Wes Anderson’s story of friendship, honor and duty. James Caan puts in an appearance. (Columbia)

Broken Arrow. No, it’s not another TV series adaptation. The title is code for a lost nuclear weapon, and that’s what sends John Travolta and Christian Slater into a race orchestrated by action master John Woo. (Fox)

Chungking Express. Two Hong Kong cops are dumped by their girlfriends, setting into motion a ride through the city that shifts wildly from noir to comedy. (Rolling Thunder/Miramax)

City Hall. Al Pacino is a New York mayor whose presidential ambitions are complicated by a mobster-police shootout. Bridget Fonda and John Cusack co-star for director Harold Becker.(Columbia/Castle Rock)

Frisk. This experimental narrative encompasses dark fantasies, a serial killer, sexual compulsion and the effect of media images on sexual responses. (Strand)

Happy Gilmore. Adam Sandler has a great slap shot, but the guy can’t skate--hey, maybe pro golf is his game. “Billy Madison” writers Sandler and Tim Herlihy re-team. (Universal)

Hate (La Haine). The black-and-white format is appropriate for a film examining racism and police brutality in contemporary France. (Gramercy)

Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madame. Documentarian Nick Broomfield (“Aileen Wournos: The Selling of a Serial Killer”) here finds a tawdry tale of extortion and betrayal. (In Pictures)

The Juror. Single mom Demi Moore confronts threats to her family when she’s impaneled at a mobster’s trial. Alec Baldwin co-stars. (Columbia)

Mary Reilly. Julia Roberts is an innocent maid to John Malkovich’s Dr. Jekyll. Director Stephen Frears and scribe Christopher Hampton see that Jekyll’s transformations into “assistant” Hyde are hideous fun. (TriStar)

A Midwinter’s Tale. Writer-director Kenneth Branagh’s paean to acting concerns an actor (Michael Maloney), his agent (Joan Collins) and a cast of eccentrics trying to present “Hamlet.” (Sony Classics)

Mr. Wrong. Bill Pullman is exactly that for Ellen DeGeneres, a talk show producer who tries to end her new relationship, with calamitous results. (Touchstone)

Muppet Treasure Island. Avast! It’s Tim Curry as Long John Silver, dueling with Captain Smollett (Kermit the Frog), who in turn must deal with the queen of the wart hogs (Miss Piggy) and the evil boar Spa’am. (Walt Disney)

My Life and Times With Antonin Artaud. Director Gerard Mordillat explores the relationship between young poet Jacques Prevel and avant-garde writer and playwright Antonin Artaud. (Leisure Time Features)

The Neon Bible. The coming-of-age story of a boy (Jacob Tierney) in a Southern town whose life is transformed by the arrival of his nightclub singer aunt (Gena Rowlands). (Strand)

Nobody Loves Me. German writer-director Doris Dorrie (“Men”) looks at the fitful love life of a lonely woman (Maria Schrader). (Cinepix)

Once Upon a Time . . . When We Were Colored. Tim Reid directs Al Freeman Jr. and Phylicia Rashad in an adaptation of Clifton Taulbert’s book. (BET Pictures)

Rumble in the Bronx. Action hero Jackie Chan brings a little bit of Hong Kong to the boroughs, tangling with mobsters in his inimitable style. (New Line)

Screamers. Peter Weller stars in the Philip K. Dick sci-fi yarn about a planet that has been overtaken by duplicating robots that aim to supplant the human race. (Triumph)

The Shot. Dana Carvey makes an appearance in this slice of Hollywood life: Two desperate actors steal the only copy of a film and hold it for ransom and a shot at success. (Hemdale)

Unforgettable. Beautiful scientist Linda Fiorentino might have just what suspected murderer Ray Liotta needs: a serum that can retrieve his slain wife’s memories. John Dahl directs. (MGM)

The White Balloon. A young girl loses her mother’s household money in the hubbub of Tehran on the eve of the New Year holiday. (October Films)

White Squall. Ridley Scott is at the helm in this recounting of the 1961 Caribbean voyage of a brigantine sailing school. It turns into a revealing ordeal for captain Jeff Bridges and his pupils. (Hollywood)

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Photo Research: Kathleen Craughwell