SNEAKS ’90 : OPENING SOON

The schedule of quality films thins out dramatically during the first two months of each year, after the holiday blitz and during the frenzy of Oscar campaigning. Most of the wide Christmas releases play well into spring, and those more ambitious films that depend on Oscar nominations for the bulk of their promotion dawdle in exclusive runs until the academy verdicts are in.

For restless moviegoers, the main hope for January and February comes from foreign films and those major studio films that were originally timed to year-end release but were pushed into the new year. Among the foreign films finally arriving at theaters are Giuseppe Tornatore’s “Cinema Paradiso,” an acclaimed Italian film about a boy’s relationship with a theater projectionist in a village, and Denys Arcand’s “Jesus of Montreal,” a French-language Canadian film about an actor who begins to believe he is the Messiah he portrays (Page 20).

The hopefuls from the major studios include Bob Rafelson’s African adventure, “Mountains of the Moon”; John Frankenheimer’s Berlin-set political drama “The Fourth War”; Martin Ritt’s “Stanley & Iris,” which co-stars Robert De Niro and Jane Fonda, and two Disney-Touchstone films: “Stella,” with Bette Midler in the four-hankie role played by Barbara Stanwyck in the 1937 “Stella Dallas,” and “Where the Heart Is,” a dramatic comedy from English director John Boorman (“Hope and Glory”).

“Alienator”--Director Fred Olen Ray offers this sci-fier, wherein the hero chases an escaped space convict across the universe. Jan-Michael Vincent, John Phillip Law and P. J. Soles star. (Heritage Ent.)

“American Eagle”--Asher Brauner writes and stars in this action/adventure about three buddies who served together in Southeast Asia, only to engage in a frightening game of revenge 20 years later. With Robert F. Lyons, Vernon Wells and Kai Baker. Robert J. Smawley directs. (Triax)

“Angel Town”--Kick-boxing champion Olivier Gruner stars in this action/thriller involving East L.A. street gangs. Ash Shah and Eric Karson share the directing chores. Theresa Saldana, Frank Aragon and Tony Valentino co-star. (Taurus)

“Any Man’s Death”--Suspense and action with an intriguing moral dilemma: A journalist discovers an aging ex-Nazi doctor in Angola. Once was responsible for the deaths of thousands, the doc now performs research that will ultimately benefit mankind. Will the reporter expose the old man, possibly jeopardizing future generations? John Savage, William Hickey, Mia Sara, Ernest Borgnine and Michael Lerner star. Tom Clegg directs. (Independent Network)

“Back to the Past”--This sequel to 1989’s “Future Force” finds bionic bounty hunter David Carradine the target of a set-up. Only a mysterious time-traveler from the future can save him. Ted Prior and Charles Napier co-star. Directed by David Prior. (A.I.P.)

“Bail Jumper”--Eszter Balint (the visitor from Hungary in Jim Jarmusch’s “Stranger Than Paradise”) stars in the surreal romance about two young people on the lam. Bizarre weather sweeps the lovers from a petty crime spree in Missouri to a Staten Island hideout, where they seemingly find paradise. Christian Faber directs from a script written with co-producer Josephine Wallace. (Angelika)

“Basket Case 2”--Frank Henenlotter writes and directs this horror sequel in which a snooping tabloid reporter tries to discover what’s in a deadly and mysterious basket. Kevin vanHentenryck and Annie Ross star. (Shapiro Glickenhaus)

“Blades”--A horror movie about golf in which Robert North, Jeremy Whelan and Victoria Scott find terror on the links. Thomas R. Rondinella directs. (Troma)

“The Blood of Heroes”--Rutger Hauer and Joan Chen star in this post-apocalyptic yarn about wandering teams of vicious gladiators, known as Juggers. Hauer leads his band of fighters into the biggest battle of them all. David Peoples writes/directs. (New Line)

“Blood Salvage”--A Georgia junkman deals in human body parts as a side business. Tucker Johnston directs/co-writes the horror flick. Danny Nelson, Lori Birdsong, Ray Walston and Evander Holyfield star. A High Five Production. (Distributor pending)

“The Boneyard”--A horror story revolving around the discovery of three dead Chinese children and the subsequent probe by a county coroner. The director/screenwriter is James Cummins; Ed Nelson, Deborah Rose, Norman Fell, James Eustermann, Denise Young and Phyllis Diller star. A Backbone production. (Distributor pending)

“Bye Bye Blues”--Anne Wheeler writes/directs this World War II romance. Rebecca Jenkins plays a woman who doesn’t know if husband Michael Ontkean, caught in the fall of Singapore, is alive or dead. Landing a job singing with a Canadian band, she becomes romantically involved with trombonist Luke Reilly. Co-starring Stuart Margolin and Kate Reid. (Circle Films)

“Chrome Hearts”--A comedy/horror film from writer/director Dan Hoskins. Jamie Rose, MTV’s Martha Quinn and Vicki Frederick star in this tale of a small-town mortician who turns townsfolk into zombies to mine radioactive material. Coming to the town’s rescue are the eight Amazon bikers referred to in the title. (Intl. Film Marketing)

“Coldfire”--Wings Hauser stars in and directs this action tale about cops on the trail of a new deadly drug and a conspiracy to destroy America. Kamar Reyes and Michael Easton co-star as rookie cops. (PM)

“Courage Mountain”--Charlie Sheen and Leslie Caron star in this action drama about a group of girls displaced by war who must make a perilous journey across the Alps to safety. Yorgo Voyagis, Jan Rubes, Juliette Caton co-star for director Christopher Leitch. (Triumph)

“Deception”--Harry Hamlin stars as a detective whose libido overwhelms his logic when he looks into a murder case against a wealthy socialite (Nicolette Sheridan). Robert Davi co-stars, Ruben Preuss directs. (Republic)

“Deliver Us From Evil”--French-Swiss film maker Dominique Othenin-Girard delivers a horror/action film that brings Lilith, the Queen of Hell (Isa Andersen) to Earth as a supernatural beauty out to seduce and corrupt mankind through the media. Karen Black, Linden Ashby, Debra Feuer, Helen Martin also star. (Paragon)

“Destroy to Order”--A comedy about a novelist (Stephen Ouimette), whose latest hackneyed work suddenly takes on a flesh-and-blood life of its own. Michael Ironside plays the book’s villain, who rewrites the novel to suit his own fiendish design; Alberta Watson is the novel’s heroine, whom Ironside turns into his love-slave, and Victoria Snow’s the girl next door, who tries to rescue the writer from his own demons. Jim Purdy directs. (Studio Entertainment)

“Dog Tags”--Clive Wood, Baird Stafford, Robert Haufrecht star for writer/director Romano Scavolini in a story about a combat platoon and $5 million in gold that disappeared during the Vietnam War. (Cinevest)

“Enemy Unseen”--A special forces vet (Vernon Wells) leads an elite combat team to rescue a beautiful heiress (Angela O’Neill) from mysterious abductors in the deepest, darkest jungle. Elmo DeWitt directs. (Triax)

“The Everlasting Secret Family”--Controversial Australian film about a gay politician who scouts for young male aides at a boys’ school. Produced and directed by Michael Thornhill. Stars Arthur Digman and Mark Lee. (IFEX)

“Far Out Man”--Tommy Chong stars and directs son-in-law C. Thomas Howell, daughter Rae Dawn Chong, wife Shelby Fiddis and son Paris Chong in this comedy about a retired “roadie” who attempts a comeback. Also featured are Martin Mull and a theme park called “Hippyland.” (CineTel)

“Flashback”--Dennis Hopper is an ex-’60s radical arrested after 20 years underground. Kiefer Sutherland is the FBI rookie determined to bring Hopper to court. Italian director Franco Amurri makes his American debut with this generation-gap comedy, which co-stars Carol Kane, Cliff De Young, Paul Dooley, Richard Masur, Michael McKean. (Paramount)

“The Forgotten One”--A romantic triangle develops between a writer, the woman next door and a ghost living in his house. Kristy McNichol, Terry O’Quinn, Blair Parker and Elisabeth Brooks star for director Phil Badger. A Windriver Production. (Distributor pending)

“The Fourth War”--John Frankenheimer directs this drama of intrigue, with Roy Scheider and Jurgen Prochnow as American and Soviet colonels in Berlin whose personal war escalates into an international incident. Co-starring Tim Reid, Harry Dean Stanton, Lara Harris. (Cannon)

“Hard to Kill”--Steven Seagal (“Above the Law”) stars as a cop left for dead, who reawakens after seven years in a coma to get revenge for his the murder of his family, with the help of nurse (and real-life wife) Kelly LeBrock. Director: Bruce Malmuth. (Warner)

“Heart Condition”--When a bigoted L.A. cop (Bob Hoskins) gets the transplanted heart of a slick black lawyer (Denzel Washington), the lawyer’s ghost comes with the operation. When the cop tries to solve the lawyer’s murder, the two have to learn to live with each other to solve the crime. James Parriott writes and directs the action/comedy for producer Steve Tisch. (New Line)

“Homer and Eddie”--Soviet director Andrei Konchalovsky helms this seriocomic tale of two vagabonds--a slightly retarded man (James Belushi) and a free spirit with a criminal streak (Whoopi Goldberg)--who join up in search of his dad and her mom. Karen Black, Nancy Parsons, the late Anne Ramsey and Beah Richards co-star. (Skouras)

“Love Your Mama”--Ruby Oliver writes/produces/directs this story of survival in Chicago’s inner city. Carol E. Hall, Audrey Morgan and Andre Robinson star as members of a poor family held together by a mother’s courage and determination. (Transcontinental)

“Mack the Knife”--A new film version of the Kurt Weill/Bertolt Brecht musical, “The Threepenny Opera.” Raul Julia, Richard Harris, Julia Migenes, Roger Daltrey and Julie Walters star in this pop opera set in the streets and slums of Victorian England. Menahem Golan writes/directs. (21st Century)

“Madhouse”--A yuppie couple--John Larroquette and Kirstie Alley--nearly lose their sanity when a stream of obnoxious houseguests threaten to never leave. Tom Ropelewski writes/directs. (Orion)

“A Man Called Sarge”--Stuart Gillard writes/directs this spoof of World War II movies in which a disoriented Arab guides hapless commandos across the Sahara to destroy German fuel depots in Tobruk. With Gary Kroeger, Gretchen German, Marc Singer, Jennifer Runyon. (Cannon)

“Men Don’t Leave”--Jessica Lange is a big-city mother of two who tries using humor and love to help mitigate the blow of her husband’s untimely death. Paul Brickman (“Risky Business”) writes and directs; Arliss Howard, Kathy Bates, Joan Cusack and Jim Haynie co-star. (Warner)

“Meridian”--A beautiful young artist, a haunted family castle in Italy, a traveling sideshow and a sinister musician are the ingredients in this gothic romance directed by Charles Band. Sherilyn Fenn, Malcolm Jamieson, Charlie and Hilary Mason star. A Full Moon Ent. Production. (Distributor pending)

“Mob Boss”--A Mafia comedy in which aging don William Hickey is sent to the hospital by a hail of bullets and must relinquish control of the family business and mistress Morgan Fairchild to his nerdy son, Eddie Deezen. T. L. Lankford scripted, Fred Olen Ray directs. (Vidmark)

“Modern Love”--Robby Benson produces/writes/directs and stars opposite his actress/wife Karla DeVito in this romantic comedy following a young couple from their first meeting through marriage and pregnancy. Co-starring are Rue McClanahan, Frankie Valli, Kaye Ballard, Cliff Bemis, Louise Lasser and a cameo by Burt Reynolds. (SVS)

“Nightbreed”--Clive Barker writes/directs this fantasy-adventure based on his novel “Cabal.” Craig Sheffer, David Cronenberg, Anne Bobby and Charles Haid star in this tale of a man seeking refuge from the police in a city inhabited by an ancient race of monsters. (Fox)

“Nobody’s Perfect”--A college comedy, with Chad Lowe masquerading as a woman tennis player to get nearer his true love, Gail O’Grady. Robert Kaylor directs; Just Betzer and Benni Korzen produce. (Moviestore)

“The Plot Against Harry”--A film originally shot in 1969 by Michael Roemer, whose post-production was completed only last year. A hit at the 1989 New York Film Festival, the black-and-white comedy stars Martin Priest as Harry, a small-time Jewish numbers racketeer just out of prison who finds his world turned topsy-turvy. (New Yorker)

“Pucker Up and Bark Like A Dog”--Love, heartbreak and rejection fill the lives of artists and actors in this serio-comic tale from director Paul S. Parco. Jonathan Gries is the introverted artist; Lisa Zane the rejected actress. With Sal Lopez, Phyllis Diller, Isabel Sanford, Paul Bartel, Wendy O. Williams, Robert Culp. (Paragon)

“Rabid Grannies”--Emmanuel Kervyn directs this horror comedy about two elderly ladies who have the family over to eat--literally. Chow down with Danielle Daven, Anne Marie Fox, Jack Mayar and Elliot Lison. (Troma)

“Return of the Family Man”--This demented “family man” likes to murder entire families. John Murlowski directs, with Ron Smerczak, Liam Cundill, Terence Reis and Michelle Constant starring. (MGM/UA)

“Shadows in the Storm”--Terrell Tannen writes/directs this erotic thriller about a man (Ned Beatty) obsessed with a woman in a painting. When he finally meets her, he goes off the deep end with deadly results. Co-stars Mia Sara, Michael Madsen, James Widdoes and Donna Mitchell. (Vidmark)

“Shadowzone”--A horror flick about sleep researchers who accidently tap into a dimension where dreams are born. In this dimension lurks a creature that can be anything it wants . . . and it’s coming to visit the human realm. David Beecroft, James Hong, Louise Fletcher, Shawn Weatherly, Miguel Nunez star for director J.S. Cardone. (Castle Hill)

“Sleeping Car”--David Naughton rents a sleeping car left from a deadly train wreck. Only then does he discover that spending a night inside means he’s landed in another horror movie. With Kevin McCarthy, Judie Aronson, Vincent Tuttle, Jeff Conaway. Produced and directed by Douglas Curtis. (Triax)

“Stanley & Iris”--Jane Fonda and Robert De Niro star as a recently widowed factory worker and the gentle, illiterate co-worker she teaches to read. Director Martin Ritt reteams with writers Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr. (they were all involved with “Norma Rae”). Swoosie Kurtz, Martha Plimpton, Harley Cross, Jamey Sheridan, Feodor Chaliapin co-star. (MGM/UA)

“Stella”--Bette Midler and John Goodman star in this third film version of “Stella Dallas,” Olive Higgins Prouty’s best-selling tear-jerker about a mother’s love and the extremes of self-sacrifice. John Erman directs from a Robert Getchell screenplay. Samuel Goldwyn Jr., whose dad produced the two previous versions, produces this one. With Trini Alvarado, Stephen Collins, Marsha Mason. (Buena Vista)

“Streets”--Katt Shea Ruben directs “Married With Children’s” Christina Applegate in her first feature. Applegate stars as a heroin addict street dweller who hooks up, romantically, with runaway David Mendenhall. Their already tenuous relationship is complicated by a vicious cop (Eb Lottimer) who preys on the youthful destitute. Ruben co-writes with hubby Andy Ruben. (New Horizons)

“Strike It Rich”--Based on Graham Greene’s novella, “Loser Takes All,” this film takes place on the French Riviera in the 1950s. Robert Lindsay and Molly Ringwald come to France to wed, but he develops a fascination for the Monte Carlo gaming tables. Sir John Gielgud and Simon de la Brosse co-star for director James Scott. (Miramax)

“Superstar”--A documentary focusing on the life and career of Andy Warhol by producer/writer/director Chuck Workman and executive producer Marilyn Lewis. A MCL Ent. Ltd. Production. (Distributor pending)

“Sweetie”--Australian director Jane Campion’s first feature film focuses on the turbulent relationship between two sisters. Actresses Genevieve Lemon and Karen Colston also make feature debuts. (Avenue)

“Temptation”--Actor James Bond III makes his directorial debut with this horror-thriller. Bond also stars along with Kadeem Hardison and Bill Nunn. Appearances by recording artists Freddie Jackson and Melba Moore. (Troma)

“That’s Adequate”--Director Harry Hurwitz’s film takes the form of a “serious” documentary celebrating the 60th birthday of Adequate Pictures. Host Tony Randall guides viewers through the studio’s history, and Jerry Stiller, Anne Meara, Susan Dey, Robert Downey Jr., Bruce Willis, Robert Vaughn and the late James Coco are seen in brief spots. (Southgate)

“Through the Wire”--Sponsored by Amnesty International, Nina Rosenblum’s documentary takes a look at three political prisoners held in a female, high-security detention unit in Kentucky. Susan Sarandon narrates. (Fox Lorber)

“Torrents of Spring”--Jerzy Skolimowski’s film adaptation of an Ivan Turgenev novel. Timothy Hutton plays a Russian aristocrat in love with two women, Nastassia Kinski and Valeria Golino (“Rain Man”). William Forsythe, Urbano Berberini, Francesco De Sapio and Jacques Herlin co-star. (Millimeter)

“War Requiem”--Iconoclastic British director Derek Jarman’s visualization of the Benjamin Britten musical work. The film features one of Laurence Olivier’s final roles. (Movie Visions)

“Wedding Band”--The writing/directing team of Tino Insana and Daniel Raskov tell a romantic comedy about a couple who are great at weddings--except their own. William Katt plays music at the parties Joyce Hyser plans, but they don’t know how to tie the knot themselves. With David Rasche. (IRS Media)

“Where the Heart Is”--In this serio-comedy, writer/producer/director John Boorman directs Dabney Coleman as a building demolition expert whose business folds, forcing his spoiled family to live in a dilapidated Brooklyn tenement. There they must learn the real meaning of “home.” Uma Thurman, Joanna Cassidy, Crispin Glover, Suzy Amis and Christopher Plummer co-star. (Buena Vista)

SPRING

The spring movie season is a little like the spring weather in most parts of the country--breezy, cool and heavy on romance. It is the time of spring break, a time when Hollywood generally lowers its sights and aims at the erogenous zones. The “Porky’s” movies were spring fare, and throughout the ‘80s, there were a lot like them in the spring market.

But, as the 1990 schedule shows, there have been changes for the better. Films are more diversified, with more pictures targeted both for families and for adults and fewer with co-ed showers on their minds. The studios have learned that a good film can also open in spring, as “Field of Dreams” did last year, and stay the course of summer. This year’s spring schedule has several films made by front-rank directors that could be distance runners.

Among them: Lawrence Kasdan’s “I Love You to Death”; Alan Rudolph’s “Love at Large”; William Friedkin’s “The Guardian”; Joel and Ethan Coen’s “Miller’s Crossing” and Clint Eastwood’s “White Hunter, Black Heart.”

“The Amityville Curse”--A group of female college friends decides to purchase and fix up an old house as an investment. The realtor neglects to tell them about a certain room that, when opened, unleashes a hideous wave of destruction. One of the women’s husbands is responsible for this energy force, so she decides to kill him, lifting both the curse and group morale. Kim Coates, Dawna Wightman, Helen Hughes, David Stein, Cassandra Gava and Antony Dean Rubes star; Tom Berry directs. (Vidmark)

“Back Stab”--James Brolin and Meg Foster star as an architect and widower whose dalliance with a strange woman leaves him framed for murder. The director is Jim Kaufman. (Westwind)

“Bad Girls From Mars”--Voluptuous Edy Williams, Brinke Stevens and Jay Richardson star in this Fred Olen Ray-directed saga of a wicked man who lurks on a movie set. No, he’s not the producer. (Vidmark)

“Bad Influence”--Rob Lowe, James Spader and Lisa Zane are in this story of a young professional who’s bored with life until an enigmatic stranger seduces him into a world of danger, then sets him up for a murder. Curtis Hanson directs. (Columbia/Triumph)

“Best Shot”--A rich young hotshot suddenly cut off from the family fortune by his weird uncle is forced to take a day job as a courier for a company secretly owned by the mob. Doug Lodato writes and directs Mark Poppell, Lyman Ward, John Scott Clough and Ken Myers. (Triax)

“Beyond the Stars”--Christian Slater plays a young man who dreams if becoming an astronaut. Sent to Oregon to stay with Dad after getting suspended from school, Slater meets an idol of his, ex-moonwalker turned alcoholic Martin Sheen and hooks up romantically with “Wonder Years’ ” Olivia d’Abo. Also stars F. Murray Abraham, Robert Foxworth and Sharon Stone. David Saperstein (“Cocoon” author) writes and directs. (Moviestore)

“Blue Steel”--Jamie Lee Curtis is an ambitious rookie cop enamored of handsome and successful commodities trader Ron Silver. What she doesn’t know is that Silver is a psychotic serial killer who’s rehearsing for the big kill. Oliver Stone and Edward R. Pressman produce, “Near Dark’s” Kathryn Bigelow co-writes/directs. Clancy Brown, Elizabeth Pena, Louise Fletcher and Philip Bosco also appear. (MGM/UA)

“Boris & Natasha”--Pottsylvania’s most treacherous espionage buffs are portrayed by Dave Thomas and Sally Kellerman in this live-action film inspired by the late Jay Ward’s “Rocky and Bullwinkle” show. The diabolical duo land in our fair country posing as defectors, but what they really want is a revolutionary microchip we possess that reverses the passing of time. Directed by Charles Martin Smith. Christopher Neame also stars. (M.C.E.G.)

“The Boyfriend School” (tentative title)--Steve Guttenberg, Shelley Long, Jami Gertz and “Dune’s” Kyle MacLachlan star in this romantic comedy based on Sarah Bird’s novel. Long, a successful romance novelist, injects herself into the love life of her shy, single brother in an effort to pair him up with his dream woman. (Hemdale)

“Bright Angel”--Dermot Mulroney is an 18-year-old resident of the plains of Montana who desires to go to college on a boxing scholarship. When he gives a ride one day to wild young woman, he attends instead the school of hard knocks. The director is Michael Fields, the co-stars are Sam Shepard, Lili Taylor, Valerie Perrine, Mary Kay Place, Burt Young, Bill Pullman and Benjamin Bratt. (Hemdale)

“Captain America”--Matt Salinger, in his film debut, stars as the powerful, fast-as-lightning guy in a gaudy outfit dedicated to fair play and the quest for a sequel. Albert Pyun directs such supporting players as Ronny Cox, Ned Beatty, Darren McGavin, Michael Nouri, Melinda Dillon, Kim Gillingham and Scott Paulin. (21st Century)

“Chains of Gold”--An action-drama focusing on the rampant spread of drugs and violence in the South Bronx. John Travolta (who co-wrote the screenplay) is a social worker who must infiltrate a sophisticated network of drug dealers who have nabbed one of his former cases, a 13-year-old boy. Marilu Henner co-stars as an attorney representing the gang. Directed by Rod Holcomb. Joey Lawrence and Hector Elizondo co-star. (M.C.E.G.)

“Circuitry Man”--Set in the toxic wasteland of the near future, this actioner inspects the relationship between a gorgeous but deadly woman and the synthetic man with whom she falls in love. Steven Lovy co-writes and directs Jim Metzler, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Dennis Christopher and Vernon Wells. (IRS)

“The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover”--When a successful, greedy businessman spends virtually every evening at a posh restaurant, his beautiful frustrated wife falls into the arms of another man. The businessman orchestrates a most unusual and bloody revenge. Peter Greenaway directs Richard Bohringer, Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren and Alan Howard. (Miramax)

“Coupe de Ville”--Patrick Dempsey, Arye Gross and Daniel Stern are three estranged brothers in 1963 brought together by dad (Alan Arkin) to transport a 1954 Caddy Coupe de Ville to mom on her 50th. Between Michigan and Florida, they pull together as they encounter various obstacles and adventures. Director Joe Roth. Annabeth Gish and Joseph Bologna co-star. (Universal)

“Crazy People”--Dudley Moore is an advertising exec who becomes so stressed out he’s committed to an asylum, where he falls in love and turns Madison Avenue upside down with some innovative ad ideas he and his loony-bin colleagues come up with. Daryl Hannah, Paul Reiser and Mercedes Ruehl co-star, Tony Bill directs. (Paramount)

“Cry Baby”--Director John Waters (“Pink Flamingos,” “Hairspray”) has cast teenthrob Johnny Depp in his inaugural film lead. Waters describes his latest endeavor as “the ultimate juvenile-delinquent, musical-comedy love story.” The supporting cast: Ricki Lake and Traci Lords, with cameos by Patty Hearst, Troy Donahue, David Nelson, Polly Bergen, Joey Heatherton, Iggy Pop, Mink Stole and Joe Dalessandro. Jim Abrahams exec produces. (Universal)

“The Dark Side of the Moon”--In the year 2022, the crew of a space vessel discovers that the Bermuda Triangle is really the devil’s path connecting the Earth and the moon. Stars Will Bledsoe, Alan Blumenfeld and Joe Turkel, directed by D.J. Webster. (Vidmark)

“The Delinquents”--Romeo and Juliet-style romantic drama set in 1950s Australia, against the vibrant “mods and rockers” rock ‘n’ roll subculture of the era. Aussie TV and recording star Kylie Minogue stars with Charlie Schlatter. Chris Thomson directs this Village Roadshow Pictures production. (Distributor pending)

“Delta Force II”--Chuck Norris is back (and co-writes too) with this sequel, subtitled “The Colombian Connection.” Billy Drago plays a nasty drug kingpin who takes some of our Drug Enforcement Agents captive, and Norris travels to South America to the rescue. Brother Aaron Norris directs; John P. Ryan and Paul Perri co-star. (Cannon)

“Demonstone”--”Full Metal Jacket’s” no-nonsense D.I., R. Lee Ermey, and Jan-Michael Vincent lead the way in this tale of an ancient tomb that is unearthed, revealing a deathly insignia. Director Andrew Prowse. (Fries)

“Diamond Skulls”--Hugo Buckton has a gorgeous wife, an earldom and a lofty stature in London’s financial world, but all is not well. An obsession with his stunning wife’s imagined infidelity leads him to murder, a family cover-up--and an emotional breakdown. Nicholas Broomfield directs; Gabriel Byrne and Amanda Donohoe star. (Circle)

“Enid Is Sleeping”--Judge Reinhold, Elizabeth Perkins and Rhea Perlman star in this black comedy as Reinhold and mistress Perkins inadvertently kill his wife and repeatedly botch attempts to dispose of the body. A Vestron production written and directed by Maurice Phillips. (Distributor pending)

“Ernest Goes to Jail”--Jim Varney takes on two roles: Ernest, on jury duty, somehow gets switched with a dead ringer for him doing time in jail, leaving our hero in the slam and the “bad” Ernest taking his job as bank janitor--and romancing his lady! John Cherry (all the “Ernest” movies) directs; Gailard Sartain co-stars. (Buena Vista)

“Face of the Enemy”--George DiCenzo’s an ex-CIA agent once held hostage by a Middle Eastern country. Now back in the States, he accidentally bumps into one of his former captors (Rosana DeSoto). Directed by Hassan Ildari. (Independent Network)

“Final Sanction”--World War III’s happened; everything’s obliterated. What better way to decide who won than to stage a hand-to-hand combat between one U.S. soldier and one Soviet soldier? David Prior directs. Ted Prior and Robert D’Zar star. (A.I.P.)

“The First Power”--Lou Diamond Phillips takes on the role of an L.A. homicide dick who specializes in solving serial killings. He meets his match with a murderer whose sinister powers far exceed anything known to man. With Tracy Griffith; written and directed by Robert Resnikoff. (Orion)

“Frankenhooker”--Dr. Jeffrey Franken concocts a scheme to bring his fiancee back to life after a freak and tragic lawnmower mishap. Frank Henenlotter directs James Lorinz, Patty Mullen and Louise Lasser. (Shapiro-Glickenhaus)

“The Gods Must Be Crazy II”--Prepare yourself for the further exploits of N!Xau, the lovable and hapless African bushman, as he sets off to retrieve his two young ‘uns after a poacher inadvertently scoops them up in his truck. Jamie Uys again writes/directs. Lena Farugia and Han Strydom co-star. (Columbia)

“The Guardian”--Director William Friedkin, whose “The Exorcist” sent millions screaming up the aisles in 1973, dishes up this horror offering, which, the studio says, explores the nightmare of all new parents. Dwier Brown stars with Carey Lowell. (Universal)

“Haunting Fear”--Fred Olen Ray directs Jan-Michael Vincent and Karen Black in this updated version of Poe’s “Premature Burial.” Brinke Stevens, Jay Richardson, Delia Sheppard, Robert Clarke, Michael Berryman and Robert Quarry handle co-starring duties. (American Ind.)

“Heaven Tonight”--John Waters (not the cult director) toplines here as a rock star of the late ‘60’s who seeks yet another shot at the big time. During this futile comeback attempt, his son, an aspiring musician, begins to emerge on the music scene. Pino Amenta directs co-stars Guy Pearce, Rebecca Gilling, Kim Gyngell. (Boulevard)

“Hidden Agenda”--Frances McDormand, Brian Cox and Brad Dourif star in this political thriller taking place in early ‘80s Northern Ireland. The murder of an American civil rights activist and the ensuing distortion of facts point to an ugly conspiracy by politicians, civil servants and industrialists. Ken Loach directs. (Hemdale)

“Highway to Hell”--In this sci-fier, a young man’s girlfriend is abducted by a demon cop from hell. The young man goes after her, traversing such roads such as Ayatollah Avenue and Joan Crawford Boulevard to rescue her. Chad Lowe, Kristy Swanson and Patrick Bergen star. Ate de Jong directs. (Hemdale)

“Hired to Kill”--A mercenary fashions a team of dangerous sexpots with the goal of infiltrating and toppling a despotic ruler. Brian Thompson, George Kennedy, Oliver Reed and Jose Ferrer star; Nico Mastorakis writes and directs. (Omega)

“House Party”--Rapper and chart-toppers Kid n’Play and Full Force star in a teen comedy about the hottest party of the year and one hapless kid’s effort to arrive before the festivities end. Reginald Hudlin writes and directs Robin Harris, A.J. Johnson, Martin Lawrence and Tisha Campbell. (New Line)

“Ice Pawn”--Drama examining corruption in the world of amateur figure skating. A young skater is sponsored by some businessmen in an upcoming competition that they’re trying to rig for him to win--but he decides to make it on his own merits. Barry Samson directs; Paul Cross, Chris Thomas, Cliff Thomas and Robert Budaska star. (Chancom)

“Impulse”--Sondra Locke directs her second picture (after “Rat Boy”). Theresa Russell plays a vice squad undercover cop who discovers that fantasy and reality are becoming blurred for her. Jeff Fahey and George Dzundza co-star. (Warner)

“Jaded”--Elisabeth Brooks stars in this character study set in Venice, Calif. Brooks is an abused housewife who, with the help of a tranvestite accomplice, gets back at her abusive husband. Written and directed by Oja Kodar. Jillian Kesner, Randall Brady, Todd Starks and Scott Kaske co-star. (Distributor pending)

“Joe Versus the Volcano”--John Patrick Shanley (an Oscar for his “Moonstruck” script) directs his first movie. It’s based on his screenplay about quiet man Tom Hanks, whose life is thrown into chaos by an encounter with millionaire industrialist Robert Stack and daughter Meg Ryan. The Amblin film is executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall. (Warner)

“Kabukiman”--Troma heads Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz co-direct this comedy of an American police detective who’s mysteriously transformed into crime-fighting Japanese superhero--Kabukiman! Rick Gianasi is title hero. Susan Byun and Noble Lee Lester co-star. (Troma)

“Keaton’s Cop”--Lee Majors and Don Rickles are mismatched cops assigned to protect Keaton (Abe Vigoda), an aging mobster who’s the target of a hit man. Produced and directed by Bob Burge. (Cannon)

“Lambada! The Forbidden Dance”--A young couple fall in love in this story which is backdropped by that grinding Brazilian dance. Laura Herring and Jeff James star; Greydon Clark directs. (21st Century)

“Laser Mission”--Ernest Borgnine stars as the world’s leading laser-weapon expert. All’s fine and dandy till the day both he and the largest diamond in the world are nabbed by villains. Enter Brandon Lee (Bruce Lee’s son), who runs up the body count and restores tranquility. The director is Beau Davis. (Interfilm)

“Last Exit to Brooklyn”--Adaptation of Hubert Selby Jr.’s wild, sometimes lurid, 1964 novel, set against New York City’s gritty, violent East Side. Uli Edel directs Jennifer Jason Leigh, Stephen Lang, Rikki Lake,Alexis Arquette, Burt Young, Jerry Orbach. (Cinecom)

“The Last of the Finest”--This police thriller stars Brian Dennehy and Joe Pantoliano. A team of LAPD officers on a major drug investigation take the law into their own hands and stumble upon a huge drugs-for-guns operation with political overtones. Jeff Fahey and Bill Paxton co-star; John Mackenzie directs. (Orion)

“The Lemon Sisters”--A comedy about three female pals who aspire to sing in Atlantic City, despite a miminum of talent. Joyce Chopra directs Diane Keaton, Carol Kane and Kathyrn Grody. (Miramax)

“Lisa”--Cheryl Ladd portrays an overprotective mom with an obstreperous teen-age daughter in this psychological thriller. Directed by Gary Sherman. Co-stars D.W. Moffett, Staci Keanan and Tanya Fenmore. (MGM/UA)

“The Long Walk Home”--Sissy Spacek, Whoopi Goldberg and Dwight Schultz star in this Richard Pearce-directed drama. Spacek’s an Alabama housewife, Goldberg her maid, who must deal with the racial tension surrounding the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955. (New Visions)

“Lord of the Flies”--Nobel laureate Sir William Golding’s classic novel of adventure and survival gets a contemporary re-telling as a group of young American military cadets is washed ashore and stranded on a remote tropical island. Director Harry Hooks. Starring Paul Balthazar Getty, Chris Furrh and Danuel Pipoly. (Columbia)

“Love at Large”--Alan Rudolph writes and directs this Tom Berenger/Anne Archer/Elizabeth Perkins starrer. A male private eye is enlisted by a mysterious woman to follow the man she loves while a female detective is hired by his jealous girlfriend. When they come together on these intertwined assignments, the two private eyes begin to eye each other. With Kate Capshaw. (Orion)

“The Mahabharata”--Peter Brook directs his marathon theatrical project based on the 100,000-stanza Sanskrit poem that is the national epic of India. Stars Robert Langdon-Lloyd and Antonin Stahly-Vishwanadan. (Distributor pending)

“A Man of Passion”--Aging painter Anthony Quinn forever changes the life of his actress-daughter’s 11-year-old son, who meets grandpa for the first time, getting a strong dose of the old man’s love for life and art. Director/writer Anthony de la Loma. Maud Adams, Ramon Sheen, Victoria Vera and Ray Walston also star. (Noble)

“The Man Inside”--This political thriller is based on the real-life travails of investigative journalist Gunter Wallraff. Peter Coyote stars with Jurgen Prochnow in this tale of a crusading reporter who goes undercover to expose a government-sponsored smear campaign aimed at his country’s ascending liberal powers. Bobby Roth writes and directs. (New Line)

“Meet the Feebles”--This puppet film is aimed strictly at adults, from director Peter Jackson. Don’t expect cuddly and adorable creatures. A Wingnut production. (Distributor pending)

“Miami Blues”--Fred Ward (who co-exec produces), Alec Baldwin and Jennifer Jason Leigh star in a tale of a psychotic killer who falls for a naive hooker, but soon returns to his vicious ways, impersonating a homicide cop who is pursuing him. Jonathan Demme co-produces; George Armitage writes and directs. (Orion)

“Midnight Matinee”--When a copycat murder takes place in a small town that happens to be hosting a horror-film fest, the town’s lone cop is assigned to solve the crime, uncovering plenty of skeletons lurking in the closets of the seemingly pleasant townsfolk. Richard Martin directs Ron White in this Summit Entertainment production. (Distributor pending)

“Mortal Passions”--A beautiful but amoral woman entwines her hubby and his brother in a twisted, homicidal love triangle. Andrew Lane directs Zach Galligan, Krista Errickson, Michael Bowen, Sheila Kelly, Luca Bercovici and David Warner. (MGM/UA)

“Night Club”--Nicholas Hoppe and Elizabeth Kaitan star. A man risks everything to make his dream a reality . . . and a maddening obsession. Michael Keusch directs. (Crown)

“Nuns on the Run”--”Monty Python’s” Eric Idle and Robbie Coltrane star as con men who bilk their gangster employer out of millions and are forced to hide out--dressed as nuns in a convent. George Harrison co-exec produces this Handmade Films production written and directed by Jonathan Lynn. (Fox)

“The Opponent”--A young boxer gets a lucky break when he rescues the moll of a dangerous Mafia don from a mugging. His “luck” turns sour when he falls for the woman and later refuses to throw some fights. Ernest Borgnine and Daniel Greene star; Sergio Martino directs. (Vidmark)

“Opportunity Knocks”--Dana Carvey (“Saturday Night Live’s” Church Lady) stars with Robert Loggia as a down-on-his-luck con man who disguises himself as an Ivy League snob to cavort among Chicago’s elite, hoping to line his pockets with their cash. Director Donald Petrie. (Universal)

“Picking up the Pieces”--Two inept detectives and a meter maid try to capture a serial killer who’s collecting body parts from live people to comply with an ancient Egyptian curse. Jake Dengel, Joe Sharkey and Susann Fletcher star; Dean Tschetter directs. (Cinevest)

“Pretty Woman”--Garry Marshall directs this Pygmalion-inspired love story. Richard Gere’s a wealthy New York businessman who attempts to transform Julia Roberts, a small-town girl running wild on the streets of Hollywood, into something more sophisticated. Jason Alexander also stars. (Buena Vista)

“Prom Night III: The Last Kiss”--This parody of exploitation flicks focuses on wicked Mary Lou (fresh out of the grave) as she wreaks havoc on Hamilton High, dragging a teenaged boy to hell with her. Directors Ron Oliver and Peter Simpson; stars Tim Conlon, Cyndy Preston and Courtney Taylor. A Prom Night III production. (Northstar)

“Pump Up the Volume”--A frustrated, shy teen (Christian Slater) utilizes his maverick radio station to infuse some enthusiasm into his dull suburban town, attempting to dash the career of the community’s oppressive high school principal along the way. Director: Allan Moyle. Supporting cast: Ellen Greene, Seth Green, Ahmet Zappa, Samantha Mathis. (New Line)

“Reason to Die”--A bounty hunter goes after a bail-jumping ex-dope dealer who’s now a religious fanatic, determined to wreak havoc on houses of prostitution. Tim Spring directs; Wings Hauser and Anneline Kriel star. (Vidmark)

“Red Surf”--This oceanside drama explores the lives of a couple of ex-surfers turned losers who’ve now stooped to pushing drugs to maintain that party beach life style. Things get even worse for one of them as his girlfriend (Michelle Pfeiffer’s sis Dedee) becomes pregnant and he’s forced to make a crucial decision concerning their lives. Directed by H. Gordon Boos. Stars George Clooney, Doug Savant, Kiss rocker Gene Simmons and Philip McKeon. An Arrowhead Ent. production. (Distributor pending)

“The Return of Superfly”--Tale of a man who parlays drug transactions into a trip out of the ghetto. When he runs out of cash, a narc tries to recruit him in the war on drugs. Though he refuses, word gets out that he is helping the feds. Sig Shore directs Nathan Purdee. (Independent Network)

“Rising Storm”--Zach Galligan and John Rhys-Davies star in this sci-fi comedy examining what might happen if the White House were taken over by a demented evangelist. Francis Schaeffer directs. (Academy)

“Rockula”--A 300-year-old vampire courts a beautiful rock ‘n’ roller who dies and is reincarnated every 22 years. Directed by Luca Bercovici, it stars Dean Cameron, Tawny Fere, Susan Tyrrell, Bo Diddley and musician/video types Thomas Dolby and Toni Basil. (Cannon)

“Roger Corman’s Frankenstein Unbound”--Corman directs John Hurt, Raul Julia and Bridget Fonda. Hurt plays a 21st-Century scientist who’s thrust back, via a manmade cataclysm, to 1816 and the days of Frankenstein author Mary Shelley. He learns that Dr. Frankenstein and his famous creation/creature were not figments of Shelley’s imagination. Nick Brimble also stars. (Fox)

“Rosalie Goes Shopping”--Marianne Sagebrecht stars again for her “Sugarbaby” and “Bagdad Cafe” director, Percy Adlon. Here she provides companionship for co-star Brad Davis as a “peacetime Bavarian war bride” in Stuttgart, Ark. on interminable shopping sprees, managing to beat our credit system. With Judge Reinhold and Alex Winter. (Distributor pending)

“Sand and Blood”--A gifted but poverty-stricken matador and a cultivated doctor and musician share an unusual and enlightening friendship. Director Jeanne Labrune; stars Sami Frey and Patrick Catalifo. (New Yorker)

“The Secret of the Ice Cave”--Adventure involving hidden treasures, a South American jungle--and a beautiful half-Indian woman. Radu Gabrea directs David Mendenhall and Carla Montana. (Cannon)

“A Shock to the System”--Michael Caine is an anxious advertising exec who goes on a murderous rampage when an ambitious yuppie (Peter Reigert) gets the promotion Caine covets. Swoosie Kurtz, John McMartin, Elizabeth McGovern, Philip Moon, Will Patton and Jenny Wright also star. Jan Egelson directs. (Corsair)

“A Show of Force”--A political thriller inspired by the Cerro Maravilla murders, one of Puerto Rico’s biggest scandals. Amy Irving portrays a Puerto Rican TV reporter who discovers conflicting evidence in the official account of the mysterious demise of two young men. Also stars Andy Garcia, Lou Diamond Phillips, Robert Duvall. Bruno Barreto directs. (Paramount)

“Sideout”--C. Thomas Howell is a Midwestern college student in L.A. for a summer job, but seduced by the world of beach volleyball. He partners with erstwhile champ Peter Horton, who needs a comeback. Directed by Peter Israelson. (Tri-Star)

“Soulicitor”--Action chiller. College students are victims of a car wreck so severe that their souls are separated from their bodies and caught in a mysterious, unseen world as they’re pursued relentlessly by an “Angel of Death.” Directed by Michael Rissi. Stars Joe Estevez, Vivian Schilling, Gregg Thomsen and Robert Z’Dar. A Pacific West Ent. production. (Distributor pending)

“Strapless”--While residing in England, an American finds her life dramatically altered by the presence of her carefree younger sister and the appearance, then disappearance, of a handsome and beguiling stranger. David Hare writes and directs; Blair Brown, Bruno Ganz and Bridget Fonda star. (Miramax)

“Street War!”--Los Angeles gang warfare is the backdrop as a prominent detective manages to get leaders from rival Latino and black factions to agree to a truce on a local TV show. Chaos envelops the studio when one a Latino flips out and grabs a hostage. Robert J. Hyatt writes and directs Don Stroud, David Labiosa, Arthur Fuller and Mike Moroff in this Street Wise production. (Distributor pending)

“Syngenor”--The title’s short for synthesized genetic organism. A chiller that ponders the question: is the creature or its creator the truly evil one? Starr Andreeff, Mitchell Laurence and David Gale star. George Elanjian Jr. directs this American Cinema Marketing production. (Distributor pending)

“Tales From the Darkside: The Movie”--Anthology derived from stories by Stephen King and Arthur Conan Doyle, showcasing such performers as Deborah Harry, James Remar, Rae Dawn Chong and Christian Slater. Tale 1: A SoHo artist (Remar) makes an unholy deal with a nasty beast, then falls for a woman (Chong) who tries to help him. Tale 2: A college student (Slater) falls victim to a mummy’s curse. Tale 3: A desperate millionaire (William Hickey) hires a killer (David Johansen) to off a murderous household pet. John Harrison directs. (Paramount)

“The Tall Guy”--Comedy with Jeff Goldblum as a struggling American actor who hopes to hit the big time in London. Directed by Mel Smith. Also stars Emma Thompson and Rowan Atkinson. (Miramax)

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”--The stars of the Saturday morning TV series and comic books come to life in this live-action romp, from Muppetmeister Jim Henson. Steve Barron directs stars Judith Hoag and Elias Koteas. (New Line)

“To Sleep With Anger”--Danny Glover stars in this Charles Burnett-directed drama as a stranger from the dark past and Deep South who infuses his wisdom into three generations of a contemporary South Central L.A. family. Also stars Mary Alice, Paul Butler and Carl Lumbly. (Distributor pending)

“The 22nd International Tournee of Animation”--More adult-oriented cartoon offerings from Tournee producer Terry Thoren, focusing on the new Soviet animation. (Expanded)

“Twilight of the Cockroaches”--Combination live-action/animation drama about a lonely bachelor who happily lives with his cartoon bugs until his new girlfriend declares war on the pests. Stars Kaoru Kobayashi and Setsuko Karasumaru. Written and directed by Hiroaki Yoshida. (Streamline)

“Twisted Justice”--David Heavener stars/directs/scripts this futuristic cop movie. He’s a renegade cop who wields the biggest stun gun in town in a time when authorities are no longer allowed to carry firearms. Erik Estrada, Lauri Warren, Shannon Tweed, Karen Black, Jim Brown and James Van Patten also star in this Hero production. (Distributor pending)

“Unbelievable Truth”--A talented mechanic returns home from prison, where he meets a young woman obsessed with the thought of impending nuclear holocaust. Their romance is complicated by her father, who believes that Josh killed his last girlfriend and her father. Robert Burke and Adrienne Shelly star; Hal Hartly directs. (Miramax)

“Vital Signs”--Marisa Silver directs Adrian Pasdar, Diane Lane, William DeVane, Norma Aleandro and Jimmy Smits in a story of five students in their third year of medical school, who face the crucial period when they must practice real medicine. (Fox)

“Wait Until Spring, Bandini”--Joe Mantegna stars as the proud patriarch of the simple-living Bandini clan, whose affair with a rich widow takes its toll on the family during a long winter. Faye Dunaway and Burt Young also star; Dominick DeRuddere directs. (Orion Classics)

“Waiting for the Light”--Shirley MacLaine and Teri Garr star in this comedy drama set during the Cuban missile crisis of the early ‘60s, revolving around an innocent explosion set off by two kids that’s mistaken for a miracle. Christopher Monger writes and directs. With Clancy Brown, Vincent Schianvelli and John Bedford Lloyd. (Columbia/Triumph)

“Wendy Cracked a Walnut”--Rosanna Arquette in a romantic fantasy about a neglected housewife who’s been suddenly abandoned on the eve of her wedding anniversary, and the handsome stranger who pops into her shattered life. Directed by Michael Pattinson. Bruce Spence also stars. (Sugar)

“What the Moon Saw”--Andrew Shephard is a young Australian country boy who experiences the hustle-bustle world of the big city via a trip to stay with his eccentric grandmother. Pat Evison, Max Phipps, Kim Gyngell, Mark Hennessy and Danielle Spencer star; directed by Pino Amenta. (Boulevard)

“Why Me?”--All kinds of L.A. people are after Christopher Lambert, who has pilfered a valuable gem. Christopher Lloyd and Kim Greist co-star. Gene Quintano directs. (Columbia/Triumph)

“Wild Orchid”--Mickey Rourke, Jacqueline Bisset and Carre Otis topline this tale of an ambitious lawyer (Bisset) whose sensuality is revived during a business trip to Rio. “9 1/2 Weeks’ ” scenarists and husband/wife team Zalman King and Patricia Knop repeat their duties on this erotic tale, which King directed. (Columbia/Triumph)

“Without You I’m Nothing”--Nicolas Roeg executive-produced this screen version of quirky comedienne Sandra Bernhard’s one-woman show. John Boskovich directs. (M.C.E.G.)

SUMMER

On paper, the 1990 summer doesn’t have a prayer of topping the blockbuster $2 billion summer of ‘89, when sequels to “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Ghostbusters,” “Star Trek,” “The Karate Kid” and “Lethal Weapon” all looked up at the $250-million box-office figure posted by “Batman.”

This summer boasts high-profile sequels to “Back to the Future,” “RoboCop” and “Die Hard” and will trot out Warren Beatty’s “Dick Tracy” as the hopeful heir to “Batman’s” throne. But where will the season gets its “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” or “Dead Poets Society,” sleepers that wake up at theaters and race off with $100 million?

Besides its sequels and “Dick Tracy,” this summer’s hopes for the big money would seem to include Paul Verhoeven’s futuristic space adventure “Total Recall,” Tony Scott’s “Days of Thunder,” the Mel Gibson adventure “Air America,” John Milius’ “Flight of the Intruder” and the courtroom drama “Presumed Innocent.”

“The Adventures of Ford Fairlane”--Andrew Dice Clay graduates from featured-player status (“Casual Sex?”) to star billing in this contemporary comic thriller also starring Wayne Newton and Priscilla Presley. Joel Silver co-produces this look at the unorthodox methods of private-eye Ford Fairlane (Clay) as he pursues clues left behind the mysterious death of a heavy metal rocker. Renny Harlin directs. “Purple Rain’s” Morris Day, Robert (Freddy Krueger) Englund and Ed O’Neill co-star. (Fox)

“Air America”--Mel Gibson stars with Robert Downey Jr. in this action/comedy from director Roger Spottiswoode. Gibson and Downey are renegade fliers entangled in the covert operations and general madness of the CIA’s not-so-secret airline, Air America. (Columbia/Tri-Star)

“Another 48 HRS.”--Eddie Murphy, Nick Nolte and director Walter Hill re-team. The unlikely partners--Nolte the cop, Murphy the con--battle a vicious Aryan-supremacist biker organization. (Paramount)

“Arachnophobia”--Steven Spielberg exec-produces this directorial debut of Frank Marshall (a longtime Spielberg associate), which spins a tale of terror in a close-knit California community infested by a deadly species of spider. Stars Jeff Daniels, John Goodman and Julian Sands. (Buena Vista)

“Back to the Future, Part III”--The Robert Zemeckis-directed blockbuster trilogy concludes with Michael J. Fox and inventor sidekick Christopher Lloyd traveling back to the Old West. Lea Thompson and Thomas F. Wilson return while Mary Steenburgen co-stars in her first “Future” movie. (Universal)

“Betsy’s Wedding”--Alan Alda writes, directs and stars in this story of a man who hatches a scheme to give his daughter the best wedding that ill-gotten money can buy. Joey Bishop, Madeline Kahn, Catherine O’Hara, Joe Pesci, Ally Sheedy and Burt Young co-star, with Molly Ringwald as “Betsy.” (Buena Vista)

“Cadillac Man”--Robin Williams and Tim Robbins topline this tale of a philandering Cadillac salesman (Williams) who womanizes the wrong woman. Williams needs the sales pitch of his life after an angry husband (Robbins) holds him and his entire dealership hostage. Roger Donaldson directs. (Orion)

“Career Opportunities”--Eternal teen-ager John Hughes writes and co-produces this comedy about a young man who locks himself in on his first night on the job as a custodian at a department store. Complicating matters: an attractive but troubled girl and two bumbling thieves who all happen to be in the building this fateful evening. Bryan Gordon directs Frank Whaley, Jennifer Connelly, Dermot Mulroney and Kieran Mulroney. (Universal)

“Chicago Joe and the Showgirl”--Based on the true World War II story of an American GI who’s seduced into a violent crime spree by a passionate British city girl. Kiefer Sutherland is the GI, Emily Lloyd the seductress. Bernard Rose directs. (New Line)

“Confidence”--Bryan Brown and Karen Allen star in this romantic comedy about a recently paroled con artist who turns a sleepy seaside village upside down with his charming schemes while snaring the heart of innkeeper Allen. Directed by Michael Jenkins. (New Visions)

“Crash and Burn”--Low-budget horror mogul Charles Band directs this yet-uncast futuristic story that depicts Earth as an unbearable hotbed due to its diminished ozone layer--with manmade machines taking over the planet. Can an old man and his granddaughter--using their little cable-TV station to inform the populace--save mankind? (Distributor pending)

“Dances With Wolves”--Kevin Costner directs, stars and co-produces. Set in the 1860’s, it follows a soldier who assimilates into the world of the Sioux Indians. (Orion)

“Darkman”--Liam Neeson, Frances McDormand and Larry Drake star in this tale of doomed love about a scientist who’s grotesquely disfigured in an experiment. The studio promises state-of-the-art special effects in this film directed by Sam Raimi (the “Evil Dead” scaries). (Universal)

“Days of Thunder”--Tom Cruise reteams with producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer and director Tony Scott (all from “Top Gun”) in this story set against the competitive world of NASCAR racing. Cruise, striving to become champ, must also negotiate the treacherous curves of Nicole Kidman (“Dead Calm”). Robert Towne wrote the screenplay, based on an idea by Cruise. (Paramount)

“Demon Sword”--Director Fred Olen Ray spoofs the Sword & Sorcery genre as Lyle Waggoner and Russ Tamblyn portray wizards who battle over a mystical blade. An American Independent Productions/Austin Enterprises project. (Distributor pending)

“Deuce Coupe”--A coming-of-ager set in 1958, about a young man struggling to emerge from the shadows of his older brother, and the car that symbolizes their dreams. Directed by Mark Deimel. Stars Paul LeMat, Candy Clark, Kieran Mulroney, Brian Bloom, Danielle Von Zerneck, Ashley Laurence. A Deuce Coup production. (Distributor pending)

“Dick Tracy”--Warren Beatty directs and stars as the square-jawed crimefighter of comic strip fame, supported by Madonna (sultry Breathless Mahoney), Glenne Headly (Tess Trueheart), Charles Durning (Police Chief Brandon), Mandy Patinkin (88-Keys) and William Forsythe (Flattop). Cameos include Al Pacino (villain Big Boy) and Dustin Hoffman (Mumbles). Stephen Sondheim provides songs, Vittorio Storaro photographs. (Buena Vista)

“Die Hard 2”--Bruce Willis reprises his role of intrepid NYC supercop John McClane in this sequel to the 1988 smash. This trip McClane takes on an a nefarious and elite special forces unit led by a former U.S. military officer, which has taken over a major international airport. Bonnie Bedelia, William Atherton and Reginald Veljohnson return with new players Franco Nero, Bill Sadler and John Amos. Renny Harlin directs. (Fox)

“Ducktales”--Based on the daily animated TV strip, this feature-length cartoon stars the wacky Scrooge McDuck who’s in search of buried treasure. When McDuck unearths a magic lantern--complete with a genie--it’s chaos in the McDuck mansion as Huey, Dewey and Louie start wishing their little tails off. Bob Hathcock produces and directs. (Buena Vista)

“Eating”--Minimalist auteur Henry Jaglom brings us this examination of women, and how they feel about food. A woman on the brink of middle age invites a gathering of female friends for a feast that reveals how the simple act of eating affects each of them. Stars Mary Crosby, Gwen Welles, Frances Bergen and Nelly Alard. (Distributor pending)

“The Exorcist III”--William Peter Blatty, the creator of the phenomenally successful original, writes and directs this tale set in Georgetown, 17 years later, as the city is in the grip of a series of brutal murders. The victims: All priests. George C. Scott, Ed Flanders and Scott Wilson star. (Fox)

“Filo Goes to Malibu”--A Mexican playboy arranges a yachting excursion for a wealthy Latino couple, sleeps with the wife, then passes out in a dingy, which drifts off to the Malibu Colony, where he’s taken in by a family who teaches him about American customs. Steve Lemmon and Debra Duggan star, Duggan writes and directs this CinePlay Intl. production. (Distributor pending)

“Firehead”--Chris Lemmon, Martin Landau and Christopher Plummer star in this story of a Russian defector possessing powerful psycho-kinetic abilities who’s used as a pawn in an international terrorist scheme. Director Peter Yuval. (Action Intl.)

“Flatliners”--Kiefer Sutherland, Julia Roberts and Kevin Bacon head this drama about five ambitious medical students who dare one another to stop their heartbeats, thus taking a deadly peek at the afterlife. (The title refers to the ominous line displayed by an EKG monitor when a patient’s heart quits.) Michael Douglas co-produces; Joel Schumacher directs. (Columbia)

“Flight of the Intruder”--Danny Glover, Willem Dafoe and Brad Johnson star in this actioner based on Stephen Coonts’ best-selling novel. John Milius directs as the three main characters--tough squadron leader, crackerjack pilot and ace bombardier--prepare to conduct an unauthorized raid on a missile depot in Hanoi in 1972. (Paramount)

“Flynn”--A romantic adventure focusing on the early years of screen legend Errol Flynn in Australia’s Outback and the wilds of New Guinea. Guy Pearce stars in the title role. Peter Boyle exec-produces, Brian Kavanaugh directs. (Boulevard)

“The Freshman”--Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick star in this offbeat comedy, with Broderick as a freshman film student whose college days are drastically altered when he’s befriended by father figure Brando--who also happens to have an eligible daughter. Written and directed by Andrew Bergman. (Tri-Star)

“Ghost”--Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg star in this comedy from director Jerry Zucker. Swayze, a ghost stranded in the Big Apple, calls on a charlatan psychic (Goldberg) to help him communicate with Moore, the woman he loves. When Goldberg’s powers actually work, and Moore strays into danger, Goldberg becomes a reluctant liaison for the two lovers. (Paramount)

“Ghost Dad”--Sidney Poitier directs this family comedy, which has Bill Cosby as a single parent whose encounter with a supernatural being helps him get in better touch with the kids. Denise Nicholas, Kimberly Russell, Ian Bannon, Salim Grant, Brooke Fontaine and Omar Gooding also star with the Cos. (Universal)

“Gremlins 2: The New Batch”--Director Joe Dante reteams with the Steven Spielberg production unit as the frenetic fuzzballs terrorize New York City. Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, John Glover, Robert Prosky, Robert Picardo, Christopher Lee and Haviland Morris are the human actors. (Warners)

“Hardware”--Dylan McDermott stars in this horror story about a fellow stricken with extreme radiation poisoning who struggles to make his way home through a land ravaged by war and environmental collapse. Stacey Travis co-stars; Richard Stanley directs. (Miramax)

“Hellgate”--Ron Palillo (remember Horshack from “Welcome, Back Kotter”?) is back and in this horror flick he portrays a man who enters a living hell after picking up a voluptuous but bizarre female hitchhiker on a deserted mountain road. Directed by William Levey. (Vidmark)

“Hit Man”--Erik Estrada leaves his biker gang when they accidentally kill a mother and her son--then agrees to testify against his old pals, who aren’t pleased. Joseph Merhi writes and directs. (PM)

“Holiday With the Teacher”--A young schoolteacher from France comes to L.A. to teach for the summer but finds frolicking on Malibu Beach much more enjoyable. Director and cast still in negotiation. (Crown)

“In the Cold of the Night”--A photographer is haunted by a mysteriously beautiful woman in a violent, recurring nightmare. When she turns out to be real--and he falls in love with her--he’s thrust into a deadly mind-control experiment. Stars Jeff Lester, Adrianne Sachs, Marc Singer, Brian Thompson, ex-Playmate Shannon Tweed, David Soul, John Beck and Tippi Hedren. An Omega production written, produced and directed by Nico Mastorakis. (Distributor pending)

“Jetsons: The Movie”--William Hanna and Joseph Barbera produce and direct this animated feature based on the well-known TV series, showcasing such voices as Tiffany, Don Messick and the late Mel Blanc. When George Jetson gets a promotion, the fun-loving family moves to a new planet--and new adventures. (Universal)

“The Jungle Book”--A reissue of the last of the classic Disney animated features to be personally produced by Walt Disney. Based on the stories by Rudyard Kipling, the 1967 film follows the adventures and misadventures of Mowgli, a youngster abandoned at birth in the jungles of India and raised by a not-so-vicious wolf pack. Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot and Louis Prima provide the voices; Wolfgang Reitherman directs. (Buena Vista)

“Memphis Belle”--The first film from British producer David Puttnam since his departure as head of Columbia Pictures is a drama about young American airmen who flew a B-17 bomber called the Memphis Belle during World War II. Stars Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, John Lithgow, David Strathairn, D.B. Sweeney, Sean Astin, Billy Zane. Catherine Wyler--daughter of the late director William Wyler, who made a feature-length documentary about the plane--co-produces. Michael Caton-Jones directs. (Warners)

“Men at Work”--Emilio Estevez writes, directs and stars with brother Charlie Sheen in this action/comedy about two trash collectors who stumble upon the body of a city commissioner, then spend the next choatic 24 hours trying to prove they didn’t murder him. (Columbia/Triumph)

“Mermaids”--Richard Benjamin directs Cher, Bob Hoskins and Winona Ryder in this study of a sensitive 15-year old raised by a free-spirited mom. (Orion)

“Mr. and Mrs. Bridge”--A real life “Mr. and Mrs,” Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, star in this adaptation of Evan Connell’s pair of best-selling novels detailing upper-middle-class life in provincial Kansas City, spanning 1914-1944. Director James Ivory works again with his “Room with a View” scenarist Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Co-stars Blythe Danner, Simon Callow, Kyra Sedgewicke and Robert Sean Leonard. (Miramax)

“My Blue Heaven”--Director Herbert Ross tackles this comedy, exec-produced by Goldie Hawn and written by Nora Ephron. Steve Martin’s a charming organized crime informant relocated to a small California town whose antics chagrin the FBI agent assigned to him as well as a female assistant D.A. on a mission to put him behind bars. Rick Moranis and Joan Cusack co-star. (Warner)

“Navy SEAL”--Charlie Sheen, Michael Biehn and Joanne Whalley-Kilmer head the cast in this thriller following America’s most elite naval combat and rescue team as they descend into terrorist territory on a very serious mission: Islamic bad guys have captured some American Stinger missiles. Lewis Teague directs. (Orion)

“Night Wish”--A dream-research team finds itself in danger as fantasy and reality inexplicably meld. Writer Bruce R. Cooke also directs Clayton Rohner, Alisha Daus and Brian Thompson. (Vidmark)

“Peacemaker”--Robert Davi stars as an alien police being sent to Earth on a sticky assignment: teaming up with a reluctant female doctor to track down a deadly killer from his native planet. Kevin Tenney writes/directs. Robert Forster, Lance Edwards, Hilary Shepard and Bert Remsen co-star. (Gibralter)

“Postcards From the Edge”--Adapted by Carrie Fisher from her best-selling novel, this Mike Nichols directed-produced drama explores a mother-daughter relationship set against the often-unreal backdrop of Hollywood. Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman and Richard Dreyfuss star. (Columbia)

“Problem Child”--John Ritter, Amy Yasbeck and Jack Warden star in a comedy about an unsuspecting couple out in the ‘burbs who adopt a child that they think will wonderfully enhance their life. Directed by Dennis Dugan. (Universal)