FRIDAY, MAY 20
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues. Gus Van Sant directs the quirky Tom Robbins novel, starring Uma Thurman as the large-thumbed gal who travels from New York to an all-cowgirl ranch out West. Lorraine Bracco and Rain Phoenix await her. (Fine Line)
Maverick. Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster and former Maverick James Garner star for director Richard Donner in this update on debonair drifter Bret Maverick. When he sits down with the likes of Foster and Garner at a big poker championship, the bullets and witticisms fly. (Warner Bros.)
WEDNESDAY, MAY 25
Beverly Hills Cop III. Axel Foley is in Detroit, kicking back, when he comes across strange clues during a murder investigation. These leads compel Eddie Murphy's character to streak back to California and expose the criminal element at an amusement park. John Landis directs. (Paramount)
FRIDAY, MAY 27
The Flintstones. "A Steven Spielrock presentation," this mega-budgeted film stars John Goodman (Fred), Rick Moranis (Barney), Elizabeth Perkins (Wilma) and Rosie O'Donnell (Betty). When Fred gets a promotion at the Slate & Co. quarry, things get a bit hectic in Bedrock. Brian Levant directs. (Universal)
Little Buddha. Bernardo Bertolucci has cast Keanu Reeves, Bridget Fonda and Chris Isaak in this globe-trotting tale of a Seattle couple that hauls off to Bhutan to see if their little boy is indeed a reincarnation of the enlightened one. (Miramax)
FRIDAY, JUNE 3
Bruce Brown's The Endless Summer II. Thirty years after he shot his original surfer flick, Brown takes crest-mavens Robert (Wingnut) Weaver and Pat O'Connell all over creation to do it again. Creation includes South Africa, Fiji, Alaska, France--practically everywhere but Detroit. (New Line)
The Cowboy Way. Woody Harrelson and Kiefer Sutherland play a couple of cowpokes from New Mexico who end up in New York on a desperate quest for a missing buddy. You guessed it: These fish outta water take so big a bite from the Big Apple, they're spittin' out seeds. (Universal)
The Princess and the Goblin. The George MacDonald classic of a princess, the evil goblins and her beloved but endangered castle is brought to life through the voices of Claire Bloom and Joss Ackland. (Hemdale)
Renaissance Man. Danny DeVito plays an unemployed Madison Avenue type who's enlisted by the U.S. Army to use his quirky methods to get a group of decidedly dense recruits fit for duty. The Army brass may have their problems with his technique, but they definitely yield results. Penny Marshall directs. (Touchstone)
FRIDAY, JUNE 10
Africa: The Serengeti. The newest IMAX spectacular takes us on the yearlong journey that more than a million animals take across the grassy plains of the Serengeti National Park in northern Tanzania.
City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold. Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern and Jack Palance saddle up again. Palance plays Duke, a dead ringer for expired brother Curly, as they all vie for the buried riches detailed in a map Crystal discovers in Curly's hat. (Columbia)
Speed. Arch bad guy Dennis Hopper has rigged a crowded Los Angeles bus to blow to smithereens if it slows to under 50 mph. Reckless but brilliant SWAT cop Keanu Reeves takes on the formidable task of saving these terrified passengers from a fate worse than a Santa Clarita commute. Jan De Bont directs. (Fox)
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15
Bhaji on the Beach. Three generations of Asian women head into blue-collar Blackpool, England, for a day of mirthful activity. It's a divergent gathering, the high points coming from the gap between those who subscribe to the old versus the new school. Kim Vithana stars. (First Look)
The Lion King. The word, rather, the roar, around town is that this one is going to be big. Like, \o7 major\f7 big. In this latest feature from Disney's animators, Matthew Broderick provides the voice for cub Simba and Jeremy Irons that of the evil uncle who forces him into exile after his father, the King, passes on. Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff direct; Elton John and Tim Rice provide the tunes. (Walt Disney)
FRIDAY, JUNE 17
Fear of a Black Hat. Rusty Cundieff directs his own script chronicling the hilarious history of "the greatest rap band that ever was": N.W.H. (the \o7 H\f7 stands for \o7 hats\f7 ). Cundieff also stars as Ice Cold. (Samuel Goldwyn Co.)
Getting Even With Dad. Howard Deutch ("Pretty in Pink") directs this comedy starring Macaulay Culkin as a bright little fellow who uses devilish means to get his petty crook of a dad to shape up. "Just one last heist," daydreams dad Ted Danson, "then I'll finally settle down." Maybe not. (MGM)
Wolf. Jack Nicholson is a Manhattan book editor who is certain he's about to get canned, so he takes a therapeutic drive one snowy night. Soon he's bitten on the wrist by a wolf-like behemoth he nearly runs over with the car. Michelle Pfeiffer cares for the increasingly feral editor; Mike Nichols directs. (Columbia)
FRIDAY, JUNE 24
