SUN SCREEN : IT'S ALMOST SUMMER, AND THE MOVIE STUDIOS ARE POISED TO INUNDATE YOUR LOCAL MULTIPLEX.

Byline: Amy Dawes and Bob Strauss Daily News Staff Writers

It's summer; it's hot and the studios are edgy over their film release schedules. As of press time, the following list of films was complete and up to date, but don't blame us if something drops out or suddenly materializes. For example, ``Jack,'' a Robin Williams vehicle from Buena Vista/Hollywood Pictures, was moved from an October release to early August. Why? You'll have to ask the movie gods.

As for which of these films will be hits or worth seeing, your guess is as good as the studios'. But if you go to a turkey - if it's any consolation - remember: You spent a lot less money on it than they did.

MAY 10

Boys: A mysterious woman (Winona Ryder) hides out in a boys' prep school and develops a romance with one of the students (Lukas Haas). (Buena Vista/Touchstone)

Cold Comfort Farm: The perfect antidote to the Jane Austen hit parade, this subversive U.K. literary classic - set in the 1930s - delivers biting social satire in the person of crisp and clever heroine Flora Poste, who inherits a shabby country estate full of crude, ill-mannered bumpkin relatives, and sets about to bring the place up to standards. The movie, which aired on the BBC, is directed by John Schlesinger (``Midnight Cowboy''). With Kate Beckinsale, Joanna Lumley and Rufus Sewell. (Gramercy).

Dead Man: Art monster Jim Jarmusch (``Mystery Train,'' ``Stranger Than Paradise'') makes a western, but it sounds similar to his other existential comedies about strangers in strange lands. Johnny Depp is an accountant-turned-gunfighter. Robert Mitchum makes an appearance, and Neil Young composed the score. (Miramax)

Of Love and Shadows: Romance and intrigue in 1970s Chile, played out by Antonio Banderas and Jennifer Connelly. Based on an Isabel Allende novel. (Miramax)

Original Gangstas: '70s blaxploitation movie stars Fred Williamson, Jim Brown and Pam Grier reunite their old posse after 30 years to combat a vicious, younger street gang. (Orion)

Twister: Steven Spielberg executive produced this effects-laden story of scientists tracking tornadoes through the Midwest. ``Mad About You's'' Helen Hunt and ``Apollo 13's'' Bill Paxton play the estranged couple who've devoted their lives to chasing the wind. ``Speed's'' Jan De Bont directs. (Warner Bros.)

MAY 17

Flipper: Before Willy got freed, Flipper the dolphin was every kid's favorite aquatic mammal. Paul Hogan and Elijah Wood are his nonfinned friends in this big-screen version of the '60s TV staple. (Universal)

Heaven's Prisoners: Finally, the long-delayed release of the Louisiana mystery-thriller based on James Lee Burke's popular novel. Alec Baldwin is the troubled Cajun detective with a drinking problem and three difficult women (Kelly Lynch, Mary Stuart Masterson and Teri Hatcher) in his life. (New Line Cinema)

The Horseman on the Roof: Big old French costume epic about a cavalry man (Olivier Martinez) and an abandoned woman (``Blue's'' Juliette Binoche) coping with a cholera epidemic in 1832 Provence. (Miramax)

I Shot Andy Warhol: Widely acclaimed account of radical feminist Valerie Solanas' (Lili Taylor) attempt on the life of the famed art boy for, um, not taking her seriously - like he treated her any differently than he did anybody else. Taylor's fierce performance and director Mary Harron's canny re-creation of the '60s New York avant-garde scene earned the film a special jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival. (Orion)

MAY 22

Mission: Impossible: Tom Cruise takes over TV's covert spy squad in this post-Cold War actioner directed by Brian De Palma. With Jon Voight, Ving Rhames and Vanessa Redgrave. (Paramount)

MAY 24

Spy Hard: If ``Mission: Impossible'' isn't intriguing enough for you, don't expect any more excitement from this Leslie Nielsen secret agent spoof. Charles Durning and Andy Griffith are the other seniors who'll be trying to shake the wheeziness out of ``Get Smart''-era gags. Then again, with ``Impossible'' back and the James Bond franchise revived, it is the right time to make fun of all that silly business again. (Hollywood Pictures)

Welcome to the Dollhouse: Winner of the top prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival, this hilariously cruel tale of a New Jersey girl's awful passage into adolescence offers no easy comforts, but a whole bunch of sharp observations about suburban life. Heather Matarazzo is amazing as the nerdy, constantly derided duckling who manages to persevere through the most depressing circumstances. (Sony Pictures Classics)

MAY 31

The Arrival: Charlie Sheen plays a radio astronomer who receives a mysterious transmission from deep space - known as a ``shockwave'' - and finds himself at the center of a far-reaching conspiracy. With Ron Silver and Lindsay Crouse. Directed by David Twohy. (LIVE Entertainment/Orion Pictures)

Dragonheart: Few things are more touching than the relationship between a man and his dragon. Dennis Quaid is the brave knight and Sean Connery provides the voice of his fire-breathing buddy, who is visualized by the same folks who made ``Jurassic Park's'' dinosaurs. Together, they try to free a medieval kingdom from tyrant David Thewlis. Directed by ``Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story's'' Rob Cohen, who really needs to come up with some more distinctive film titles. (Universal)

Eddie: This month's basketball flick finds Whoopi Goldberg's limo driver inexplicably coaching the New York Knicks. Her strategies are based on old Rhea Perlman movies. (Hollywood Pictures)

JUNE 7

Butterfly Kiss: Lesbian serial killer fun along the motorways of Britain. Amanda Plummer and Saskia Reeves star. (CFP Distribution)

The Phantom: Billy Zane stars as the masked man in purple tights - Lee Falk's comic strip superhero the Phantom - in this swashbuckling adventure tale. With Treat Williams, Kristy Swanson and Patrick McGoohan. (Paramount)

The Rock: Oscar winners Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery are, respectively, an FBI agent and an ingenious convict who try to save San Francisco when a renegade general turns Alcatraz into his own private missile base. Ed Harris plays the military madman in what had better be a tense action thriller. (Hollywood Pictures)

The Visitors: The most popular film in French history is a comedy about a 12th-century knight (``The Professional's'' Jean Reno) who, sent by a witch to our modern world, does brave battle with all manner of threatening appliances. (Miramax)

JUNE 14

The Cable Guy: Jim Carrey got $20 million for this, but that isn't close to the price unsuspecting subscriber Matthew Broderick pays when he accepts free premium channels from Carrey's much too friendly, chaos-causing installer. This is supposed to be the film that initiates the ``Ace Ventura'' superstar's darker, more serious phase. Director Ben Stiller (``Reality Bites'') assures us, somewhat worriedly, that it's still just as funny as ``Dumb & Dumber.'' (Columbia)

Moll Flanders: Robin Wright stars as author Daniel Defoe's 18th-century heroine, who's born into poverty in London but transforms her situation through courage, spirit and sheer determination. Directed by Pen Densham, with Morgan Freeman, Stockard Channing, John Lynch. (MGM)

Stealing Beauty: Liv Tyler stars as an American teen-ager who travels to Tuscany to explore her soul and her sexuality, encountering an assortment of characters (including Jeremy Irons and Sinead Cusack) along the way. Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. (Fox Searchlight)

Switchblade Sisters: Quentin Tarantino presents the re-release - as if anyone noticed it the first time - of Jack Hill's 1975 cult film about a female street gang. (Miramax)

JUNE 21

Eraser: Arnold Schwarzenegger is back as a tough, terminatin' and substantially overbudget federal marshal who guards key criminal informants in witness protection programs. His latest assignment: Make the bad guys overlook a canary played by rather well-known former Miss America Vanessa Williams. From the director of ``The Mask,'' Chuck Russell. (Warner Bros.)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame: This year's big, animated Disney musical cutes up the Victor Hugo classic, courtesy of the same directing team responsible for ``Beauty and the Beast.'' Tom Hulce gives voice to the lonely but lovable Quasimodo, whose only pals are some tolerant gargoyles. Watch as puritans of all persuasions complain that Demi Moore makes the beautiful gypsy Esmeralda sound too sexy. With a score by (who else?) Alan Menken. (Walt Disney Pictures)

Lone Star: John Sayles (``Passion Fish'') wrote and directed this tale of a Texas border town sheriff (Kris Kristofferson) caught in an investigation that uncovers his own long-buried secrets. With Chris Cooper, Joe Morton, Elizabeth Pena and Matthew McConaughey. (Castle Rock/Sony Pictures Classics)

Mouth to Mouth: A phone sex comedy from Spain, starring Javier Bardem (``Jamon, Jamon'') and Aitana Sanchez-Gijon (``A Walk in the Clouds''). (Miramax)

JUNE 28

Heavy: An overweight pizza chef (Pruitt Taylor Vince) is shaken out of his upstate New York state-of-stupor when sweet young waitress Liv Tyler comes to work at his mother's (Shelley Winters) rural tavern. With ex-Blondie Deborah Harry. (CFP Distribution)

The Nutty Professor: Eddie Murphy's career has come down to this: remaking a Jerry Lewis comedy disguised as a fat guy. Directed by Tom Shadyac, who let ``Ace Ventura, Pet Detective'' loose on the world, it's about how klutzy genius Professor Klump makes a slimming-down, suaving-up potion that turns him into romantic savant Buddy Love. Let's see if this formula turns Murphy back into a comic force to be reckoned with. (Universal)

Purple Noon: The long-threatened re-release of the 1960 French thriller may finally happen this month. Alain Delon stars as novelist Patricia Highsmith's duplicitous charmer, Tom Ripley. (Miramax)

Rendezvous in Paris: Three elegantly crafted vignettes set in romantic Paris comprise a comic, sophisticated look at the follies and treacheries of love. From director Eric Rohmer. (Artificial Eye)

Striptease: Less is more Moore when Demi Moore takes a job as a stripper in a sleazy Miami club to get the money to win a child-custody battle. Make sense? You be the judge. Moore got a $12 million payday for taking the role. Directed by Andrew Bergman (``Honeymoon in Vegas'') based on a novel by popular mystery writer Carl Hiaasen. (Castle Rock/Columbia)

JULY 3

Harriet the Spy: Louise Fitzhugh's beloved 1964 children's book comes to the screen, with Michelle Trachtenberg (Nickelodeon's ``Adventures of Pete & Pete'') as Harriet, the sixth-grader who spies on her friends and neighbors as part of her training to become a famous writer. With Rosie O'Donnell. (Paramount)

Independence Day: An alien invasion on a global scale is the high concept in this special-effects-laden summer spectacular from filmmakers Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin (``Stargate''). Will Smith, Bill Pullman and Jeff Goldblum lead the cast. (20th Century Fox)

Phenomenon: John Travolta plays a regular guy struck by a sudden, inexplicable flash of genius in this warm and cuddly comic drama directed by the emerging expert at such things, ``While You Were Sleeping's'' Jon Turteltaub. Kyra Sedgwick, Forest Whitaker and Robert Duvall are among the awed acquaintances. (Touchstone Pictures)

JULY 12

Courage Under Fire: In this Gulf War drama, tank commander Denzel Washington seeks redemption for his involvement in a tragic incident of friendly fire by investigating the conflicting reports surrounding the death of Medevac pilot Meg Ryan, who's killed during a separate rescue mission. Directed by Ed Zwick (``Glory''). With Scott Glenn as a Washington Post reporter. (20th Century Fox)

Kingpin: Outrageous comedy about a former bowling champion turned small-time hustler who travels cross-country with an Amish rube who he believes will take him back to the big time. From the creators of ``Dumb & Dumber.'' With Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid. (MGM/UA)

Multiplicity: Michael Keaton plays such a busy guy that the only practical solution to fulfilling all his work and family commitments is to get himself cloned. Initially pleased by the extra attention, his wife Andie MacDowell quickly discovers that there's a limit to the number of husbands one can cope with. Director Harold Ramis did wonders last time out with a similarly gimmicky comedy, ``Groundhog Day.'' (Columbia)

JULY 17

Kazaam: This month's basketball movie, oddly enough, is not about unlikely coaches. It's the much more believable story of a troubled kid who discovers a 3,000-year-old genie played by Shaquille O'Neal. (Walt Disney Pictures)

JULY 19

The Big Squeeze: A wronged housewife (Lara Flynn Boyle) enlists a down-and-out hustler (Peter Dobson) to help her squeeze some insurance money from her ex-baseball player husband in this comedy caper set in the colorful Latino neighborhood of Highland Park. Directed and written by Marcus DeLeon. (First Look Pictures)

The Frighteners: A record-breaking 400 computer-enhanced visual effects grace this supernatural comedy-thriller by the acclaimed director of ``Heavenly Creatures,'' Peter Jackson. Michael J. Fox plays a shady exorcist; he's actually in league with the spirits people pay him to scare off. But when a serial killer's ghost sets up shop, Fox and his otherworldly buddies have to really get down to business. (Universal)

Larger Than Life: Bill Murray inherits a circus elephant. Sarcastic comedian and pachyderm bond on a cross-country trip. Janeane Garofalo and Linda Fiorentino, who have some pretty big mouths themselves, compete for Murray's attention. (MGM/UA)

Maybe ... Maybe Not: German box-office hit about a gorgeous, ostensibly straight man, Axel (Til Schweiger), who moves in with two gay roommates after his girlfriend kicks him out. Soon everyone's starting to wonder if Axel is maybe ... maybe not. Directed by Sonke Wortmann. (LIVE Entertainment/Orion Classics)

Trainspotting: Danny Boyle, the acclaimed Scottish director of last year's ``Shallow Grave,'' has received even more praise for this sick/funny study of Edinburgh drug addicts. (Miramax)

JULY 26

The Adventures of Pinocchio: A live-action version of the classic fairy tale, abetted by computer imagery and the Jim Henson Creature Shop. ``Home Improvement's'' Jonathan Taylor Thomas plays the puppet who becomes a boy, and Martin Landau is his creator/dad, Gepetto. Directed by ``Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' perpetrator Steve Barron. (New Line Cinema)

Celestial Clockwork: A runaway Venezuelan bride pursues her dream of becoming an opera star. Needless to say, she encounters a lot of weirdos. (October Films)

Cosi: Australian comedy about a desperate opera director who stages Mozart's ``Cosi fan tutti'' in a mental hospital. What is it with nutty opera movies this weekend? (Miramax)

The Fan: In a deranged attempt to remind people of ``The King of Comedy,'' Robert De Niro once again plays a criminally unbalanced celebrity stalker. This time, the object of his obsession is an egocentric baseball player (Wesley Snipes), who'd better get out of a career slump before De Niro puts him in one permanently. (TriStar)

Foxfire: A teen-age bonding drama with a strong feminist slant. Based on a Joyce Carol Oates novel. (Rysher Entertainment)

House Arrest: To prevent their parents from divorcing, a couple of kids lock 'em in the basement until they learn to get along. When the other neighborhood children get wind of this, they decide to imprison all their folks in the same way. Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin Pollak star in this comedy by people who obviously saw ``Wild in the Streets'' too many times. (MGM/UA)

Joe's Apartment: Sex, bugs and rock 'n' roll are the bare necessities in this story of an Iowa rube (Jerry O'Connell) who moves into a seedy New York apartment and meets the other tenants - 50,000 singing, dancing cockroaches. Based on the award-winning MTV live-action/animated short created by John Payson, who directs the feature film. (Warner Bros.)

Manny & Lo: Two sisters, 16 and 11, run away from separate foster homes, hit the road together and eventually kidnap a shop clerk (Mary Kay Place), who turns out to be a pretty good surrogate mom. (Sony Pictures Classics)

Stonewall: This fictionalized account of a pivotal moment in the modern gay rights movement explores events leading up to the drag queen-led riots in 1969 outside the Stonewall Inn in New York's Greenwich Village. Directed by the late Nigel Finch for the BBC. (Strand Releasing)

A Time to Kill: John Grisham's first novel comes to the screen in director Joel Schumacher's superheated courtroom drama about two white Southern lawyers (Matthew McConaughey and Sandra Bullock) fighting to defend an African-American man (Samuel L. Jackson) accused of murder after he takes revenge on the racist thugs who assaulted his 9-year-old daughter. (Warner Bros.)

JULY 31

Chain Reaction: ``The Fugitive'' director Andrew Davis returns to action thrillers with this high-tech espionage story about a machinist (Keanu Reeves) who helps a team of research scientists discover a cheap, pollution-free energy source. After the team's leader is assassinated, Reeves and Rachel Weisz, who plays a physicist, go on the run. With Morgan Freeman and Fred Ward. (20th Century Fox)

JULY (dates still to be announced)

Bye-Bye: Algerian immigrants have a tough time in the French city of Marseilles. (Turbulent Arts)

The Low Life: An emotionless would-be writer (Rory Cochrane) is dragged out of his shell after moving to Los Angeles, hitting career frustrations and reluctantly relating to reluctantly acknowledged fellow losers. (Cabin Fever Entertainment)

Plump Fiction: Inevitable, wasn't it? Tommy Davidson and Paul Dinello headline this spoof of Quentin Tarantino movies, with Julie Brown as the zaftig gun moll who justifies the title. (Rhino Films)

A Very Brady Sequel: The success of last year's ``The Brady Bunch Movie'' prompted a return to '70s middle America with Carol (Shelley Long), Mike (Gary Cole) and those irrepressible kids. In the sequel, Carol's long-lost adventurer husband reappears. Will she flip her shag? Arlene Sanford directs. (Paramount)

AUG. 2

The Crow: City of Angels: In this sequel to the 1994 hit ``The Crow,'' Vincent Perez (``Queen Margot'') follows the late Brandon Lee in the role of the rock star who emerges from his own grave with the mysterious powers of the Crow. Set against the macabre festivities of the Day of the Dead. Music video veteran Tim Pope directs. With Mia Kirshner and Iggy Pop. (Miramax)

Emma: Like, this girl goes around trying to arrange all her best buds' love lives for them, as if she had any experience of her own. This obvious ``Clueless'' rip-off by that movie writer du jour Jane Austen (``Sense and Sensibility'') stars Gwyneth Paltrow (``Seven,'' ``The Pallbearer'') and is set, for some reason, in Regency period England - which had nice clothes, too, but nothing you'd really wear or anything. (Miramax)

Matilda: In this kind of peewee ``Carrie,'' Mara Wilson plays a brilliant little girl with telepathic powers who gets back at all the stupid grown-ups in her life. These include her idiotic parents, played by Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman. DeVito also directed this adaptation of the somewhat bent children's book by Roald Dahl (``James and the Giant Peach''). (TriStar)

She's the One: Filmmaker Ed Burns (``The Brothers McMullen'') sticks to what works for him in this romantic comedy about two brothers (Burns, Mike McGlone) trying to sort out their conflicts about the women in their lives. With Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Aniston, Carla Gugino. (Fox Searchlight)

AUG. 7

Jack: Back in man-child (as opposed to man-in-dresses) mode, Robin Williams plays a 10-year-old boy who ages at four times the normal rate, which makes him quite the object of interest to his fifth-grade classmates - and some of their mothers. Francis Ford Coppola directed what sounds like a really ``Big'' project. Diane Lane, Jennifer Lopez and Fran Drescher co-star. (Buena Vista/Hollywood Pictures)

AUG. 9

Basquiat: Artist Julian Schnabel directs this biofilm about artist Jean Michel Basquiat (Jeffrey Wright), who died in 1988 at the age of 27. The killer supporting cast includes Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Christopher Walken and David Bowie as Andy Warhol. (Miramax)

Bound: A gangster's moll (Jennifer Tilly) and an ex-con (``Showgirl'' Gina Gershon) form a lesbian attachment, then steal mob cash from Tilly's boyfriend (Joe Pantoliano). Things get weird after that. (Gramercy)

The Confessional: Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's ``I Confess,'' this debut film from award-winning Canadian stage director Robert Lepage weaves together two story lines from different time periods to probe the shadowy past of a family in Quebec City. With Kristin Scott Thomas (``Four Weddings and a Funeral'') and Lothaire Bluteau (``Jesus of Montreal''). (Artificial Eye)

High School High: Although some of the ``Naked Gun'' guys are behind this comedy, it still sounds alarmingly like one of those inspiring white-teacher-saves-inner-city-youth groan fests. Still, the white teacher in question is played by Jon Lovitz, so let's hope this is the vicious satire the genre deserves. (TriStar)

Tin Cup: It's ``Bull Durham'' on the links as that movie's writer-director, Ron Shelton, reunites with Kevin Costner for this story of an unlucky golf hustler trying to qualify for the U.S. Open, even while falling in love with the lady psychologist (Rene Russo) to whom he's giving lessons. (Warner Bros.)

AUG. 14

Alaska: Two young teens and a helpful polar bear cub (!) trudge across the tundra to rescue their downed, bush pilot father. Charlton Heston appears. (Columbia)

AUG. 16

Carpool: Tom Arnold is an inept robber who carjacks poor shlub David Paymer, instigating a low-comedy pursuit. Rhea Perlman is the obsessed meter maid determined to bag the escaping criminal. (Warner Bros.)

Kansas City: Robert Altman does for his hometown what he once did to Nashville - maybe. In this Depression-era crime saga, Jennifer Jason Leigh kidnaps a junkie socialite (Miranda Richardson), which gets her in much dutch with Harry Belafonte's dangerous gangster. Whether this turns out to be one of the great director's masterpieces or another of his misfires, with a cast like this it should at least be worth a look. (Fine Line)

Last Man Standing: Akira Kurosawa's samurai classic ``Yojimbo'' is reimagined yet again, this time as a Prohibition-era gangster saga (it was also the basis for ``A Fistful of Dollars,'' the spaghetti western that made Clint Eastwood a star). This time it's Bruce Willis as the killer-for-hire who sells himself to warring factions while selling out everyone. Tough customer Walter Hill (``48 HRS.'') directs. (New Line Cinema)

Walking and Talking: Another Gen X romantic comedy, this one focusing on childhood friends Anne Heche and Catherine Keener's man troubles in big, bad New York City. (Miramax)

AUG. 23

Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe: Pierce Brosnan portrays the shipwrecked sailor. William Takaku is Friday. (Miramax)

Infinity: Matthew Broderick and Patricia Arquette star in this romantic drama about the early life of renowned physicist and popular author Richard Feynman, who was torn between love and destiny when his wife Arline was diagnosed with a contagious and potentially fatal illness. Matthew Broderick also directed this movie, which co-stars James LeGros and Peter Reigert. (First Look Pictures)

Relic: A horrific monster comes to life at a natural history museum, resulting in a string of gruesome murders. Penelope Ann Miller and Tom Sizemore play scientists fighting to keep the creature at bay. Directed by Peter Hyams. (Paramount)

Solo: Sci-fi thriller with Mario Van Peebles as a simulated man made of poly-plastics and fluids who's capable of carrying out the government's most dangerous operations. He's the ultimate assassin - until he learns to be human. (Triumph/Columbia)

The Spitfire Grill: The top crowd-pleaser at this year's Sundance Film Festival, this independently produced heartwarmer charts the struggle of an ex-convict (Alison Elliott) to find acceptance in a small, suspicious Maine town. With Ellen Burstyn and Marcia Gay Harden. (Columbia)

AUG. 30

The Stupids: Based on the children's books about a family named, well, Stupid. Studio propaganda claims that the characters aren't as dumb as might be assumed - but then spoils the effect by admitting the film stars Tom Arnold. (New Line Cinema)

Supercop: One of Jackie Chan's more impressive stunt spectacles, in which his Hong Kong cop teams with a mainland Chinese policewoman to bust up an international criminal gang. Chan dangles from a helicopter that crashes onto a speeding train - and that's just the beginning of one action set piece. (Miramax)

The Trigger Effect: When a massive power failure leads to social unrest, suburban couple Elisabeth Shue (``Leaving Las Vegas'') and Kyle MacLachlan (``Twin Peaks'') leave their suddenly unsafe home in search of elusive security. The directing debut of David Koepp, who has written scripts for ``Jurassic Park'' and ``Mission: Impossible,'' among many others. (Gramercy)

AUGUST (dates still to be announced)

Brothers of Sleep: This German production, based on a popular European novel, tells the tale of an immensely talented musical prodigy's struggle to overcome prejudice in his isolated Alpine village. (Sony Pictures Classics)

Cyclo: The new film, set in modern-day Vietnam, by ``The Scent of Green Papaya's'' Tran Anh Hung. A young pedicab operator encounters some bad luck that drives him into a spiral of crime. (CFP Distribution)

First Kid: Sinbad plays the Secret Service agent in charge of the president's bratty son. This country, obviously, is in a lot of trouble. (Caravan Pictures)

Fled: Action adventure about two prison escapees (Laurence Fishburne and Stephen Baldwin) racing to find a hidden stash of cash and an incriminating computer disk that could either bring down the Cuban mafia or get them killed. (MGM)

Flirt: Independent filmmaker Hal Hartley (``Amateur,'' ``The Unbelievable Truth'') studies the fine art of dodging commitment as it is practiced in three cities: New York, Berlin and Tokyo. Parker Posey and Karen Sillas are among the tantalizers. (Cinepix)

Girls Town: A raw, improvised, hard-hitting look at the traumas that bind together and empower three inner-city high school girls (Lili Taylor, Anna Grace and Bruklin Harris). Directed by Jim McKay, this very low-budget film won a Special Jury Prize at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival. (October Films)

John Carpenter's Escape From L.A.: Don't start jamming the freeways - Carpenter hasn't discovered the perfect antidote to the Rotting Orange. He has merely created a sequel to his ``Escape From New York,'' with Kurt Russell an outlaw roaming the 21st-century wasteland after the Big One turns Los Angeles into an island ruled by gangs. With Stacy Keach, Steve Buscemi and Valerie Golino. (Paramount)

Last of the High Kings: A coming-of-age story set in mid-'70s Ireland. Jared Leto (``My So-Called Life'') and Christina Ricci star, as does Gabriel Byrne, who co-wrote the script. (Miramax)

Tales From the Crypt Presents Bordello of Blood: Title says it all, doesn't it? The second cheap horror movie spun off of the TV series derived from the '50s comic books, it's about a brothel staffed by vampires. The cast is perfect for the sleazy concept: snarky Dennis Miller, model Angie Everhart, pneumatic pinup Erika Eleniak and, for that touch of class, Corey Feldman. (Universal)

SEPT. 6

Dangerous Ground: Ice Cube is an expatriate South African who returns home when his brother goes missing, and gets tangled in a nasty drug scheme. Elizabeth Hurley co-stars as the lost man's girlfriend. (New Line Cinema)

CAPTION(S):

19 Photos

Photo: JUST FOR LAUGHS

(1) June 28: Yes, that's Eddie M urphy behind all the prosthetics - playing an overweight chemistry professor who devises a potion to make him slim and sexy in a remake of ``The Nutty Professor.''

(2) July 19: Bill Murray gets a trunkful of trouble in ``Larger Than Life.''

(3) Aug. 7: Robin Williams plays an overgrown kid in ``Jack.''

(4) July 12: In the running to be this year's ``Dumb & Dumber'' is ``Kingpin,'' starring Woody Harrelson, left, and Randy Quaid.

SCI-FI/FANTASY/HORROR

(5) May 31: Having a dragon for a buddy can be useful when it comes to lighting campfires, as Dennis Quaid learns in ``Dragonheart.'' Makes you want to sing ``Puff, the Magic Dragon,'' doesn't it?

(6) August: Kurt Russell roams a Los Angeles laid waste by an earthquake in ``John Carpenter's Escape From L.A.''

(7) Aug. 2: Vincent Perez plays a mysteriously powerful rock star risen from the grave, opposite Mia Kirshner, in ``The Crow: City of Angels.''

ACTION/THRILLERS

(8) July 31: Keanu Reeves plays a machinist who gets caught in a web of espionage in ``Chain Reaction.''

(9) June 21: Arnold Schwarzenegger pulls out the firepower as a federal marshal in ``Eraser.''

(10) June 7: Trouble brews as Sean Connery, left, and Nicolas Cage try to outwit a renegade general who has turned Alcatraz into his own private missile base in ``The Rock.''

(11) July 12: Meg Ryan fights for her life as a Gulf War Medevac pilot in ``Courage Under Fire.''

OUT OF THE ORDINARY

(12) July 19: Ewen Bremner, left, Ewan McGregor and Robert Carlyle portray Edinburgh drug addicts in the off-kilter ``Trainspotting.''

(13) May 24: Heather Matarazzo is an out-of-step adolescent who endures peer put-downs in ``Welcome to the Dollhouse.''

(14) Aug. 16: In the Depression-era crime saga ``Kansas City,'' Jennifer Jason Leigh, left, kidnaps Miranda Richardson.

FAMILY FARE

(15) May 17: Elijah Wood flips over the title character in ``Flipper.''

(16) July 26: Computer imagery and the Jim Henson Creature Shop bring a wooden puppet to life in ``The Adventures of Pinocchio.''

(17) July 3: Michelle Trachtenberg portrays a nosy sixth-grader in ``Harriet the Spy.''

HOT ITEMS

(18) June 14: John Lynch and Robin Wright give life to the characters in Daniel Defoe's 18th-century novel ``Moll Flanders.''

(19) May 17: Teri Hatcher heats up the screen in the mystery-thriller ``Heaven's Prisoners.''