. RUNNING ON EMPTY Sidney Lumet, who makes movies both bad ("The Morning After") and great ("Fail Safe," "Dog Day Afternoon," "The Verdict"), returns with this drama about a married couple of '60s radicals who remain on the run 20 years later. Adding to their problems is their teenaged son, wlio is growing fed up with not having a stable home life. Judd Hirsch and Christine Lahti ("Housekeeping") star as the radicals, and River Phoenix plays their son. STORMY MONDAY A group of interesting actors who always seem to get stuck in unsuccessful films stars in this caper film that has been compared to John Huston's "Beat the Devil." Set in Newcastle, England, Tommy Lee Jones ("The Big Town") stars as a devious American businessman bent upon making a real estate swindle. Sting ("Julia, Julia") co-stars as the owner of a jazz club who is out to foil Jones's plans, and Melanie Griffith ("Something Wild") and Sean Bean ("Carvaggio") play a pair of young innocents who get caught up in the battle between the two. The film is written and directed by Michael Figgis, of British TV. An Atlantic release. PUNCHLINE what's so funny about being a standup comic? Not a whole lot, at least according to this dramatic-comedy from David Seltzer, the writer-director of the critically-praised but commercially-overlooked "Lucas," Tom Hanks and Sally Field star as a pair of comics who work the boards in the cutthroat comedy clubs of Los Angeles, trying to make a living with laughs while struggling with the competitive nature of their relationship. Honest-to-gosh standup comics play many of the supporting roles, and Hanks and Field both made surprise appearances in L.A. clubs as they perfected their schtick (Hanks also demonstrated some of his patter on "Late Night With David Letterman," and was suitably hilarious. MARCH RELEASES "Split Decisions" Filmed imder the title "Kid Gloves," this is a generational drama about a family of New York City boxers. John McLiam and Gene Hackman play a father and son who run an amateur iDoxing program, and Craig Sheffer ("Some Kind of Wonderful") and Jeff Fahey ("Psycho III") play the young pugilists who fight for (and with) them. Jennifer Beals, in only her second film since "Flashdance," also stars. The film is directed by David Drury ("Defense of the Realm"). A New Century /Vista release. "The Decline of Western Civilization II: The Metal Years" In the heyday of the punk era, Penelope Spheeris made "The Decline of Western Civilization," a harrowing look at the Los Angeles club scene that was either fascinating or disgusting, depending on your appreciation of the "music" (do those quotation inarks reveal our opinion?). Now, she turns her cameras on a form of rock and roll that has a much longer history than punk, with almost none of the critical support: heavy metal. Currently enjoying what seems like its 20th revival, metal music is celebrated through interviews with the likes of Ozzie Osborne, Kiss and other luminaries, as well as fans of the genre. Our best wishes go out to any theatre playing this one. A New Line release. "Appointment With Death" Peter Ustinov returns as Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie's master sleuth. This time the murder mystery takes place on the high seas, and the cast of suspects includes Lauren Bacall, Carrie Fisher, John Giclgud. Piper Laurie, Hayley Mills, Jenny Seagrove and David Soul. A flannon release. "The Penitent" The unusual Easter rituals of the Penitent sect of the Amen can Southwest form the backdrop for tin story about a love triangle involving t\s old friends and one of their wives. Raul Julia (in his third film this spring), Armand Assante ("Private Benjamin") and Rona Freed star. A New Century/Vista release "The Wrong Guys" A gang of standup comics (including Louie Anderson, Richard Belzer, Richard Lewis and Franklvn Ajaye) star in this adventure-comedy about the 25th reunion of a Califomian cub scout troop. When adversity otrikes, they are forced to rely on their old survival skills in a romp that is described as a cross between "Deliverance" and a Hope and Crosby comedy. A New World Pictures release. "Doin' Time on Planet Earth" Its a teenager's God-given right to feel like he's different from everyone else, but in this case our hero finds out that he's really different: he's an alien. Described as a smalltown comedy with an offbeat point of view, the film star.s Man .\dU'i, (. andii e Azzara, Hugh Gillin and Adam West. It is directed by Charlie Matthau, the young son of Walter. A Cannon release. "Consuming Passions" Michael Palin and Terry Jones, who appear to be about the same height, provided the ston,' for this black comedy about a chocolate factory that stumbles upon the secret ingredient that leads to undreamable success Unfortunately, that ingredient is human ( and you thought Crunchy Frog was bad ) Vanessa Redgrave, Jonathan Pryce ("Brazil"), Tyler Butterworth, Freddie Jones {"The Elephant Man") and Sammi Davis ("Hope and Glory") make up the utterly British cast. A Samuel Goldwyn Company release. "Dark Tower" Set against the backdrop of a major European city, this science fiction thriller concerns an tmseen force that unleashes a reign of terror over a premiere office complex. The series of murderous events focus on, and later implicate the prominent American architect of the building. Michael Moriarty ("Q"). Jenny Agutter ("An American Werewolf in London"), Theodore Bikel, Kevin McCarthy, Anne Lockhart and Carol Lynley star. A Spectrafilm release. 10 BOXOPUCE
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