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Stephen King is one of the most legendary writers in the world, and in the horror genre he is basically a god and his work has been adapted endlessly in movies and TV shows. With Netflix having such a huge content library we though of picking out the best of the best Stephen King adaptations you should check out right now.

Stand by Me Credit – Columbia Pictures

Stand by Me is a coming-of-age drama film directed by Rob Reiner from a screenplay co-written by Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon. Based on the 1982 novella The Body by Stephen King, the 1986 film follows four friends who decide to go hiking to find the dead body of a local teenager who was hit by a train. Stand by Me stars Will Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O’Connell, and Kiefer Sutherland.

This September, Netflix is bringing you a lot of entertainment with the highly anticipated Nicole Kidman drama series The Perfect Couple, a Netflix original drama film starring Elizabeth Olsen, and the brilliant new animated series Twilight of the Gods. However, for the purposes of this article, we are only including the films that are coming to Netflix this month and have a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score. So, check out the 5 best films that are coming to Netflix in September 2024 with a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score.

Jaws (September 1)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%

Jaws is a classic survival thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay co-written by Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb. Based on a 1974 novel of the same name by author Peter Benchley, the 1975 film revolves around Sheriff Martin Brody as he teams up with a marine biologist and a local fisherman to hunt down a giant white...

One of the very best Stephen King films isn't a horror movie — it's the coming-of-age drama "Stand By Me." Released in 1986 and helmed by Rob Reiner, the film actually went out of its way to not slap King's name all over the marketing material. "We actually played down King's name because we didn't want people to have the idea that this was a bloody, gory horror movie," Reiner said (via the book "Creepshows: The Illustrated Stephen King Movie Guide" by Stephen Jones). But while "Stand By Me" may not have been sold as a Stephen King movie, it was very much a personal story for King. So personal, in fact, that when he saw the finished film, he was overcome with emotion and had to be alone for a few minutes to gather his thoughts.

"Stand By Me" is based on King's novella "The Body," which appeared in King's 1982 collection "Different Seasons.

Wil Wheaton landed his first professional acting gig in 1981, appearing in the TV movie "A Long Way Home." He was nine years old. Wheaton was impressive enough to become one of Hollywood's more in-demand child actors, and the next five years of his life were immensely busy. He appeared in films like "The Defiant Ones" and "The Last Starfighter," and TV shows like "Highway to Heaven," "Family Ties," and "St. Elsewhere." It was nothing but an upward arc for the young performer. 

Wheaton's first leading role came in 1986 with the release of Rob Reiner's 1950s nostalgia piece "Stand By Me," an adaptation of the Stephen King novella "The Body." In "Stand By Me," Wheaton played 12-year-old Gordie Lachance, a kid smarting from the recent death of his older brother and the familial resentment it caused. Gordie has three close friends -- played by Rover Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O'Connell...

All dads are not created equal. Some offer unconditional love, some take a firm-but-fair approach, some are rolling stones, some are actual Rolling Stones, and some are The Great Santini. It's a cosmic crap shoot as to which kind of paterfamilias you wind up with, and even an ideal upbringing can morph into a contentious relationship over time. Life, and human beings, are weird that way.

This is why there is no shortage of fiction dealing with dads. We're especially flush with tales centered on the always tricky father-son dynamic. Whole civilizations have come and gone, but dudes have always been hung up for one reason or another on their pops. And over the past 40 years, no actor has been more closely associated with the dramatic exploration of this occasionally fraught kinship than Kevin Costner.

Indeed, the first film that comes to mind for many when they rattle off their...

Killer Collectibles highlights five of the most exciting new horror products announced each and every week, from toys and apparel to artwork, records, and much more.

Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!

The Dead Zone 4K Uhd from Scream Factory

The Dead Zone will be released on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray on December 19 via Scream Factory. The 1983 Stephen King adaptation has been newly transferred in 4K from the original camera negative with Dolby Vision (Hdr-10 compatible) and DTS-hd Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 sound.

David Cronenberg directs from a script by Jeffrey Boam (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade). Christopher Walken stars with Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Herbert Lom, Anthony Zerbe, Colleen Dewhurst, and Martin Sheen.

Filmmaker Mike Flanagan and The Kingcast podcast hosts Eric Vespe and Scott Wampler recorded a new audio commentary for the release.

All the special features from Scream Factory’s 2021 Blu-ray edition are also...

Synopsis

In a small woodsy Oregon town, a group of friends – sensitive Gordie (Wil Wheaton), tough guy Chris (River Phoenix), flamboyant Teddy (Corey Feldman), and scaredy-cat Vern (Jerry O’Connell) – are in search of a missing teenager’s body. Wanting to be heroes in each other’s and their hometown’s eyes, they set out on an unforgettable two-day trek that turns into an odyssey of self-discovery. They sneak smokes, tell tall tales, cuss ’cause it’s cool, and band together when the going gets tough. When they encounter the town’s knife-wielding hoods, who are also after the body, the boys discover a strength they never knew they had. Stand By Me is a rare and special film about friendship and the indelible experiences of growing up. Filled with humor and suspense, Stand By Me is based on the novella ‘The Body’ by Stephen King.

Disc Details & Bonus Materials

4K...

In the early 1980s, Stephen King was officially a household name. Writer of such instantly memorable titles as “Carrie,” “The Shining” and “The Stand,” it was very unlikely to find someone who’d not read – or at least heard of – a Stephen King novel. The author was getting so big that pretty much anything he published landed on the number one spot of the bestseller list. But would his devoted readers gobble up anything he put in front of them? That was put to the test in the middle of 1982, when King convinced his publisher to put out a collection of four novellas he’d written in between novels. The stories had some macabre elements in them, and one did indeed feature a bit of the old supernatural, but for the most part these stories were dramas that dealt with the human condition. The collection was called “Different Seasons,” and...

Rob Reiner's 1986 film "Stand By Me" still stands as one of the best coming-of-age films of all time. An adaptation of acclaimed horror author Stephen King's "The Body," the film follows a group of friends who go on a hike to find the dead body of a missing boy. The compelling, deeply-moving film stars actors Will Wheaton (Gordie Lachance), River Phoenix (Chris Chambers), Corey Feldman (Teddy Duchamp), and Jerry O'Connell (Vern Tessio).

The movie is highly regarded for its performances, its authentic take on pre-teens and is a small-scale masterpiece. Aside from critical acclaim, "Stand By Me" earned an Oscar nomination for "Best Adapted Screenplay," but its most significant victory was that author Stephen King approved of it. In fact, the King of Horror yearned to have written a scene the way the film's creators conceptualized it.

The Film Focused On Gordie's Journey

It's challenging to replicate the...

If you pulled a bloody leech from your underwear, you'd pass out, too. That's what happened to Gordie Lachance (Wil Wheaton) when he ventured into the woods with three friends in September of 1959 for a memorable scene from Rob Reiner's coming-of-age film "Stand By Me." After one of the group overhears his brother talking about discovering the body of a missing kid, Chris Chambers (River Phoenix), Teddy Duchamp (Corey Feldman), and Vern Tessio (Jerry O'Connell) conspire with Gordie to locate the body of Ray Brower, a discovery they believe will make them local heroes.

"Stand By Me" is adapted from a novella of best-selling author Stephen King, titled "The Body." It was Rob Reiner's third film, coming in between the John Cusack comedy "The Sure Thing" in 1985 and classic family fairytale "The Princess Bride" in 1987. In adapting King's story, Reiner suggested to screenwriters Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon a larger focus on Gordie,...

Mark Harrison Feb 12, 2019

Looking for something to watch this Valentine’s Day? Here’s why John Carpenter’s sci-fi romance Starman is worth another look…

This feature contains minor spoilers for Starman. If you haven’t seen the film, please read on with caution.

John Carpenter hasn’t made too many conventional date movies. Films like Halloween, Escape From New York, and his thematic Apocalypse trilogy don’t typically get couples in the mood for love. Nevertheless, he made a doozy of a romance in the form of 1984’s Starman, which stars an Oscar-nominated Jeff Bridges and an equally great Karen Allen as an unlikely couple who take a road trip across America.

Starting with the 1977 launch of the Voyager 2 space probe, which carries a golden record full of samples of Earth culture and greetings in 57 different languages, the film is about an alien who answers mankind’s invitation to extra-terrestrial life.

Arguably one of the lesser-seen and underrated movies from John Carpenter's career, Starman is getting the Collector's Edition Blu-ray treatment it deserves on December 18th from Scream Factory, and the special features include a new featurette in which Carpenter, Jeff Bridges, Charles Martin Smith, and Sandy King Carpenter revisit the beloved 1984 sci-fi romance:

Press Release: Visionary filmmaker John Carpenter presents a romantic science fiction odyssey starring Jeff Bridges as an innocent alien from a distant planet who learns what it means to be a man in love. On December 18, 2018, Scream Factory™ is proud to present 80’s cult film classic Starman Collector’s Edition Blu-ray. Directed by John Carpenter, produced by Larry J. Franco, and written by Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon, Starman stars Jeff Bridges (Kingsman: The Golden Circle), Karen Allen (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Crystal Skull), Charles Martin Smith (American Graffiti), and Richard Jaeckel (Baywatch...

Texan singer’s surviving children will collaborate on The Big O: Roy Orbison, bringing pop star’s tumultuous story to the screen

Following recent films chronicling the lives of Hank Williams, Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash, the career and tumultuous private life of Roy Orbison is to be turned into a movie.

According to Deadline, The Big O: Roy Orbison will be produced by two of Orbison’s surviving sons, Alex and Roy, with another, Wesley Orbison, one of the executive producers. The script will be written by Ray Gideon and Bruce Evans, who collaborated on 1985’s Stand by Me, Starman and Mr Brooks.

Continue reading...

Tony Sokol Sep 29, 2016

An official biopic of Roy Orbison has been confirmed...

Roy Orbison’s estate will cooperate with The Big O, a new biopic based on the life of the man who wrote 'Pretty Woman', 'Running Scared', 'In Dreams' and 'Only the Lonely'.

Roy Orbison was made for movies. That pallor. Those sunglasses. David Lynch saw it and Dennis Hopper channeled it. Roy Orbison was a mystery man, who never showed his eyes after losing his wife Claudette, who haunted his songs. Actually, Roy lost his regular, Buddy Holly style glasses on a tour bus with the Beatles when they opened for him in the UK. He kept both the shades and his friendship with George Harrison. They even formed a band together with Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne.

The biopic The Big O will be written by Ray Gideon and Bruce Evans,...

Exclusive: The estate of iconic singer Roy Orbison has pledged its cooperation in The Big O: Roy Orbison, setting up what will be the first estate-authorized movie biopic. Ray Gideon & Bruce Evans have been set to write the script. It will be a family affair: Marty Katz will produce with Alex Orbison and Roy Orbison Jr, and Wesley Orbison will be exec producer along with Chuck Fleckenstein and Ron Moore. Those are the surviving children of the singer, whose Roy’s Boys LLC…...

It's a scorching summer day, and four neighborhood boys are trying to beat the heat by lounging in the shade near a junkyard's water pump with a refreshing drink. As they cool off, they listlessly toss little rocks into an old tin can a few feet away, and fill the empty air with idle speculation over whether or not Mickey Mouse Club cast member Annette Funicello has started to develop breasts. Enjoying this brief interlude of nothingness, one boy happily sighs: "This is a really good time." The dated specifics...

From Harry Potter to Jason Bourne: our favorite movies from booksFrom Harry Potter to Jason Bourne: our favorite movies from booksScott Goodyer8/8/2016 4:21:00 Pm

Book worms rise up - it’s National Book Lovers day!

What book are you currently reading? A few of us over here right now are enjoying Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One, Herman Koch’s Summer House with Swimming Pool and Emma Cline’s The Girls.

In honour of this glorious day, we wanted to celebrate by making a list of some great books that have made the jump over to the big screen.

If you have read these books but haven’t seen the movie, click on the titles to rent/buy them in our store!

1. The Green Mile

The Green Mile is a 1999 American fantasy crime drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont and adapted from the 1996 Stephen King novel of the same name.

The first film set I ever visited was for John Carpenter’s Starman. I was 13, and the film was shooting just outside Chattanooga, Tn, where I lived at the time. When I was leaving the set at the end of the day, the unit publicist (the great Peter J. Silbermann) gave me a copy of the script by Bruce A. Evans & Raynold Gideon and Dean Riesner, the first actual film script I ever read. It could have been anything I read first, but I’m glad that as I started try to break down structure and character and the crazy magic trick that is writing words on a page that then come to life on a film set, it was that script which I was studying. It’s a lovely piece of writing, and there’s a reason Jeff Bridges got nominated for an Oscar playing the lead role of...

I don't believe that they are "just" movies. I mean, sure, there are plenty of movies that I would consider inconsequential, and many of those are even movies that I like. But the entire culture of films, the idea of these shared narratives that make up something that unites people from around the world, is something that I think people dismiss too easily sometimes. Films are transformative. Films can force you to see things in a new ways. They can build or destroy communities. They can be powerful forces for social change, and they can shine a spotlight on things in a way that is undeniable and immediate. And, in their best moments, they can save lives. Right now, "The Wolfpack" is making its way into theaters, a documentary about a family of young men, all raised by a domineering father who intentionally cut them off from the outside world.

Like all superheroes (or anyone else who uses a secret identity), there came a moment when someone finally cracked the code and published my real name. To be fair, my identity was a pretty poorly-kept secret by that point. The first time I went to an actual press event, I used my real name, and anytime I met someone, I used my real name. "Moriarty" was a fun identity to slip into, and especially in the early days of the site, we played up the mythology of things. My friends all got their own spy names and would show up in the reports in the form of Henchman Mongo and Segue Zagnut and Harry Lime and more. From my end, it was silly and fun, and not something to be taken seriously. But when Film Threat ran a fairly vicious hit piece on Harry, I was also a target, and...

If you didn't celebrate Stand By Me's 25th anniversary last year like any proud, nostalgic, train-dodging American, I don't think we should meet. It's the definitive Stephen King adaptation, the definitive River Phoenix movie (Take that, Running on Empty!), and the only movie I can think of that is both exceedingly believable and exceedingly sappy. More important, it fulfills my checklist of qualifications for our new feature Best Movie Ever: I can watch it again and again, it's unpretentious, it's funny when it wants to be, and it's real. Ben E. King, your legacy goes on untarnished.

Stand By Me tells the story of four 12-year-old boys in the early '60s who hike for miles along railroad tracks for a chance to glimpse the dead body of one of their classmates, a missing kid who might've been hit by a train. The kids consider it an adventure -- which it is,...

Stephen King is undeniably one of the most recognised household names in modern literature. A prolific idea machine, King’s schlocky, pulp-style delivery and liberty-taking use of prose is an instant turn-off for some. But it can’t be denied that many of the concepts that he dreams up are truly touched by greatness.

There are a ridiculous number of varying movie/TV adaptations from throughout the length and breadth of Stephen King’s career; believe me, I counted them. In all, I found evidence that no less than eighty-four various projects (from shorts to feature films and the gamut in-between) have been adapted out of Stephen King’s novelizations and short stories. And chances are you’ve seen a good chunk of them, even if you’re not aware of it.

Of course they’re not all great, not by a long shot. Some of them are downright drivel (the T.

I attempted a lengthy explanation to describe the point I'm trying to make with the examples below, but my own circular logic eventually short-circuited my brain and I deleted it. So, draw your own conclusions based on the evidence below. The person who explains the point I'm trying to make the best gets cake. I'm not even kidding. I will bake you a goddamn cake and send it to your house. That's how much this means to me. And I make a mean motherfucking cake, people.

This is officially a Pajiba Contest.

Screenwriters in bold. Directors in parenthesis. Use the headline as a guide. It may also be helpful to know that William Goldman seems to be the exception to the rule I'm trying to demonstrate.

Guinevere Turner

Best Movie: American Pyscho (Mary Harron)

Worst Movie: Bloodrayne (Uwe Boll)

Ted Tally

Best Movie: Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme)

Worst...

This review was written for the theatrical release of "Mr. Brooks".Pushing coincidence and exaggeration to the point of near comic absurdity, "Mr. Brooks" begins as a steely cool examination of an unlikely serial killer, but it quickly tumbles off that edge into a quagmire of plot gimmicks and writer's tricks. "Brooks" is the second directing gig by screenwriter Bruce A. Evans ("Stand by Me") from a script he wrote with his longtime partner Raynold Gideon. These two are fine studio writers, but, unleashed from the shackles of the studio development system, they succumb to an urge to explore the dark side of life yet do so without dramatic logic or, for that matter, a moral compass.

The film feels sleazy and nasty -- but without the pulp kick of filmmakers who know how to do sleazy and nasty. The two key roles, wallowing in obsession and ambiguity, were superficially juicy enough to attract Kevin Costner (who even produces) and Demi Moore. But they have little to play: The characters are the equivalent of junkies who plunge needles into their veins over and over without the movie giving any reason for the compulsive, self-destructive behavior.

Fans might show up at theaters, but such roles are the kind likely to reduce that fan base. As counterprogramming to the summer silly season, this adult thriller might attract a decent turnout for a couple of weeks, after which the film will become a DVD curio.

Evans' serial killer, Earl Brooks (Costner), isn't just an ordinary guy with a secret life but Portland's Man of the Year in honor of his civic and philanthropic activities. And not just any philanthropist/serial killer but one with his own stalker, a peeping Tom photographer (Dane Cook) who saw him butcher a naked couple having sex, and a daughter (Danielle Panabaker) who comes home from college with a hatchet murder on her resume.

Evans' bulldog police detective Tracy Atwood (Moore) isn't just any ordinary cop but a $60 million heiress who undertakes police work as a hobby. And not just any detective/heiress but one with a nasty divorce that threatens her career and a deranged killer newly escaped from prison who vows revenge against her for putting him away.

Now would you believe that Brooks' stalker doesn't want to turn him into the police but rather wants to go along on his next kill? No? Well, would you believe that the serial killer just happens to spot the deranged killer and his tough-as-nails girlfriend at a convenience store so he can set in motion a plan to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak?

Clearly, this is one busy story but one that never digs beneath the surface in search of motives or insight. Brooks has an alter ego named Marshall who is personified by William Hurt. Marshall plays Id to Brooks' weak Superego, always urging him to be bad and enjoy the ride. The two discuss murder methods and the care to take so as to avoid getting caught. But they never really debate the merits of badness.

The film views the anti-hero's compulsion as an addiction. Brooks even attends AA meetings. And when his daughter gives in to her bloody impulses, he figures she has inherited his "disease." This is as far as any insight goes.

So all the film's characters, real or imagined, are either twisted or depraved save for the peripheral roles of wife (Marg Helgenberger) and cop sidekick (Ruben Santiago-Hudson). They aren't allowed to be very bright, though. One day our Mr. Brooks catches a plane for the Bay Area, performs a hatchet murder to cover up his daughter's tracks, flies back home and crawls into bed next to his wife. She thinks he has been downstairs the whole time playing with his pottery-making. Right.

The filmmaking is sleek and meticulous with well-upholstered sets and insistent mood music. It's all part of that conceit that a trash exploitation movie done with exquisite production values is somehow classy. It's not.

MR. BROOKS

MGM

Eden Rock Media/ElementFilms/Relativity Media/Tig Prods.

Credits:

Director: Bruce A. Evans

Screenwriters: Bruce A. Evans, Raynold Gideon

Producers: Jim Wilson, Kevin Costner, Raynold Gideon

Executive producers: Sam Nazarian, Adam Rosenfelt, Marc Schaberg, Thomas Augsberger

Director of photography: John Lindley

Production designer: Jeffrey Beecroft

Music: Ramin Djawadi

Costume designer: Judianna Makovsky

Editor: Miklos Wright

Cast:

Earl Brooks: Kevin Costner

Detective Tracy Atwood: Demi Moore

Mr. Smith: Dane Cook

Marshall: William Hurt

Emma Brooks: Marg Helgenberger

Hawkins: Ruben Santiago-Hudson

Jane: Danielle Panabaker

Running time -- 120 minutes

MPAA rating: R...

Demi Moore is in final negotiations to star alongside Kevin Costner and William Hurt in Mr. Brooks. Bruce Evans is directing the psychological thriller that will be distributed by MGM as part of its own slate. The story, by Evans and Raynold Gideon, follows a man (Costner) with a murderous alter ego (Hurt). Moore will play a tough detective whose devotion to her craft catches the attention and respect of the serial killer she is hunting, which leads to a symbiotic relationship. Costner is producing via his Tig Prods. with Jim Wilson and Gideon.

Demi Moore is in final negotiations to star alongside Kevin Costner and William Hurt in Mr. Brooks. Bruce Evans is directing the psychological thriller that will be distributed by MGM as part of its own slate. The story, by Evans and Raynold Gideon, follows a man (Costner) with a murderous alter ego (Hurt). Moore will play a tough detective whose devotion to her craft catches the attention and respect of the serial killer she is hunting, which leads to a symbiotic relationship. Costner is producing via his Tig Prods. with Jim Wilson and Gideon.

William Hurt, who was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in A History of Violence, has been cast opposite Kevin Costner in Mr. Brooks, a psychological thriller that Bruce Evans is directing for MGM. Costner will play Brooks, a tortured man who tries to be disciplined and remain in control. Hurt will play Costner's alter ego, the evil part of Brooks that loves murder and mayhem. Evans wrote the script with Raynold Gideon. Costner is producing via his Tig Prods. with Jim Wilson and Gideon. An April shoot in Louisiana is being eyed.

William Hurt, who was nominated for an Oscar for his performance in A History of Violence, has been cast opposite Kevin Costner in Mr. Brooks, a psychological thriller that Bruce Evans is directing for MGM. Costner will play Brooks, a tortured man who tries to be disciplined and remain in control. Hurt will play Costner's alter ego, the evil part of Brooks that loves murder and mayhem. Evans wrote the script with Raynold Gideon. Costner is producing via his Tig Prods. with Jim Wilson and Gideon. An April shoot in Louisiana is being eyed.

Cultures collide in this savvy Tim Allen starrer about a hyperactive commodities trader and the 13-year-old son he discovers he has fathered in the Amazon. Look for some decided improvement on the boxoffice for this Buena Vista family pleaser.

Enhancing this prospect's chances are the attractive comedic cast members, including Lolita Davidovich, JoBeth Williams and Martin Short.

Even by a big-time broker's standards, Michael's (Allen) life is complicated: He's engaged to Charlotte (Davidovich), while attempting to finalize his divorce with his ex (Williams), who, naturally, lives in the Amazon. Michael is surprised by the fact he has a child there, the winsome Mimi-Siku (Sam Huntington), whose tribal bents are a befuddlement to his surprise dad. Laying their yarn with a cultural anthropologist's insight and juicing it with slapstick, screenwriters Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon have concocted a pleasing delight. There is plenty of squirrely humor in the scenario, and the characters are very sympathetic, particularly Allen's, whose decent hyperactivity is a visual highlight.

Special praise also to Short for his performance as Michael's antic partner. Similarly, Davidovich is aptly alluring as Michael's fiancee, while Williams is properly independent as Michael's heady ex-wife. Huntington will likely lure young female appeal for his perky performance as the jungle boy.

Director John Pasquin infuses the hilarity with an apt mix of tenderness and wackiness. The technical contributions are well-suited all across the board, particularly cinematographer Tony Pierce-Roberts' glowing hues and costume designer Carol Ramsey's wacky duds. Similar kudos for composer Michael Convertino's spirited, splashy score.

JUNGLE 2 JUNGLE

Buena Vista

Walt Disney Pictures

and TFI International present

Producer Brian Reilly

Director John Pasquin

Screenwriters Bruce A. Evans, Raynold Gideon

Based on "Un Indien Dans La Ville" by

Herve Palud, Thierry Lhermitte, Igor Aptekman, Philippe Bruneau de la Salle

Executive producers Rick Baker, Rick Messina, Brad Krevoy

Co-producer William W. Wilson III

Associate producers Thierry Lhermitte,

Louis Becker

Director of photography Tony Pierce-Roberts

Production designer Stuart Wurtzel

Editor Michael A. Stevenson

Costume designer Carol Ramsey

Music Michael Convertino

Casting Renee Rousselot

Associate producers Kimberly Brent,

Bruce Economou

Sound mixer Allan Byer

Color/stereo

Cast:

Michael Tim Allen

Mimi-Siku Sam Huntington

Patricia JoBeth Williams

Charlotte Lolita Davidovich

Richard Martin Short

Jan Valerie Mahaffey

Karen LeeLee Sobiesky

Andrew Franki Galasso

Running time -- 111 minutes

MPAA rating: PG...

KUFFS

Universal

Hand ''Kuffs'' some due -- it's got more than attitude. Namely, it's got the right attitude for the usually dreary January release season. It's a loosey-goosey, have-fun lark that should notch nifty bucks for Universal among the teen and twenties crowd.

Starring Christian Slater as a half-cocked screwup about to confront the adult world, ''Kuffs'' is a you-can't-be-serious slant on plunging into the big and bad adult world.

Goosed with an ''Alfie''-like stance, as Slater talks to the camera a la Michael Caine, ''Kuffs'' is likely to pull its intended audience into its mindset, namely the common problem chief character George Kuffs (Slater) confronts -- growing up, avoiding the 9-to-5 rut.

Kuffs never wants to grow up, but gets a jolting wake-up when his brother is gunned down by a ring of thugs intent on land-grabbing in his district: George inherits the district and sets out to avenge Big Brother's death by taking on the ring of thugs.

Plugged with bits of ''Bullitt, '' and just about every big-city shoot-and-chase movie that its juvie audience is likely to have never seen (excepting good old ''Turner & Hooch''), ''Kuffs'' scoots along on fully leaded, high-emission plot fuel and, to screenwriters Bruce Evans and Raynold Gideon's considerable credit, never wipes out (HR 1/10). -- Duane Byrge

ENCHANTED APRIL

Miramax

Viewers needing a ''rest cure'' from the year-end onslaught of big or important films will find pleasing respite in ''Enchanted April.''

A chronicle of a sojourn by four English women to sunny Italy in 1922, this Miramax release is a spry and spirited tale of liberation. ''Enchanted April'' will blossom on the art-house circuit, perhaps reaching the level of ''A Room With a View.''

Other than the unrelenting English drizzle and the coldness of their respective lives, the four featured female characters in this adaptation of Elizabeth von Arnim's 1920s novel of the same title have little in

Other than the unrelenting English drizzle and the coldness of their respective lives, the four featured female characters in this adaptation of Elizabeth von Arnim's 1920s novel of the same title have little incommon other than the fact that each deeply needs a brief time away from it all.

Lottie (Josie Lawrence) is kitchen-tied to a social-climbing husband (Alfred Molina) who regards her as his chattel.

Rose (Miranda Richardson) feels chronically ''disappointed, '' a condition not improved by the condescension of her wayward husband (Jim Broadbent).

Lady Caroline (Polly Walker) -- well, she has man problems too, but of a different nature: They swarm to her and she needs an escape from their grasp.

And Mrs. Fisher (Joan Plowright), who is in her dotage, feels alive only when she is namedropping about her dead friends.

Brought together by their common circumstance, misery, the four rent a ''castle'' in Italy, splitting the cost and, initially, driving each other crazy.

A wonderfully prickly story, ''Enchanted April'' is the kind of film that makes you feel the nerve ends of its characters.

Alternately focusing on each character, Peter Baines' screenplay is delicately robust, conveying through tiny particulars of character the depth of each woman's problem and, similarly, unveiling each's capacity for rejuvenation (HR 1/10). -- Duane Byrge

COLD HEAVEN

Hemdale

While the title makes it sound like something out of the Bergman wing of the Swedish Film Institute, ''Cold Heaven'' is narratively more akin to Roger Corman doing Bergman, as if funded by donations from the Catholic Church's bingo proceeds.

This latest Nicolas Roeg-Theresa Russell opus will bring forth few temporal rewards for Hemdale, neither the fruits of boxoffice nor the transitory sustenance of critical acclaim.

In ''Cold Heaven, '' a doctor's wife, symbolically named Marie (Russell), has a tawdry affair with another doctor (James Russo). This troubles her greatly -- not her behavior but the fact that she's going to have to tell hubby (Mark Harmon) all about it on an upcoming trip to Acapulco and, thus, get rid of him. But before she's able to dump her beans, he's killed before her eyes in a gruesome boating accident. Dead as they come in a Mexican morgue, this doctor, nevertheless, rises from the dead and calleth her from the banks of Carmel.

While strange things have been known to go on in the off season at resorts, suffice it to say ''Cold Heaven'' is no mere Lazarus fable. Director Roeg has whipped up under the turbulent, Pebble Beach skies a moralscape that crashes with all the force and fury of fire-and-brimstone writing when combined with the glossy embellishment of picture postcard photography (HR 1/11). -- Duane Byrge

Other reviews

Also reviewed last week were the films ''Shakes the Clown'' (HR 1/9); ''Born to Ski'' (1/8); ''The End of Old Times'' (1/10) and ''By the Sword'' (1/13).

(c) The Hollywood Reporter...