>PICK OF THE LITTER: BENJI THE HUNTED Parents and kids have a legitimate bone to pick with distributors: How come there are so few good family movies on video? Stop barking. Benji's back. This fourth adventure in the series about the Captain Marvel of mutts is easily the best. For one thing, Benji has rid himself of pesky human characters. After a fishing accident separates him from his trainer, Frank Inn, Benji swims to shore and ends up in the mountainous backwoods of Oregon and Washington. There, while a timber wolf and a huge Kodiak bear lurk about, he plays protector to orphaned cougar cubs. Ahhh. Get on the video line before they're all rented. (Disney)
STRAINED SERIOUSNESS: CRY FREEDOM Despite Denzel Washington's fine portrayal of black activist Steve Biko, Richard Attenborough's film talks about apartheid without showing its effect on South African lives. The new drama (see current film reviews), A World Apart, handles the theme more forcefully. (MCA)
FAILED FUN: LIKE FATHER LIKE SON Dudley Moore and teenage son Kirk (Growing Pains) Cameron trade bodies in a sad-sack farce. Big, the similar new Tom Hanks movie, is the genuine article. (RCA/Columbia)
OLDIE BUT GOODIE: THE LOST WEEKEND A striking video transfer (in crisp black and white) of 1945's Best Picture Oscar winner, with Ray Milland as an alcoholic descending into madness. Still scary and relevant. (MCA)
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