OUT ON VIDEO

A weekly update of video releases

Dates in parentheses indicate a full review of the film in the Monitor.

* THE INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD - Parents beware: Your children may pine for a magical cupboard of their own after watching nine-year-old Omri bring his toy Indian, cowboy, and Army doctor to life after simply locking the door to his own cupboard. Grown-ups can't help but be charmed by the imaginative tale, too. It teaches friendship, compassion, and freedom from stereotypes - values that outweigh mediocre acting (including that of rap artist Litefoot) and a few scenes that try too hard to tug at the heartstrings. (PG, Columbia Pictures)

- Jennifer G. Wolcott

* WATERWORLD

Panoramic shots of the wide-open sea, a breathtaking trip to a desolate city submerged under water, and expensive special effects are this movie's strong points, but their impact is greatly diminished on a TV screen. Further disappointing is the plodding plot, which follows a struggle between Kevin Costner's amphibious character and Dennis Hopper's evil henchmen to find dry land - a paradise only dreamed about in this future aquatic world. It's easy to see how complicated production sequences and elaborate sets made this one of the most expensive movies ever produced, but the returns are far less than what could have been. (PG-13, MCA Universal Home Video, July 28, 1995)

- Judy Nichols

* NINE MONTHS - With all the big names in this comedy - Hugh Grant, Robin Williams, Joan Cusak, Tom Arnold, Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore - you'd expect it to be better than average. It isn't. Nor does it add much to the ''she's having a baby'' genre. But it does provide a chuckle every now and then as Grant's character, a child psychologist, deals with the unexpected pregnancy of his girlfriend (Moore) and his impending fatherhood. The laughs come with the help of the supporting cast, including Williams, as a Russian doctor, and Cusak and Arnold as an overzealous married couple with their own brood who befriend the parents-to-be. (PG-13, 20th Century Fox)

- Kim Campbell