FREEZE FRAMES

*AMOS & ANDREW - Andrew is a respected intellectual, but when he moves into his new home in an upscale community, local residents think he must be an intruder because he's black; after besieging the poor guy by mistake, the local sheriff tries to cover his error by arranging for a small-time white hoodlum to provide an excuse for his assault. Nicholas Cage and Samuel L. Jackosn head a good cast, but the comedy is more preachy than persuasive about its sociological concerns. Written and directed by E. Max Fr ye. (Rated PG-13) *THE CEMETERY CLUB - They're a small circle of widows who don't know how to react when a retired police officer starts romancing one of their number. This sentimental comedy-drama offers sensitive performances, most notably by Ellen Burstyn and Danny Aiello as the slightly odd couple. The screenplay is generally limp, though, and director Bill Duke doesn't show much filmmaking drive outside the hard-boiled domain of his earlier "Deep Cover" and "A Rage in Harlem." (Rated PG-13) *DEAD ALIVE - Yet another horror-comic fantasy about walking corpses who stir up trouble for the living. Peter Jackson directed this grotesquely gory comedy, which is billed as a social satire but pays more attention to special effects than coherent thinking. (Not rated) *THE LAST DAYS OF CHEZ NOUS - Recovering from an unhappy love affair in Europe, a young Australian woman returns home and develops a complex relationship with her sister and her eccentric but attractive brother-in-law. Directed by the talented Australian filmmaker Gillian Armstrong, this impressionistic drama is less a tightly woven story than a series of evocative episodes and revealing moments; the best of them are extraordinarily vivid and all of the acting is excellent. (Rated R)