FREEZE FRAMES

CRIMEWAVE -- Very broad, very brash ``film noir'' satire about a mild-mannered young man vs. a pair of crudely comical thugs who want to kill him and his new girlfriend. The action is fast, flashy, sometimes funny, always loud. Directed by Sam Raimi, who also wrote the screenplay with Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. All three of them, especially the Coen brothers, are considered hot new prospects on the movie scene. (Rated PG-13) DEEP HEARTS -- Subject and style both have a luxurious, dreamy texture in this documentary about Bororo herdsmen of the upper Niger valley in Africa, holding an annual event that's part tribal convention and part male beauty contest. Directed by Robert Gardner. (Not rated)

FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF -- The title character is a teen-ager who sees high school as a pesky obstacle in his path to a nonstop good time. The action takes place between dawn and dusk, like that of ``The Breakfast Club,'' and shows our hero playing hooky with a couple of friends. Written and directed by John Hughes, a teen-movie specialist who identifies more with the whims and frivolities of young people than with their deepest problems and concerns. Matthew Broderick is as charming as ever in the leading role, though. (Rated PG-13)

INVADERS FROM MARS -- A little boy is the only person who realizes that everyone in town, including his own parents, is under the control of aliens from another planet. The original version of this yarn, directed by William Cameron Menzies, contained some of the most haunting images of any 1950s science-fiction movie. The new remake has several strikes against it: self-indulgent dialogue, uneven performances, stupid shock effects, and a paranoid view of space exploration. It's also about 20 minutes too long. Yet it packs a strong wallop about half the time, if you see it as a child's-eye-view story that taps directly into preteen fears and fantasies. Directed by Tobe Hooper, whose career keeps soaring and plummeting like a roller coaster. (Rated PG)

MONA LISA -- Except for the title and the Nat ``King'' Cole theme song, not much is gentle in this harrowing ``Taxi Driver'' spinoff about a small-time hood who becomes a prostitute's chauffeur. Bob Hoskins doesn't succeed at making the hero's wild mood swings credible, but Cathy Tyson makes the most stunning screen debut in recent memory. The movie seems genuinely saddened, moreover, by its own nasty view of London lowlife. Directed by Neil Jordan, who veers between the stylish, the self-conscious, and the ugly. (Rated R)

SPACECAMP -- While attending a summer camp that gives astronaut-type training to kids, a group of youngsters is accidentally launched into space. The plot is mighty far-fetched, and the characters are mostly stereotypes from zillions of earlier teen movies. The action flows at a good clip, though, after the screenplay has laboriously set the scene. And the film has an open affection for the romance of space travel that's welcome, and refreshing, in the wake of the recent Challenger tragedy. Directed by Harry Winer. (Rated PG) RATINGS: Films with ratings other than G may contain varying degrees of vulgar language, nudity, sex, and violence.

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