FREEZE FRAMES

THE BEAR - Two bears, an orphaned cub and a wounded adult, make friends and have adventures in the Canadian wilderness. Also in the picture are some hunters who chase after the animals but wind up learning valuable lessons from them. Directed by French filmmaker Jean-Jacques Annaud, whose earlier pictures include ``Quest for Fire'' and ``The Name of the Rose.'' He shows a good deal of ingenuity in telling the almost-wordless tale, but lavishes more attention on cinematic wizardry than on capturing the bears and the wilderness in their natural splendor. (Rated PG) THE BIG BLUE - A parody of 1940s-style detective pictures. Directed by Andrew Horn, it tries its best to be wry and hip, but doesn't achieve the effortless irony of his earlier film, the little-known ``Doomed Love.'' This movie is no relation to a picture released last year under the same title, incidentally, which dealt with deep-sea divers. (Not rated)

HENRY V - British actor Kenneth Branagh wrote, directed, and stars in this new adaptation of Shakespeare's play. The film is meant to give an interpretation that's more psychological and less heroic than Laurence Olivier's classic 1944 version. Branagh's ideas generally seem less imaginative than those of Olivier, or of Orson Welles in the brilliant ``Falstaff,'' and his psychcologizing doesn't have much depth. Still, his performance has its moments, and there are some accomplished Shakespeareans in the cast. (Not rated)