FREEZE FRAMES

DRAGNET - A parody of the '50s television series, with Los Angeles cop Joe Friday battling an evil televangelist. Dan Aykroyd and company give the old formula a new '80s spin, but they can hardly outdo the original for avant-garde absurdity. Some of the dialogue is sharp and funny; the action scenes are perfunctory and endless. Tom Mankiewicz directed. (Rated PG-13) GROWING PAINS - New York's enterprising Film Forum assembled this program of shorts on the subject of growing up. Dyan Cannon wrote and directed the most ambitious, ``Number One,'' which starts with a lavatory episode that's as childish as its grade-school characters, but goes on to show real thoughtfulness about the diverse forms parent-child relationships can take. Better yet is ``Made in China,'' by Lisa Hsia, an American of Chinese descent who encountered many ironies when finally visiting China itself. Less memorable are ``Class,'' by Michael Kinberg, an impressionistic look at high-school life; and ``Photo Album,'' by Enrique Oliver, about foibles of his Cuban family. (Not rated) JEAN DE FLORETTE - An intelligent, absorbing, and extremely moving drama of love, death, and redemption among French peasants in the 1920s. Directed in a deliberately classical style by Claude Berri, and featuring superb performances by Yves Montand and Daniel Auteuil as well as Gerard Depardieu, surely France's busiest star. The story continues and concludes in a second film called ``Manon of the Spring,'' based on the same Marcel Pagnol novel. Together they're the most costly and ambitious project in French film history and worth every centime. (Not rated) ROXANNE - Steve Martin's rewrite of Edmond Rostand's great ``Cyrano de Bergerac,'' focusing on a small-town fire chief with a lively mind and a big, big nose. Convinced that no character played by Daryl Hannah could love a funny-looking guy like him, he helps a buddy woo her with amorous speeches and letters. A few vulgarities aside, the action is light on its toes and packed with laughs. Too bad Martin didn't follow the basic ``Cyrano'' story all the way to its ending, one of the most beautiful in dramatic literature. His finale is cute but unconvincing. Fred Schepisi directed. (Rated PG) SLEEPWALK - Sara Driver shows terrific imagination in her first feature film, a dreamlike melodrama about a part-time translator who agrees to decipher a mysterious Asian document. The style and story are eccentric to a fault, the performances agreeably offbeat. Made to order for moviegoers with a taste for adventure, but if you prefer a predictable entertainment, you'll find it more puzzling than pleasing. (Not rated) SPACEBALLS - Mel Brooks parodies the ``Star Wars'' saga. Rick Moranis is funny as the Darth Vader character, and Brooks has some amusing moments as Yogurt, a Ben Kenobi-like wise man who satirizes Hollywood's money-mad mentality. But most of the action is incredibly stupid and crude, even by Brooks's deliriously vulgar standard. Where are the Jedi when we need them? (Rated PG) RATINGS: Films with ratings other than G may contain varying degrees of vulgar language, nudity, sex, and violence.