FREEZE FRAMES

A weekly update of film releases CYRANO DE BERGERAC - Gerard Depardieu gives an energetic performance as the poet with a golden tongue and an outsized nose. But there's not enough originality in filmmaker Jean-Paul Rappeneau's vision of the classic tale to justify yet another version, especially after Steve Martin deflated it in ``Roxanne'' a few seasons ago. (Rated PG) GRIM PRAIRIE TALES - In the Old West, two travelers regale each other with bloody ghost stories. James Earl Jones and Brad Dourif are fun to watch. Still, their yarns don't add up to much. Wayne Coe directed. (Rated R)

HIDDEN AGENDA - Northern Ireland is the setting for this politically charged drama about the killing of an American lawyer and the efforts of his fiancee, joined by an official investigator, to learn the causes of the tragedy. Directed by Ken Loach, whose long commitment to topical film can't overcome the labored and schematic nature of Jim Allen's screenplay. (Rated R)

MY TWENTIETH CENTURY - The century's early years come to life through a picarsque tale of identical twins separated at birth; one becomes a jaded man-hunter, the other a feisty anarchist. Although the movie doesn't live up to the high promise of its first scenes, it's luminously photographed and often quite charming. Ildiko Enyedi directed the Hungarian production. (Not rated)