Freeze Frames. A weekly update of film releases

BAD MEDICINE -- And a bad medical school to give it out. Alan Arkin plays the head of an obscure Central American diploma mill in this sporadically amusing satire of bottom-drawer education. The ethnic stereotypes are sometimes offensive, but when the students become concerned about the plight of their poverty-stricken neighbors, the story at least comes down on the side of compassion vs. bureaucracy and academicism. Directed by Harvey Miller. (Rated PG)

A CHORUS LINE -- Richard Attenborough's version of the Broadway hit about a string of aspiring show-biz stars, who bare their lives and emotions before a tough-as-nails casting director during an audition. Lively, but not directed too gracefully, and some sexual material that may have seemed daring when it was new seems trite or just vulgar today. (Rated PG-13)

THE JEWEL OF THE NILE -- ``Romancing the Stone'' was an amusing adventure-comedy, but this hokey sequel is a dud, even though Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner give it their all. The story pits them and a whimsical ``holy man'' against a megalomaniacal Arab leader. Few surprises, fewer laughs. Directed by Lewis Teague. (Rated PG)

SPIES LIKE US -- Familiar but sometimes very funny satire of government service, the espionage game, and the military mentality. Directed by comedy specialist John Landis, who indulges his usual fascination with deceptive appearances, and even injects a little thought along the way. Not as complex or inventive as his recent ``Into the Night,'' though. (Rated PG) RATINGS: Films with ratings other than G may contain varying degrees of vulgar language, nudity, sex, and violence.