FREEZE FRAMES

FATAL BEAUTY - A drug-hating cop dedicates herself to cracking a cocaine ring. Whoopi Goldberg is Hollywood's only female black superstar, and she should know better than to mire herself in sickeningly violent trash like this. Her talent stands above the mayhem like a star shining in the wrong sky. Directed by Tom Holland. (Rated R) THE GLASS MENAGERIE - Paul Newman directed this compassionate, conservative screen version of Tennessee Williams's great play. Joanne Woodward is magnificent as Amanda Wingfield, the one-time Southern belle nursing wistful memories and doubtful hopes. The supporting cast lives up to her high standard: Karen Allen as delicate Laura, the currently hot star John Malkovich as frustrated Tom, and James Naughton as Jim, the ``gentleman caller.'' Glowingly photographed by Michael Ballhaus. (Rated PG) THE HIDDEN - Violent yarn about an extraterrestrial creature that turns human beings into mindless killers, and worse yet, makes them enjoy heavy-metal rock music. Directed by Jack Sholder, who puts most of his energy into the bloody action scenes. (Rated R) LONG LIVE THE LADY! - A teen-age boy becomes a waiter at an elegant banquet in honor of a wealthy dowager. The plot is deliberately slim, but the film is wryly amusing as it brings out deep-seated contrasts between the hero's shy youthfulness and the stifling, lifeless atmosphere of the ``celebration'' he's trapped in. Directed with quiet skill by Ermanno Olmi, probably the most gifted heir of the Italian neorealist tradition. As icing on the cake, Telemann music fills the sound track. (Not rated) PRINCE OF DARKNESS - Science and religion get the same superstitious treatment in this grim, gory fantasy about researchers battling a devil that's hatching in a church basement. By imitation, director John Carpenter flatters a long list of earlier films, from ``Orpheus'' to ``The Exorcist,'' and comes up with a few strong ideas of his own, including a mise en sc`ene that mingles mystical and technological iconography. But the result is still trashy. (Rated R) SAMMY AND ROSIE... - A young man isn't sure how to react when his father, a controversial third-world politician, returns to England and finds it a pit of decay and corruption. The filmmakers, director Stephen Frears and writer Hanif Kureishi, splash that decay and corruption across the screen without recapturing the sense of urgency and surprise that marked ``My Beautiful Laundrette,'' their previous collaboration. (Not rated) WEEDS - A convict writes a play about penitentiary life, gets released from prison, and puts together a group of former inmates to perform his work. Much of the action is fast, funny, even fascinating. The plot celebrates the possibility of rehabilitation through creativity and shows positive relationships between whites and blacks. Too bad the treatment of women is as crude as the prison-type language and knockabout sex scenes. The climax is jarringly violent, too. John Hancock directed from a screenplay he wrote with Dorothy Tristan. (Rated R) RATINGS: Films with ratings other than G may contain varying degrees of vulgar language, nudity, sex, and violence.