FREEZE FRAMES

A weekly update of film releases ALICE - Should she stay with her husband or have an affair with the attractive man she's met? When she turns to a Chinatown sage for advice, he gives her magic potions that turn her life upside-down. Woody Allen's dramatic comedy is both hilarious and poignant when it focuses on Alice and her relationships. But just when you get engrossed in the situation, a fantastic plot twist knocks the movie into fantasyland. The result is a weirdly uneven conglomeration that doesn't quite work as drama, comedy, fable, or anything; and the ending is a mess. Mia Farrow and Joe Mantegna head the excellent cast. (Rated PG-13)

AWAKENINGS - Physician and author Oliver Sacks wrote an incisive, deeply philosophical book about his experiences with patients who were medically ``awakened'' from decades of physical and mental immobility. Hollywood has turned his account into a melodrama designed to make you laugh, cry, and marvel, but rarely to think. Directed by Penny Marshall. (Rated PG-13)

THE GODFATHER PART III - The saga limps to a conclusion in this disappointing finale. The story is about Michael Corleone's wish to leave the mob world, his involvement with a Vatican financial scandal, and his uneasy relationship with his late brother's illegimate son. The main performances are generally weak, although the smaller ones are sometimes brilliant, and the yarn never builds much momentum as it leapfrogs from one subplot to another. ``Godfather'' fans will find this a nostalgic treat; but the saga's time in movie history, and in Francis Ford Coppola's directing career, has clearly passed. (Rated R)