The Shack:

A  faith-based movie with an unusual spin, this story which stars Sam Worthington as Mack Phillips, a man who has faced, and continues to face, one of the most difficult things in life, the loss of a child, takes us in an unusual direction.  He and his wife Nan (Radha Mitchell) face this heartbreak together, but Mack is wracked with guilt as he was the one who had the family at a lakefront camp without Nan when his youngest daughter disappeared.  One moment she was there, and the next, as Mack’s attention was diverted to his other children having trouble in their canoe, she had disappeared.  Her body was found eventually, miles away, in an abandoned shack in the woods.  Months later when Mack receives a written invitation for him to meet God at the shack, he wonders if it is just a cruel trick … but something moves him to go, where he meets the Holy Trinity … in the person of Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures, The Help) who engages him in long conversations about how bad things happen to good people.  A touching, and most interesting treatment of a challenging subject. Rated PG.

Before I Fall:

Samantha (Zoey Deutch) is a regular young woman teenager having a regular day, and it doesn’t occur to her until it’s too late, that this day is her last.  Sam dies … and then starts living that day again, at the end of which she dies again, and so on, and so on, Groundhog Day style.  She had the perfect guy, the perfect job, and the perfect group of friends, and now, she was confined to this purgatory with no understanding as to why it happened.  Slowly, as each day, the same one, unravels, she begins to learn about the things she did, and the things she didn’t do, and how that made a difference in the lives of those around her.  It also becomes clear that there may be some redemption for her, but time is running out and there are things she must do to save herself and those dear to her.  Interesting premise, well-acted.  Rated 14A.

Collide:

Nicolas Hoult is Casey Stein, a regular American guy backpacking through Europe, where he gets mixed up with a gang of drug smugglers, working as their driver.  His girlfriend Juliette (Felicity Jones of Star Wars: Rogue One) is critically ill and he needs money desperately to pay for her treatment, so, any port in a storm and he’s suddenly in the drug business.  Things go awry, and now he is the on the run, trying to outpace his employers while now trying to save Juliette from the hands of a vicious drug lord.  Anthony Hopkins and Ben Kingsley also star in this filmed-on-location trek across Europe. Rated 14A.

The Fault in Our Stars (2014):

When I tell you the storyline here, you'll either run the other way, or run for the Kleenex.  Ansel Elgort and Shailene Woodley are Gus and Hazel, teens who meet at a cancer support group.  She has lung cancer, he has lost his leg, but they don't dwell on what's wrong, but rather on what's right.  Hazel's favourite author lives in the Netherlands, and after some significant coaxing, the two set out on an odyssey to find and meet him.  We know from the outset that this cannot end well, but there are surprises at every turn, and we marvel at how personable these young actors are.  I would encourage your seeing it despite the "downer" look of things.  Also stars Laura Dern.  Rated PG.

Sahara (2005):

Based on the Clive Cussler action novel,  we see Matthew MacConaughey as Dirk Pitt, a soldier of fortune kind of guy who is looking for a Civil War ship ... in the desert.  Why it's in the desert, and how it might have come to be there with its alleged cargo of gold is the story.  In a subplot, he crosses paths with a World Health Organization scientist (Penelope Cruz) who is being harassed by a ruthless West African dictator, and soon Dirk and the Doc are on the same page as they look to solve a pair of mysteries.  Despite being a dozen years old, it still holds up as a good action movie that could have been the first in a series ... but wasn't because of the poor box office results for this one.  It plays well on TV though!  Rated 14A.