Five Feet Apart:

A cynic might say that this is a "sick teenager love story," mirroring such recent films as "The Fault in Our Stars," "Me Before You" from last year, Julia Roberts' "Dying Young from 1991, and going back all the way to Ryan O'Neil and Ali McGraw in "Love Story" back in 1970, and that it has little purpose other than to make you sad and use a number of Kleenex during its run.  The less cynical might see this story of a young woman who has lived her life with cystic fibrosis, and who accepts its challenges as uplifting an honourable.  Her name is Stella (Hailey Lu Richardson) and she is smitten with Will (Cole Spouse) who also has the illness.  They can't get close to one another because of the bacteria that could compromise Will's particular condition, and yet they become closer in many other ways. The cynics among us will see this as a manipulative tear-jerker, while those who are more empathetic will see it as a triumph, even over the short run, of a terrible disease that no one deserves. The filmmakers partnered with a Cystic Fibrosis facility to ensure that what is depicted here is accurate.  Also stars Claire Forlani.  Rated 14A.

The Mustang:

Connie Britton (Nashville, Friday Night Lights), Matthias Schoenaerts, and Bruce Dern star in a story said to be inspired by a 2014 short film called "Rabbit," in which a female prisoner becomes a part of a "pet partnership" project while in jail, and is given a small, white rabbit to care for, as part of her rehabilitation. Schoenaerts is Roman Coleman, in his 12th year of imprisonment for beating his live-in girlfriend senseless, and leaving her permanently brain-damaged.  Roman is short-tempered and violent, and his chances of surviving outside prison are slim, but a rehab project is started from which it is felt that he may benefit.  A rancher, working with jail officials, is part of a program that assigns an inmate to a wild horse that the prisoner is given five weeks to train before the horse is sold at auction.  Things don’t work out for Roman until Henry, another inmate, one with a horse training background, begins to help him. It makes all the difference, and soon things are on the upswing … until Henry is murdered in an altercation, which throws Roman into retaliation mode, changing everything.  An interesting story, well-acted and well-played. Rated 14A.

Captive State:

When a movie's distributors make a decision not to show the film to critics prior to its opening, that's generally bad news for audiences.  Such is the case with this sci-fi thriller focused on the city of Chicago, which is one of every major world city taken over by extraterrestrials.  We join the story nine years in, with the aliens having set up a government and are referred to as The Legislators.  We don't see much of them, but the few glimpses allowed clearly show something totally foreign with no common ground.   A low-budget film with strong talent behind it - Dreamworks is the producer along with Amblin, both Steven Spielberg companies - stars that include John Goodman as a police divisional head working for The Legislators, Vera Farmiga in a mysterious role, and other familiar faces that come and go in the darkness.  At the end of it all, an unusual and challenging film to watch, but worth the time ... but only if you're a real sci-fi aficionado.  Rated 14A.

The 3rd Eye (2017):

This horror-thriller from Indonesia is a Netflix original that tells the story of two sisters, Alia and Abel.  Having lost their parents in a tragic event, they return to their home city of Jakarta and move back into the family home, but Abel is very uncomfortable there, saying that it is now too strange and too dangerous.  As Alia’s boyfriend tries to belittle Abel’s feelings, it becomes clear that something strange is going on, and we learn that Abel has had the ability to see the dead since she was a very little girl … and her mission now is to get her older sister to see what she sees so they can survive.  Rated 14A.

Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018):

Six years after the action in Wreck It Ralph from 2012, this animated Disney feature does something that few films can boast ... it's a sequel that is actually better than the original.  Wreck-It Ralph (again voiced by John C. Reilly) was a villain in a videogame, residing in an arcade, and living his life.  When he met up with Vanellope in the first movie (voice of Sarah Silverman), they were in competition with one another, but ended as friends.  When the action picks up in this wonderfully animated story, they are very good friends, and they need a replacement part for the videogame of which they are a part, which leads them to a router, and then onto the internet, opening a whole new world. The story is complex and exciting for any ages, the ending will make you tear up just a bit.  Rated PG.