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Things to Come, Space Between Us, Rock Dog on home video
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Britt Robertson and Asa Butterfield star in "The Space Between Us," a sci-fi teenage romance-melodrama now on video. - photo by Chris Hicks
New movies on home video platforms this week include a French melodrama, an offbeat sci-fi romance, and a pair of childrens films about, respectively, a rock n roll mutt and a friendly mermaid.

Things to Come (Sundance Selects, 2016, PG-13, in French with English subtitles). The luminous Isabelle Huppert, who was nominated for an Oscar earlier this year for Elle, stars in this midlife-crisis melodrama as a woman busily attending to the demands of her career as a philosophy teacher and the needs of her aged, ailing mother, as well as her own family. Shes shocked when her husband announces that, after 25 years, hes leaving her for another woman, and the film follows her efforts to adjust to this new, unexpected and unwanted freedom unwanted, that is, until she has a taste of it. This deliberately paced art film is rich and fulfilling for patient movie lovers, the kind of picture we seldom see these days, even from France.

The Space Between Us (Universal, 2017, PG-13, deleted scenes/alternate ending, audio commentary, featurette). Initially charming but increasingly annoying, this coming-of-age flick is about a 16-year-old (Asa Butterfield) born and raised on Mars. He finagles a visit to Earth so a girl (Britt Robertson) hes been chatting with online can help him find his father. Naturally, because this is Hollywood, sex also enters the equation. Carla Gugino and Gary Oldman co-star.

Rock Dog (Summit, 2017, PG, featurettes, music video). This Chinese-produced, English-language animated feature is about a Tibetan sheepdog (voiced by Luke Wilson) that would rather become a rock musician than herd sheep. Other voices include J.K. Simmons, Eddie Izzard, Lewis Black, Kenan Thompson, Sam Elliott and Matt Dillon.

A Mermaids Tale (Lionsgate, 2017, G, featurettes, trailer). Young Ryan (Caitlin Carmichael) is still grieving for her late mother when her father (Jerry OConnell) uproots them to move near his dotty father (Barry Bostwick) in a small fishing village. There, Ryan meets a mermaid named Coral (Sydney Scotia) and they become fast friends.

xXx: Return of Xander Cage (Paramount, 2017, PG-13, featurettes, bloopers). Vin Diesel returns for another entry in his other action franchise, the one without the words Fast or Furious in the title. He plays an off-the-grid former spy pulled back into service when a CIA device that controls lethal satellites is stolen. And there are plenty of physics-defying stunts and a complete lack of logic, just like that other franchise. Donnie Yen, Tony Jaa, Samuel L. Jackson, Toni Collette and Ice Cube co-star.

Millie & the Lords (Indiepix, 2017, not rated/probable PG-13, in English and in Spanish with English subtitles). A young working-class Puerto Rican woman in Spanish Harlem yearns to be a writer and find a better life. But she lacks the confidence to do so, until shes inspired by her own heritage after learning about the Puerto Rican human rights group called the Young Lords. (After making the film festival rounds, this one debuted on the HBO Latino cable/satellite channel.)

The Outcasts (Monarch, 2017, PG-13). After eight seasons on the TV sitcom The Middle, Eden Shers character is now in college. But here, the actress is back in high school, organizing a bunch of nerds to stand up to bullies. Sher is 25 now, but shes still a convincing high schooler, and shes also a bright spot in this well-acted but surprisingly crude throwback to Mean Girls, or perhaps Revenge of the Nerds.

Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (Sony, 2017, R for violence, featurettes). Milla Jovovich returns for this sixth and allegedly last installment of the zombie-apocalypse franchise (based on a video game), which picks up directly from the previous film, Resident Evil: Retribution. Here, Jovovich and friends return to the Hive in Raccoon City to battle forces of the evil Umbrella Corporation. I know, even that description is ridiculous.
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New Medicare cards are in the mail and scammers are on the prowl
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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has begun mailing new Medicare Health Insurance ID cards. The program no longer uses Social Security numbers to identify people. - photo by Lois M Collins
The federal government is beginning to send out new ID cards to the 58 million Americans who benefit from Medicare. But since many of the people who will receive them don't know they're coming or why, scammers are already gearing up to take advantage.

An AARP survey shows as many as three-fourths of Americans 65 and older have no idea the cards are coming, so some individuals may be duped with claims that they're supposed to pay a fee or provide personal information that will be used, instead, to defraud them.

The new cards are the first reissue in years, and the most striking part of the redesign is that the cards no longer carry the beneficiary's Social Security number. Congress mandated the removal of that number as an identifier for Medicare beneficiaries by next April. Instead, the card has a Medicare Beneficiary Identifier number, an 11-digit combination of numbers and letters.

The new Medicare cards are now being mailed out in batches, starting with the Eastern seaboard and moving west. Most Medicare beneficiaries will receive their cards over the next six months, as long as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has their correct mailing address. Once the cards are in hand, people can share the new identification number with their health care providers. During a transition period, either card is valid.

The old cards, which used Social Security numbers as the personal identification number, should be destroyed.

AARP recently launched an education campaign to warn consumers about scams related to the new Medicare cards.

The membership organization's "Fraud Watch" consultant, Frank Abagnale reformed con man, scammer and the subject of the movie and book "Catch Me If You Can" tells senior citizens the only time they need to carry the actual Medicare card is to health care appointments. Otherwise, it should be left in a safe place. If they want to carry one in their wallet or purse, he says, make a copy and black out the first seven numbers.

Since the cards were announced, scammers have already:

  • Called seniors and asked for their bank account information so that money on their old card could be returned. There is no money on the old card and CMS never asks for personal information over the phone.
  • Offered to send the new card after Medicare beneficiaries pay a $25 fee to cover expenses related to the card. The card is free.
  • Said the card will be mailed out as soon as the older person verifies his or her Social Security number, mailing address and other personal information. CMS already knows the beneficiary's Social Security number and it's no longer being used in conjunction with health care.
AARP and the Federal Trade Commission will hold a free online seminar about the cards and the fraud attempts they have spawned on Thursday, April 19, at 7 p.m. EDT. Register at: www.aarp.org/FraudWebinar. CMS also offers a "frequently asked questions" guide to the new cards.

The AARP Fraud Watch Network says consumers can sign up for its Watchdog Alert emails that deliver breaking scam information, or call a free helpline at 877-908-3360 to speak with volunteers trained in fraud counseling. Abagnale also hosts a weekly podcast for AARP, called The Perfect Scam.
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