The Fault In Our Stars (2014)

[Webslinger]

But I think in condensing the material to get all of the story's necessary beats into a feature, the personalities of these characters feel mostly lost. The end result is not as witty or spontaneous as the novel, because it can't be. And until the ending, I don't really feel pain for the characters unless the music is telling me to feel pain. I think the screenwriters were afraid to deviate from Green's text so much that the film cannot pick up what was lost in translation. 

 

 

I agree to some extent. I still liked the movie quite a bit, but it felt as if the filmmakers were mandated to package the film in such a way that it would have maximum impact for the target audience instead of just letting the story flow organically. I know that Juno takes a lot of heat, but one of the most admirable pieces of that movie was that it consistently put the development, growth, and relationships of its characters ahead of its manipulation of the audience, and because of that, it broke through with nearly every demographic from teenagers on up. (Perhaps not coincidentally, I imagined the book as a Juno-esque Jason Reitman film while reading it.)

 

Anyway, my review from (the now defunct?) Filmgasm/KJ:

 

It's not as good as the book, but The Fault in Our Stars is a very solid adaptation that successfully captures the raw voice of its source material. Although it does get too manipulative at times (especially in the third act, when the unnecessary swelling music is all too obvious of a reminder that we're watching a movie that wants badly to make the audience cry), it's mostly grounded and does an admirable job of exploring more realistic and complex depictions of diseased characters than we typically see in fiction. Although it certainly didn't hurt to have the screenwriters of (500) Days of Summer involved (not to mention reportedly heavy presence from John Green, the book's author), the most essential piece to the film's success is its lead actress, Shailene Woodley. As a fan of the book before landing the lead role, Woodley proves to be a perfect casting choice for Hazel. She doesn't overplay her hand in any of the scenes, and she sells all of her character's glib witticisms. It's a performance reminiscent of that of Ellen Page in Juno: she takes a character that could easily come across as a writer's construct, and instead succeeds in presenting her as a believable person. Between her work here and in The Descendants, there should be no remaining questions about her talent (so hopefully she'll have something interesting to do once she's done from the Divergent series). Ansel Elgort is also a very good fit as the love interest. Elgort has more than enough charisma to pull off the part, and his chemistry with Woodley is palpable. The rest of the cast doesn't have much to do, but Willem Dafoe makes a memorable impression in three scenes as the characters' favorite author. Like the book it's based on, The Fault in Our Stars is keenly aware of the tropes one would usually tie to stories about disease, and while it does fall victim to some of said tropes, it's so in tune with the realities of its characters that it's easy to forgive the manipulation and be moved by the performances at hand.

 

B+

[Blankments]

Movie was pretty good but I was disappointed in a way, and y'all are gonna call me a snob for my main reason: it didn't feel like a theatrical movie to me. DeFoe and Woodley were both excellent, but ultimately I'm disappointed because, like with any adaptation, I'd like to see my favorite scenes from the book done well, but IMO, my favorite scenes were either cut or mishandled. I did still cry briefly though, but Dragon 2 actually hit me more emotionally. Good, not great. B

[Jack Nevada]

Not much chemistry between the two leads but I liked it well enough.

[baumer]

Not much chemistry between the two leads but I liked it well enough.

 

Really?

[Jack Nevada]

Really?

Yeah. I realize I'm alone on this but that's really my only complaint. Both actors were good but there was no sparkle between them imo.

[baumer]

Hmmm....sorry u feel that way. I thought they had great sparkle.

[darkelf]

Didn't cry.

 

8/10

[James]

So... saw this a second time. The first time was with my then gf and I was dragged to see it so I pretty much tried to ignore it thinking: 'Ah, this again. Fuck it! First Twilight, then Safe Haven, now this. Jesus!' So I did ignore about half of the movie.

And tonight me, my brother and my cousin wanted to see a movie after our plan of going out failed. We had Godzilla, but something went wrong with the subtitle, so this was the other option. My cousin wanted to see this movie for a while (she loved the book) and my brother loves dramas so after I failed to convince them to see anything else, we ended up seeing this.

And it was... and I can't believe I'll say this: very very good. Not gonna lie: I shed a tear (only the second time that happens; the first was at the end of 'The Road' - 2009).

Top notch acting, good script and soundtrack and a nice story overall. I don't read romance but I'll try one book from this author. So yeah, that's about it, haha .

 

A 

Edited September 17, 2014 by James

[xSabrinax]

Yeah. I realize I'm alone on this but that's really my only complaint. Both actors were good but there was no sparkle between them imo.

No you are not alone. o

 

I haven't seen chemistry between them since the release of the trailer. The film confirmed it for me.

[Omario]

So just finished watching this. *blows his nose*

 

Such a nice tale. To see a story of terminally ill individuals (like 50/50) especially youngsters breaks my heart. 

 

This was a well acted movie. Great chemistry between the leads. Shailene is turning into an amazing actress. 

 

I had to hold back my tears but the part that nearly got me was Isaacs eulogy. Him not wanting robot eyes because it wouldn't be worth it without his friend being in the world. That is brotherly love. Also Shailenes quote of the rainbow and the rain at his funeral was beautiful.

 

You know this makes me want to grant a wish for someone terminally ill. I better get searching for it. 

 

A

 

 

 

 

Im sorry Baumer about your mother. 

[The Dark Rock]

To my surprise I loved the movie hell lot more than I expected...and what a performance from Shailene Woodley...Hazel Grace...I have saved my 10 for this    

Edited September 13, 2014 by The Dark Rock

[Jake Gittes]

Very good performance by Woodley, but Augustus, with his backstory for some reason removed, is such an impossibly perfect movie character - yes, even with his own illness - that the film becomes much closer to a wish-fulfillment fantasy than to a story that feels like it could be real. (The blandly glossy, shallow cinematography and the soundtrack that feels like it was already in every indie movie ever only reinforce that impression). The book pulled off that balancing act a lot better.

Edited September 13, 2014 by Jake Gittes

[baumer]

I think this is my favourite movie of the year thus far.  Shaileen breaks your heart in this and if she is not nominated this year it is a true travesty.  She goes on a roller coaster of emotions and when she cries, you cry with her.  I love the book and the script stays very close to the vest.  I originally gave this a 8.5, but after seeing it again on HV, it has to be a 9.5.  I can't give it a perfect mark but it is damn close.

[Ethan Hunt]

I think this is my favourite movie of the year thus far.  Shaileen breaks your heart in this and if she is not nominated this year it is a true travesty.  She goes on a roller coaster of emotions and when she cries, you cry with her.  I love the book and the script stays very close to the vest.  I originally gave this a 8.5, but after seeing it again on HV, it has to be a 9.5.  I can't give it a perfect mark but it is damn close.

I'm with you. After thinking about it I think this is my favorite movie of this year thus far.

[xSabrinax]

Changed my vote from B to A. Because my love for this film has grown a lot. I now can see chemistry between the actors. Blame the Stars. 

Edited September 24, 2014 by xSabrinax

[baumer]

It's a movie that gets better and better with multiple viewings.  I think this is the best film of the year now.  Originally gave it 8.5, now it's a 10.

 

A sign that your movie is really good....even the honest trailers can't really trash it:

 

[Olive]

6/10

[Kvikk Lunsj]

Really disappointed with movie.It was a nice overall story and Woodly gives a sold performance.  The leads have good chemistry but I didn't like August Walters character.  His character rubbed me the wrong way. The movie felt way to cheesy. 

2/5

[Ethan Hunt]

Really disappointed with movie.It was a nice overall story and Woodly gives a sold performance. The leads have good chemistry but I didn't like August Walters character. His character rubbed me the wrong way. The movie felt way to cheesy.

2/5

Didn't like Augustus Waters... I'm not sure if I'm capable of comprehending that.

[Klaus Fanta]

Ah, fake teenage melodrama... How fun...

 

 

This movie tries too hard to be a beautiful and tear-jerking movie, while not even realizing that it can't be, because it's most clearly marketed for teens who've read the book. I don't think anyone over seventeen would read the book.

 

And I'd know because I'm Fifteen.

 

My ex-girlfriend took me to see this and of course I pretended to like it, because that's what you do. But on the inside, I was disappointed.

 

It's another teen movie that will die along with all the others.

 

And John Green needs to realize. That the things he writes about happen every day, and that it is not special.

 

 

 

3/10

 

 

F