1. The Fault In Our Stars
Reviews

2. Wow what can I say about this movie. From the moment the title sequence starts, I was
hooked straight away. Scene to scene this movie just manages to suck me into this beautiful
world of Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters. The chemistry between Shailene
Woodley and Ansel Elsort is astounding and the performances were astonishing. Honestly,
this is the best movie I have seen all year, even better than Captain America: The Winter
Soldier and Godzilla which was a massive surprise. I just thought this was going to be another
teenie love story and boy was I wrong. I loved this movie and recommend it to everyone
across all ages. I'm rambling on and praising the movie now so I should probably get on with
the review.
The direction and cinematography was fantastic. Not a single shot felt odd or out of place.
Every shot matched the scene and felt real. The editing was also great as shot after shot
matched with the characters faces and where they were (typical good movie editing stuff).
The acting perhaps was one of the best aspects of this movie. Seriously it makes the two
characters feel real and alive, and at times I forgot this was fiction and not based on a true
story. Their performances were so heartfelt and definitely Oscar worthy in my opinion. But
knowing the academy this is just another teenie love story that will not be acknowledged at
all. Hopefully I'm wrong, but that's the way it normally is.
This is the first movie this year that I have given a 10. I don't give out 10's easily, but there was
seriously nothing wrong with this film. The pacing was perfect, the acting was phenomenal,
the direction, editing and cinematography was exceptional and overall, this movie is one of
the best romantic comedies that have ever touched the face of the earth. I encourage
EVERYONE to go see this movie no matter what age you are and bring a packet of tissues as
well. You'll need it. 10/10
- Joshua Kho
Imdb User

3. To call “The Fault in Our Stars” a bona fide tear jerker is a bit dishonest to me. Will most people find themselves crying at some
point in the film? Probably. However, this is not necessarily because it’s an effective movie. Instead, it’s a shameless piece of
emotional manipulation that hammers away at the audience with as many different scenarios as possible.
Yes, the audience can be made to cry, but what “The Fault in Our Stars” really does is prove that cheap parlor tricks can achieve
this. And that’s exactly what “The Fault in Our Stars” is: a cheap parlor trick disguised as a wondrous love story.
Spoiler alert: It’s not a wondrous love story. It’s as much a romance and misery-porn fantasy as a flirtatious wink from a stripper
shaking her rump on a stage.
Like the now-popular breed of Nicholas Sparks-inspired drivel, “The Fault in Our Stars” uses cancer as a MacGuffin to bring the
audience with it. Instead of showing a realistic and honest portrayal of this deadly disease, the film exploits it for it’s personal
impact on the audience. You see, cancer is so widespread that I doubt anyone over the age of three hasn’t been touched by it in
some way. Whether it’s a loved one who died or a friend you know going through treatment, cancer is an easy enemy to put in a
movie. It’s the Nazis of the medical world, something that everyone can relate to negatively.
(If you think the Nazis comment was a bit of a stretch, wait until you see the movie, in which the bluntly unsubtle parallel is
drawn between those very historical figures and the struggle that our young lovers must go through. It’s kind of sickening,
actually.)
“The Fault in Our Stars” follows a 19-year-old girl named Hazel (Shailene Woodley), who has been dealing with lung cancer since
she was thirteen. Now, as she has seemingly given up on life and relationships, she starts to fall in love with Gus (Ansel Elgort), a
teenager in remission whom she met at a support group. Together, they find their young love challenged by their own end-of-life
scenarios.
What’s even more offensive to anyone who has ever been personally touched by cancer is how cavalier this film is with it’s own
imagery. Cancer is a terrible thing, and this movie plays around with it like a child playing dress-up. There’s no indication of the
terrible effects cancer actually has on people. It goes beyond the absurdity of Ali MacGraw looking adorable moments before her
death in the groundbreaking 1970 film “Love Story.” This presents cancer as an angst-filled challenge that deserves Bella Swan
mopiness without showing the loss of dignity, physical appearance, and overall ability to function.
I know I’m being hard on this movie, which is really doing nothing more than trying to give its audience a cathartic moment.
However, these are core problems with the film at the story and concept level that make it terrible.
On the more superficial level, “The Fault in Our Stars” is poorly written with terrible characterization. Sure, Woodley does her
best to redeem her acting from the quite dreadful “Divergent” earlier this spring. However, Ansel Elgort phones in his own
performance. Not that he had anything to really work with, of course. His character is woefully underwritten, existing for no
more purpose than to dote over Hazel to the point of being almost robotic. There’s no depth to him or any complexity below his
smug grin.
While it’ll be adored by fans and it’s getting what I consider inexplicably decent reviews, I found this film to be a chore to watch.
It’s painfully predictable with oodles of cringe-worthy dialogue, overly convenient symbolism, and story clichés that would be too
much for a TV movie in the 80s. For a cynical SOB like me, I found myself rolling my eyes far more than I did wiping them. 1.5/5
- Kevin Carr
Rotten tomatoes critic

4. Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by John Green, The Fault in Our Stars follows young cancer patients Hazel
Grace Lancaster (Shailene Woodley) and Augustus "Gus" Waters (Ansel Elgort) from their initial meeting at a support group to
a romantic, all-expenses-paid trip (referred to sarcastically by Hazel as a "cancer perk") to Amsterdam, where they hope to
meet their favorite author, Peter Van Houten (Willem Dafoe). While neither the trip, their prognoses, nor their visit with Van
Houten go exactly as they had imagined, what Hazel's oncologist refers to as a cancer "journey" ends up symbolizing the
emotional ups and downs of both adolescence and living with a serious illness.
The Fault in Our Stars flirts at times with being just a bit too precious, particularly when it comes to Augustus. While there is
nothing wrong with Elgort's performance (and much of his dialogue is taken verbatim from the source material), the
character's grandiose manner and penchant for metaphors aren't entirely believable for an 18-year-old boy. The same could
be said of Hazel's stoic acceptance of the thyroid cancer that will, in all likelihood, be the cause of her death. However, as
their relationship grows, it becomes increasingly apparent that Gus' optimism and Hazel's cynicism are different
manifestations of the same protective armor.
Woodley's portrayal of Hazel brings with it an understated poignancy. She is not an impossibly beautiful saint suffering in
glamorous agony; she is a smart young woman who has come to terms with her own mortality as best as she can manage.
One of the most unique elements of The Fault in Our Stars is that it occurs in a place of acceptance rather than acute grief.
Augustus and Hazel speak readily about their eulogies and their philosophies regarding the existence of an afterlife, but they
do so with a palpable layer of detachment that both actors should be proud of harnessing so well.
For all of the film's unapologetically sweeping gestures and metaphors, its strength comes from its subtlety and attention to
detail. The side effects of cancer are in every shot, whether in the form of an oxygen tank, breathing apparatus, prosthetic
limb, chemotherapy bag, or the unrelenting anxiety on the faces of Hazel and Gus' respective families. Hazel's parents, played
expertly by Laura Dern and Sam Trammell, are on their own search for meaning when it comes to the tragedy of having a
terminally ill child. Since the parents and children don't talk about this topic together, it's clear that Hazel's attendance in a
cancer-support group and her doctor's references to the disease as a "journey" are necessary for the adults to stay sane and
positive.
Similarly, it is the pithiness of Hazel's often harsh perception of reality that gives the film its weight and offers the perfect
counterpoint to Gus' verbosity. While the self-admitted "soliloquies" of Augustus Waters bring the wit, Hazel's heartfelt yet
pragmatic conclusions bare the movie's soul. Breathing difficulties and the process of dying itself, according to Hazel, simply
"suck." This unflinchingly realistic perspective is as constant a presence in the film as the cancer itself, giving the story a tone
more bittersweet than saccharine -- and it's this element, surprisingly enough, that makes the tears flow and forces the
audience to come to their own conclusions about what constitutes a life lived to its fullest.
- Tracie Cooper
http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-fault-in-our-stars-v590262/review