A Crowd-Pleasing Tear-Jerker for the Millenial Generation: Our Review of "The Fault in Our Stars" (2014)

Directed By: Josh Boone (Stuck in Love) 

Starring: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Laura Dern

Rating: PG-13 for thematic elements, some sexuality and brief strong language

Run Time: 2 hours, 5 minutes

Synopsis: Based on the hit novel by John Green, about a teenage girl named Hazel (Woodley), suffering from terminal lung cancer, who finds a kindred spirit and first love in another cancer fighter, the outgoing and unconventional Augustus Waters (Elgort). Together they make the most of the limited and precious time they know they have left together.

REVIEW

Sarah: Hello readers! This past Friday night we decided to hit the movies to check out the newest book-to-chick flick to hit the big screen, The Fault in Our Stars, starring Shailene Woodley (The Descendents) and relative Hollywood newbie Ansel Elgort (Divergent). 

We neglected to remember that it was a Friday night…in the summer. So the theater was PACKED with teenage girls. This movie has been touted as being The Notebook of this decade. These are bold words, so we had to find out for ourselves. That, and this also happens to be based on my younger sister's favorite book. 

So Andrew, now that we've seen it and have lost about half our body weight in tears, what did you think?

A: Let me first say that I was surprised by the number of men that were in the theatre. It was one of the smaller theatres at our cineplex and was PACKED to the gills. But as we left I counted at least six other guys that were in there. More than I would've have guessed, really.

So as one of the at least seven guys that saw the movie in that theatre last night, I have to admit that I was a big fan of it. Did I shed a few tears? Absolutely, and it wasn't necessarily because of the star-crossed relationship between Woodley's Hazel Green Lancaster and Elgort's Augustus Waters, but because I found ALL of the relationships in the film to be quite touching in their portrayal and how the actors handled them.

Most of all I thought Woodley was phenomenal here and deserves to be in the discussion come Oscar time. What did you think of The Fault in Our Stars?

What Would Two Tickets For... Do?: Casting "The Amazing Spider-Man 2"

Andrew: Hello readers! Earlier this year we saw the release of The Amazing Spider-Man, a reboot of the Spider-Man franchise that was directed by Marc Webb ((500) Days of Summer) and starred Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) as Peter Parker and Emma Stone (The Help) as Gwen Stacy. We didn't get a chance to post about this just yet, but it was confirmed earlier this year that Garfield and Stone will definitely reprise their roles in the sequel and it was recently announced that Webb will indeed return as director despite the first film's disappointing box-office performance.

That said, another story about The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has hit the web this week and it really piqued my interest. Variety reported earlier this week that The Secret Life of The American Teenager star Shailene Woodley is in negotiations to join the franchise as Peter Parker's famous red-headed love interest Mary Jane Watson. It's a choice that, at first glance, I was a fan of because I really liked Woodley in The Descendants and I feel like she fits the role of Mary Jane perfectly (especially in contrast to Kirsten Dunst's MJ in the Sam Raimi versions). But Sarah, you had a different reaction to the news when I told you, didn't you?

Sarah: I did! I wasn't impressed. I will give Woodley this, she was awesome in The Descendants but her other works have been less than awesome. I guess I am little concerned that she will play the same character that she plays in The Secret Life of The American Teenager.  I don't think that Mary Jane is supposed to be this sullen teenager. She's not who I would have cast. Especially if they have to turn her hair red to put her in the part.

Shailene Woodley is in talks to play Mary Jane Watson in
Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but is
she who we think would be the best fit?