"The Fault in Our Stars" is one of the most talked about films from last year and this over 2-hour-long film won big at several awards shows that were mostly aimed at younger audiences. It is the second directorial effort by Josh Boone and the writing came from the team that worked on "(500) Days of Summer". Lead actress is Shailene Woodley and her male co-lead is played by Ansel Elgort. The supporting cast includes Oscar nominees like Laura Dern and Willem Dafoe. This movie is about a woman suffering from cancer, but that's really just the background story. With the Big C always present, we get to watch how she spends her final months with friends and family.

Woodley is truly outstanding in the lead and there is no denying that she easily belongs to the most talented actresses from her age group. She took a break from acting between 2007 and 2011, but returned by holding her own against Hollywood star George Clooney in the Oscar-winning "The Descendants" and since then it's been a triumphant walk for her leading several movies. This one here is just another great addition to her résumé. Unfortunately, I am not too big on Ansel Elgort here. There is something pretty off-putting about him on several occasions. I am not sure if it's the way the character was written, his (mediocre) acting or a combination of both. In any case, he looked really weak compared to Woodley and I can't see him carry a movie that runs for over 2 hours and he is in it for 1.5 hours pretty much. I rarely had the impression I was watching a genuine character instead of a performance.

The script is fine for the most part. Sometimes it gets into territory in which it feels it sacrifices realism for a sob story, but that's fine as it only is maybe 2 or 3 times. I think in terms of the subject, this still could have been much more authentically emotional, but what the writers came up with isn't a failure either. I did not know Dafoe was in this film, but I enjoyed his short performance. I honestly did not need the second part of his cameo near the end as it was nowhere near as memorable as his first couple scenes. All in all, I cannot agree with the critics and awards bodies who really loved this movie. Still, I believe this is a decent watch. It's just that I would not put it anywhere near my favorite 2014 movies. My favorite cancer-themed film of all time is still "A Walk to Remember". But back to this one: Shailene Woodley is very much outstanding in here. Too bad she is the only real reason to check it out.

Hazel Grace Lancaster (Shailene Woodley) is tired of her parents (Laura Dern, Sam Trammell)'s help and the support of the support groups. The doctor diagnose her as depressed. That is until she meets Augustus (Ansel Elgort) at a support group meeting. He's a one-legged cancer survivor who share the same view of life. Hazel gives Augustus a book 'An Imperial Affliction' written by Peter Van Houten (Willem Dafoe) to read. Van Houten invites them to visit him in Amsterdam, but the meeting doesn't turn out the way they hoped.

This is a perfectly OK teen melodrama with a great performance from Shailene Woodley. She nails this character through the ups and downs. Her scene with Willem Dafoe in Amsterdam is terrific. She doesn't just hold her own but she comes out on top. Ansel Elgort is too one dimensional. I think that has a lot to do with the writing. He is all sugary charms. Even his bad driving is engineered to endear him to the audience. He's not a real person but rather a manufactured character.

This movie could do with some swearing. This is where the MPAA rating system really screws with a movie. It's a movie that needs the PG rating. As such, bad language that would fit these characters' situation is just gone. One would expect these characters to have the gallows humor and the swear words to match. I guess there isn't much the filmmakers can truly do about it. One scene that encapsulates the movie for me is the kiss in Anne Frank's house. As the kiss develops, I thought that this is going to be awkward. Once they start kissing, the scene actually is touching. It works and then everybody starts clapping. It becomes over-written. It's a movie with a great young star that is trying to do something interesting but just tries too hard with its writing.

One of the best romance movies I have ever seen and one of my favorite movies that I have ever seen. I loved the book and I loved the movie even more. The writing, plot, story, and screenplay were fantastic. Shaileen Woodley and Ansel Elgort's performances in the film as Hazel and Augustus were spectacular. The Fault in Our Stars is gorgeous, funny and sad at the same time and it shows true love can be found no matter what. Loved it so much.