"The Fault In Our Stars"

Right from the start, you get the message. This is going to be no sickly sweet young teen romance story, nor will it end happily, but what is clear is that this is a well made movie, and it is evident why it has taken the box office by storm.

Hazel is a young girl dealing with cancer. In order for her to get out of the house, and also to try and express what she is feeling, she goes to a Cancer support group, more to apease her parents than anything. The head of the group is a God loving nut, and she clearly finds it tiresome attending. But there could be some entertainment from winding up one of the newest members, Gus, who has come partly for himself, as he too has cancer, but mainly he is accompanying his partially sighted friend Issac.
Hazel finds Gus to be very cocky, and she takes pleasure in having fun with a battle of words with him. But soon a friendship does develope. They find out more about each other, discovering each others likes, trading books. Which leads Hazel to lend Gus a book which she regards as her bible. He too finds the book a revelation.
She has tried on numerous occasions to contact the author, but with no joy. Gus however proves to be more successful, and they decide to have a trip to Amsterdam, to meet the author.  The trip does not go to plan. Prior to the trip, Gus had always been more infatuated with Hazel, than Hazel with Gus, she being happy to just stay as friends. But the short break changes that, and their love for each other starts to blossom.
But a secret is told, and we discover that one of the two teens is more seriously ill than we imagine, and the inevitable starts to unfold.

I am sure there are so few people in this World who have not been affected by cancer, whether it be themselves or a family member. So certainly there will be many who have something to relate to with this film.
Director Josh Boone does a great job, admirable considering he is a relative newcomer, making the film engaging without being too sombre or too over sentimental. There are some good performances in the film from seasoned veterans like Laura Dern, as Hazel's mother, and Willem Dafoe as the author that Hazel and Gus seek out.
But top marks to both Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort, playing Hazel and Gus. They really convey a sense of friendship, love and loss with great performances. A very minor quibble would be that maybe they are a few years too old for their roles, but that aside it leaves little wonder why it has been so successful, and fair play to a film on such a small $12 million budget that can do te business that this movie has been doing.

Have the tissues at the ready.....8 out of 10

"Divergent"

The future, where your very nature can determine how you live your life, or rather in what faction you become part of.
A time when the type of person you are dictates where you live and who you are.
There are the daredevils, the ones who protect. There are the carers who think of others. There are the thinkers, and maybe they have a hidden agenda.
Beatrice is a young woman who has lived with her parents, and the time has come for her to make the decision, as to where she belongs. There is a test that can be taken, which acts as a guide, only her results cause alarm for her, as she is one of the few that do not seem to indicate any one faction, she is what is known as divergent, as this is something she strives to keep secret.

Her decision is to become part of the Dauntless clan, those who look after the other occupants within the city walls. In order to stay within, she must endure training, which consists of many tests, skills, and being opposed against fellow new recruits to see who has the stamina to  go the distance.
I just wish that I had the stamina to stay interested in the film, as this is what the bulk of the film is about. Can Tris (yes she has renamed herself) cut the mustard?  Who can she trust?  Are we really bothered?  Not that much.

There is a side story where one faction seeks to claim leadership from another faction, but again this is too little of a plot device to care about the film.
One saving grace is a nice stand out performance from lead actress Shailene Woodley as 'Tris'.

I did wonder if it was the first in a series of films, and sure enough it is, but in order to keep viewers and those who have not read the books, you need to make each individual film engaging, and Director Neil Burger has clearly failed miserably in that task, as this is one viewer who will not be returning for the sequels.

I know that the book is classed as a Worldwide Bestseller, and I can only hope that the reading was more than the cinematic experience......5 out of 10