REVIEWS - 'Fault In Our Stars' & '22 Jump Street'

Catching up continues with a few movies I saw way back in June.

'The Fault In Our Stars' (PG-13) ***
Based on the book by John Green that I actually did read, 'The Fault In Our Stars' follows Hazel (Shailene Woodley) and Gus (Ansel Elgort), two witty, cynical teenagers who meet at a cancer support group and soon fall in love.  Hazel has terminal cancer and constantly has to carry around an oxygen tank.  Gus' cancer is in remission but he now has a prosthetic leg as a result of it.  Co-starring Laura Dern and Sam Trammell as Hazel's parents, comedian Mike Birbiglia as the support group leader, former Nickelodeon star Nat Wolff as Gus' best friend Isaac who's also suffering from cancer, and Willem Dafoe as an eccentric author.

Because of all the hype this movie was getting I decided to read the book just to see what the fuss was all about.  And unlike the many other times I tried doing that this time I actually completed the book.  The book itself is a very quick read, often times quite funny but gets progressively sadder and sadder.  I can't quite put my finger on why exactly, but I hated the first 20 or so pages of the book.  Perhaps it was just a matter of getting use to John Green's writing style or perhaps the characters introductions throwing me off.  I'm still not sure and it's nearly two and a half months later.

The movie itself follows the same pattern.  First things first, I think that this was a good movie.  Much like the book, it's often quite funny but does get progressively sadder and more serious. However, I hated the first 15 or so minutes for some reason or another.  But once the story got going I became rather invested and ended up enjoying it.  Could've easily been extremely melodramatic but it's sense of humor always keeps things in check.  The acting could've been a bit more consistent but since I did become invested in the movie I won't dock it too much for that.  All in all, it's still a good movie.  And far better than most other romantic comedy/dramas out there today. 






'22 Jump Street' (R) **1/2
Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) are back, this time going deep undercover at a local college to find out the supplier of a new drug that's been hitting the streets.  Ice Cube, Nick Offerman, Rob Riggle, and Dave Franco all reprise their roles from the previous movie.  Also includes a handful of celebrity cameos, none of which I'll reveal here.

I liked the first movie a lot and I was looking forward to this.  And overall I thought this was....just all right.  I liked it enough to where I can say that if you're a fan of the first movie you might like this one if that makes any sense.  I laughed out loud maybe once or twice, with the occasional chuckle at all of the sequel tropes that the movie pokes fun at.  But in between chuckles it was a rather long sit, almost clocking in at just under two hours.  If you want a better summer comedy go watch 'Neighbors' (review here).  Or just go back and watch '21 Jump Street'.  




I'll be at Purdue all day tomorrow so on Friday expect some more review catch-up.