PAPER TOWNS [2015]

Director Jake Schreier, albeit some minor changes, does a pretty faithful job at adapting John Green's coming-of-age novel Paper Towns for the screen.
After a night out of mischief & mayhem, the girl next door runaways, leaving clues to her whereabouts, sending Q & his buddies searching for her during the last days of high school.
Like he did with Robot & Frank, Schreier proves he can juggle humor, warmth, likable characters and just a touch of lingering melancholy & cynicism all to great effect.  There's plenty of 'that would never happen' moments with a heavy helping of clichéd teen film bits but with a cast of actors this charismatic it makes it easier to digest.  It's a pretty safe indie-music filled film the leaves a smile on one's face even if Sea World is no where to be seen.

3½ Black Santas out of 5

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS [2014]

Usually when a film adaptation is rushed into production after the success of the book it's based on it normally means bad news bears.
Fortunately Stuck In Love director Josh Boone's adaptation of John Green's youth-oriented novel The Fault In Our Stars is actually quite good.
It tells the story of a couple of young cancer patients, delicately played by Shailene Woodley & Ansel Egort (yes, the brother & sister in Divergent :erm:) who live and learn about life & death and everything around it as a relationship begins blossoming between them.
Like it's source material, the film is witty, humorous and heart-breaking all while it graces us with some superb performances, simple yet elegant photography and enough here to be enjoyed by both mainstream and indie-film lovers.

4 shitty people & shitty writers out of 5