The Fault in Our Stars (2014)

The Fault in Our Stars is carefully constructed to tear plaintively at your heartstrings. It works best not as a weepy, but as a gentle evocation of romance through the subjective perspective of teenage protagonist, Hazel Grace (Shailene Woodley). Hazel has cancer, yes, and the story is in many ways about that. It’s also about…

50/50 (2011)

The producers of 50/50 had the unenviable task of turning a surprise cancer diagnosis into a light-hearted comedy (based on screenwriter Will Reiser’s own experiences with cancer), and for the most part they’ve done a good job. Appropriately, given the title, 50/50 spends half its time as a hang-out comedy (focusing on Joseph Gordon-Levitt as…