Friday Box-Office: Teen Weepie Crushes Cruise

[Ryan Hughes]

So is TFIOS basically this?

Spoiler

Nothing more tragic than a movie which uses sadness to oscar bait.

I sincerely doubt they're aiming that high(?) - as far as I understood from the premise and trailer, it was just going to be a formulaic cash-grabbing tear-jerker in the vein of Nicholas Sparks, whose movies/books I've never seen/read, but I've read a fairly detailed breakdown via Cracked.com that showed how every story is a carbon copy with specific plot-points designed to give the illusion of depth and meaning to emotionally manipulate fans who don't pay enough attention to tropes. Knowing now that the author is John Green, I do wonder if he despite his respectability just crapped another teen drama like the rest or if he actually gave it something more.

Well, I honestly feel sorry for you if you think that Cracked is a reliable source for pertinent media criticism. As to your point, John Green has already addressed it somewhat, so here you are:

Skip to 6:30

 

[Lictor Face]

What. I plan to watch Edge of Tomorrow. Regardless whether Cruise is a couch jumping scientologist or not. Because it looks cool, the premise is interesting, and overall, the movie is pretty above-average, if not already considered good by most. I don't see ho the beliefs of the actor in question is supposed to affect your enjoyment of a movie, but to each his owwn quirks.

I don't see anyone complaining that they feel uncomfortable watching Ian Mckellen act as Gandalf etc even though he is gay. You could say because times or changing, or more likely because, no one actually cares.

 

[Genocidicles]

It's a damn shame that overly soppy shit like that beat a genuinely good sci-fi flick.

 

[Baresark]

THEY'RE THE SAME GUY?!

I watch CC and I never made the connection. My respect for him actually makes me think FioS (...weird) could be worth reading/watching.

Ha! Yep, they are the same person. John Green is an intelligent and insightful person -just watching his youtube work makes that pretty obvious- and even though I have not read Fault in our Stars, any novel written by him must be a dramatic improvement over the tripe that has been sold to teens over the last few years. If teens are putting down Twilight and picking up John Green novels, I cannot see that as anything but a very positive development for them, and the rest of society in general.

Having read the book because I was an admirer of John Green, I can safely say that it is a superbly written book, and absolutely heart breaking. I'm not a teenager, which is the audience that book is aimed at (Young Adult and all). Usually, that means "lower starndards", but it was a masterfully written book that I was enthralled in for the few days it took me to read it. He is a great writer, and my girlfriend was absolutely amazed at how well HE wrote a teenage girl. He says his chosen audience if teens, but a well written book is a well written book. I also can't quite figure out what makes a book aimed at teens either. The only obvious thing is that the main character is a teen... but Neil Gaiman writes some "young adult" books, but the characters are not teens. Another "for instance" is the book, Little Women. All the girls for the vast majority of the book are young. So... why isn't that a "young adult" novel? It's conundrum... or maybe this is how I justify reading a book for teen girls, haha.

I also enjoy all the stuff that Hank Green does on YouTube. His Crash Course series of videos are all fun all the time. It's how I beat my down time at work rather than being bored.

 

[HBaskerville]

John Green is kinda the new king of YA Sick-Lit; books about teens that are ill and have relationship issues. It's pretty decent if you are a tween or teen, but as an adult you you see every move coming a mile away. That said, lots of adults are reading kids books these days. Make of that what you will.

It's not bad if you like formulaic, uncomplicated stories that are designed to pull the heartstrings.

 

[Buckshaft]

Ok, so I've read both books EoT and FioS are based on. And yeah, there's the whole Scientology thing... But give me Cruise over that John Green shit anyday. I don't care if you like his stuff, I just really don't. In fact, if it wasn't based on a YA novel, you could accuse it of Oscarbaiting in public. Yeah, Edge of Tomorrow is nothing more than popcorn nonsense, but I don't have a problem with that, at least it's fun.