Say what you will about “The Fault In Our Stars”, the big screen adaptation of John Green’s best selling novel about two cancer patients who fall in love, but director Josh Boone and his screenwriters have crafted a sincere and totally irresistible tale that makes the familiar seem bittersweet and heart-stoppingly new. It’s rare to find a mainstream American movie that doesn’t rely on formula to some degree. That’s one of the many reasons this movie is so refreshing: we haven’t encountered these characters before, and yet we find ourselves rooting for them from the word go. What’s more, Boone has cast his film so well, that actors we thought we knew deliver eye-opening performances. I like Ansel Elgort, but I never suspected he had what it takes to play a character like Augustus Waters, a confident boy who has lost a leg to cancer but hasn’t allowed it to ruin his life. He is a revelation, bringing to life a difficult character whose intensity is frightening at times. It’s his pursuit of “positivity,” always looking at the bright side, that gives the movie its heartbeat. I’ve also been impressed with Shailene Woodley and I’ve said it so many times before (if you haven’t seen her in “The Spectacular Now” get on it), but she manages to top herself with this performance, playing a 16 year old cancer patient who meets Augustus at a support group meeting. She and him relate to each other for unlikely reasons, but their connection is strong and credible. Her character is smart, funny, seemingly fearless, and ultimately heartbreaking. I don’t know what other 22-year old actress could have pulled this off, but she is terrific. And yet I have to admit: I didn’t know what to anticipate from “The Fault In Our Stars”, but I couldn’t have foreseen such a sincere, emotionally powerful story. How director Josh Boone and his youthful stars achieved such seemingly effortless honesty, is hard to say but easy to admire. Best of all, he has the good sense to let the camera stay close to Woodley as her face reflects what words cannot. Woodley is a marvel. The audience couldn’t get enough of her. You won’t, either. Her performance grabs hold and won’t let go. Same goes for the movie.

“Joe” is quite simply Nicolas Cage’s best movie in years. It’s a reminder of what a good actor he can be and that’s something we haven’t seen onscreen in a very long time. Director David Gordon Green returns to his indie roots after a series of Hollywood disappointments (“Your Highness”, “The Sitter”) with an intriguing fable that recalls last year’s underrated “Mud”. His film takes place in a small community, where an ex-con (Cage) supervises a group of hard-working men who spend all day replacing sick trees with healthier variety. One day, he meets a young boy called Gary (a terrific Tye Sheridan) who asks to join his crew. We also meet his daddy, who enjoys beating the crap out of him. As Joe learns more about this kid, he decides to take him under his wing. If you’ve seen “Mud”, then you should know that “Joe” unfolds at a deliberate pace, which suits this mode of storytelling. We come to feel as we know all the characters who populate the story, including the working men and the townies. This is the kind of film where tiny details and vignettes convey more than long speeches possibly could. The cast couldn’t be better, with Nicolas Cage on top of his game after years of disappointments. I realize that a movie like “Joe” may not be every moviegoer’s cup of tea, but I fell under its spell almost instantly and I hope it finds the audience it deserves.

Rating: 3/4