Stupidity: Noah loves the classics, he shows passion and interest in them, it's part of what wins over professor Jennifer Lopez. Witness this risible exchange, about Achilles; "He killed this guy, Hector. But instead of hiding out like a pussy, he..." "Dragged his dead body around for everybody to see." "Yes." The sheer dumbness of this exchange, especially the first statement, hurts the brain; why would a warrior 'hide out like a pussy' for killing an enemy during war?
Sammo
1st Oct 2019
The Boy Next Door (2015)
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Suggested correction: Achilles killed Hector in an act of revenge, not an act of war. Hector was a beloved warrior and treating his corpse with disrespect could have insulted the Trojans. Knowing this, Achilles dragged Hector's body around the city in an act of boldness. So yes, instead of "hiding out" after killing his enemy, Achilles acted like a "badass", taunting the Trojans with his victory over their champion, disregarding any threat of reprisal. There's nothing stupid about this exchange.
"Dude, there's this book about a Greek war with gods and heroes and sh*t: you know what, the main character kills his enemy in battle and doesn't hide out after! Like it's a war or something." What a stellar and perfectly not stupid pitch about the book! Makes totally sense and it obviously woos the college professor too! Mind you, I don't want to come across as sarcastic and I enjoy reading your comment, but the "not an act of war" objection is irrelevant when all the action happens in the battlefield, regardless of character motivations. Point is, the statement does not follow logic when it comes to pitching an epic fantasy book to a young adult, and on top of that, this fundamentally flawed series of statements is even painted as something totally impressing a college professor.Surely my flawed perspective of a snob living amongst snobs in a country where the study of classics is more widespread than the US, but blurting out something like that would get you a giggle at best.
I think you're putting too much weight on the "not hiding out" part of Noah's statement and not enough weight on the defiance of Achilles, which is what Noah was saying he was impressed with. For this to be a stupid statement, it would have to be incorrect. It isn't incorrect. Noah describes exactly what happened. Sure, he uses a colloquial tone but all he's really saying is "Achilles kills Hector in a duel and rather than flee the battlefield afterwards, he parades Hector's corpse around the city to intimidate his enemies." You seem to be hung up on the "fleeing the battlefield" part, as if that is a reading of Achilles actions that is so off base it rises to the level of a mistake in the movie. I don't believe that to be the case. Also, this college professor is impressed by the fact a youth would read Homer on his own at all, and the fact that he's incredibly charming and handsome certainly doesn't hurt.
I put weight on it because it sticks out: the line itself is designed to get attention using that colorful expression. Even as you paraphrased it with "Achilles kills Hector in a duel and rather than flee the battlefield afterwards" etc, the problem is not the tone: since when it's the go-to move in the genre, killing someone in a duel and then fleeing? I can't see why this would be a logical thing to say, so strongly even, to pitch the book to his friend! Like pitching a restaurant prefacing unironically that they do not spit in your food. His reading is not technically incorrect, or I would have put it in the 'character mistake' category, but mentioning what did (not) happen is daft and contrived. And yes, it is a dialogue that is supposed to reinforce that 'incredibly charming' quality you mention but it is written in such a childish way that undermines it, also considering that he told her he already studied Homer in his previous school and he is not exactly a kid.
20th Sep 2019
The Boy Next Door (2015)
Continuity mistake: After the disastrous double date, Claire is home drowning her loneliness in alcohol. As she gets in front of the couch, she puts the hair tie on the side table, undoing the ponytail. When the shot changes though, and does it in perfect continuity of position with her just laid feet up on the couch, the hair is back styled in the same tail and definitely tied. (00:19:15)
20th Sep 2019
The Boy Next Door (2015)
Stupidity: During the final climax, Kevin has enough rope free to turn the handle of the vise once his mom helped him the first time, and Garrett's feet touch the floor - but he insists on gripping the ladder instead of reaching down to loosen the knot. Both basically move their hands left and right randomly, taking ages to free themselves with the strangest methods.
20th Sep 2019
The Boy Next Door (2015)
Stupidity: Noah sends the little punk home with, according to the vice principal, a fractured skull. He's not a minor (the victim may or may not be), and with a savage beating ending up with damage of property and hospitalization of a kid, at school, should have led to something way more severe than 'being expelled' (which seemingly happened because he called her a c*nt, rather than the rest). And hilariously enough, a couple scenes later, the principal reprimands her for giving him, the nearly murderous maniac student, a slight push to keep him at distance (instead of say, checking if she had been assaulted herself).
20th Sep 2019
The Boy Next Door (2015)
Continuity mistake: When Kevin tries to ask the hardware store girl out, Noah's feet are in frame and he assumes the waiting stance, turning them around and crossing them. Yet in the following shot he is just only then turning around and leaning. (00:42:35)
20th Sep 2019
The Boy Next Door (2015)
Continuity mistake: Claire's husband and son are back from their trip. As Kevin starts talking about the 'big mountain dude', Claire has her hand under her ear in the front view, while in the side view she has it in a different position by her cheek, and only after a moment she places it as shown before, under the earlobe. Similarly, a few seconds later when she says "Oh, thank you" commenting on the shovel cooking story, she has her hand suddenly under her chin while she previously had both sideways rubbing her own neck. (00:27:25)
20th Sep 2019
The Boy Next Door (2015)
Continuity mistake: When Vicky, to try and break the embarassment with the rude 'practical skills' guy, says "I think it stopped raining", she turns away but still has her elbow on the table. Vice versa, in the following shot she is turning back starting from a position with her arm off the table. (00:18:25)
20th Sep 2019
The Boy Next Door (2015)
Continuity mistake: Claire's wimpy son is all embarrassed by the hot schoolmate at the cash register. During the conversation, there's obvious poor continuity in the back-and-forth between him and Noah with the items to purchase: Kevin is holding the clutch waist-high or to his chest, as shown by Noah's right arm in frame or not. (00:07:20)
12th Sep 2019
The Boy Next Door (2015)
Continuity mistake: As Kevin tells his dad during dinner that he dropped out from computer engineering class and is taking up boxing, John Corbett is listening with his hands on his chest, but the fingers are positioned differently between shots. (00:36:15)
12th Sep 2019
The Boy Next Door (2015)
Continuity mistake: Claire is talking in the corridor to the principal: he hands her the transfer request, his fingers let the paper go, but in the following shot he's still holding the top of the sheet. (00:31:55)
12th Sep 2019
The Boy Next Door (2015)
Continuity mistake: Once Kevin has been bullied in front of the hot cashier by the nasty ginger and his goons, Noah gives them the stinkeye in a closeup in obvious bad continuity with the previous shot, facing away as he is. (00:08:35)
12th Sep 2019
The Boy Next Door (2015)
Continuity mistake: After Noah's creepy "it got pretty wet here this weekend" joke at the family dinner table, Jennifer Lopez holds her tray in a complete different way between shots, multiple times depending on the angle. (00:29:00)
12th Sep 2019
The Boy Next Door (2015)
Revealing mistake: In the flashback of the death of Noah's parents, besides the obvious clichè of insta-explosion on impact, it's obvious in the second shot that the car is exploding from within the passenger seats. (01:09:55)
12th Sep 2019
The Boy Next Door (2015)
Continuity mistake: At the beginning of the movie, Jennifer Lopez keeps cutting the same single slice of cake. She also partially slides it out twice, the second time not really showing in the matching reverse shot. (00:02:45 - 00:03:50)
12th Sep 2019
The Boy Next Door (2015)
Continuity mistake: At the end of his crazy speech when he strokes Claire's hair using the gun, Noah says "Okay?" and Jennifer Lopez nods. The gun is pointed up, but it is pointed down in the following shot. (01:16:50)
12th Sep 2019
The Boy Next Door (2015)
Continuity mistake: During the double date at the Chinese restaurant, the glass in front of Vicky is a little less full in the close-ups with just her in frame than it is in the other views. (00:17:30)
12th Sep 2019
The Boy Next Door (2015)
Other mistake: When Noah and Kevin go to the hardware store, the sign says "Calahan." In the end credits roll, Lexi Atkins' character is "Allie Callahan", 2 Ls. (00:06:05 - 01:23:10)
12th Sep 2019
The Boy Next Door (2015)
Continuity mistake: As Claire discovers the corpse after the cat jumpscare, the gold chain is across the chest or across the lips. (01:15:20)
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