Un voisin trop parfait

Of course, this is a bad movie. Yet, there are plenty of guilty pleasures to behold here. When I say it's bad, I didn't say I didn't enjoy it. I mean, there's a lot of potential going on. Unfortunately, it leads to a bit disappointing finale. But, it is salvaged by an amount of suspense before the ensuing chaos.

At first, J.Lo... why did she even bother signing on this? I thought that this is too low even for her standards. But, later on, I think that she's pretty committed on doing this role. So, I decided to lay back and enjoy the ride.

Then, along came Ryan Guzman, as the so-called "Boy Next Door". Hmmm... He did a pretty fine job. When the tension ratchets up, he looks threatening convincingly, despite what critics say about his performance.

The supporting casts are good as well. Kristin Chenoweth stood out for me, adding comic relief and zing along the way.

My main criticism is the script. Not only it's a bit sloppy, almost made-for-TV writing, but it falters in the end. There are some characters' action including Lopez's, that's nonsensical and... stupid, actually.

When it comes to nonsensical and stupid, I just wished they would close it with being campy and over-the-top. It doesn't truly reached that level and the result is only a half-baked mess.

But, all those flaws don't matter too much because Rob Cohen's direction are superior than most of his movies, especially his last offering "Alex Cross", although it's his fault too.

For a movie released in January, it's better than expected. But, for a real nerve-wracking thriller, don't get your hopes up too high.

Just watch it for pure brainless entertainment without much to think about. It's not that bad...

Like its subject matter, 'The Boy Next Door' is getting such a hush- hush treatment it almost seems as if someone didn't want you to see it. If that is any indication that someone was embarrassed by how this reverse 'Fatal Attraction' thriller turned out, well we're glad to say that it isn't as bad as we had feared. To be sure, that should not be mistaken for any endorsement of its merit, but given how little pre-release publicity its distributors bestowed upon it, we were sure expecting something much, much worse.

In her first big-screen role in two years, Jennifer Lopez plays a middle-aged high-school literature teacher who is still struggling to recover emotionally from her husband's (John Corbett) betrayal one year on and raising her teenage son, Kevin (Ian Nelson, on her own. Enter new neighbour Noah (Step Up's Ryan Guzman), who has moved in next door with his ailing uncle and proves himself to be quite the fix-it hero around her place, especially since Garrett's (Corbett) absence means that there is a space for a man to be around the house. Even better, Noah loves poetry and his intimate knowledge of Homer's 'The Iliad' becomes one of the first few things over which he and Claire (Lopez) develop a connection over.

There is however no mistaking their (mutual) sexual attraction, not when director Rob Cohen introduces Noah bicep-first when he glides into frame to prepare Claire's wonky garage door. When Kevin takes off with Garrett for a weekend camping trip and Claire's had one drink too many after a failed dinner date, Noah seizes the opportunity to get it on with Claire. The morning after, Claire wakes to proclaim their coupling a mistake – no matter that Guzman looks older than he is meant to be in the movie, he is a new transfer senior attending Claire's class at her school. Her rebuff doesn't sit well with Noah, whom we slowly learn is in fact a psychotic stalker who grows even more enraged when he catches her responding to Garrett's advances to give their marriage a second chance.

First-time screenwriter Barbara Curry slowly ratchets up the stakes against Claire – first, Noah 'poisons' Kevin's relationship with his father; then, he threatens to make public photos and even a video of their one-night dalliance; then, he sabotages the brakes on Garrett's Dodger; and finally, he kidnaps Garrett and Kevin – which Cohen builds up as an increasingly thrilling chain of events leading up to their final confrontation. Not only does Noah prove himself to be a master manipulator, he also shows himself to be prone to bouts of violence, in particular against Claire's good friend and the school's vice principal (Kristin Chenoweth).

That said, it isn't anything we haven't yet before, or done to more titillating extremes; yet, despite its familiarity, Cohen guides the proceedings along with the sure hand of a veteran, and it is to his credit that the end result is much more engaging than it ought to be. We're not sure what Lopez saw in the material for her to not only star but produce this rehash of 90s exploitation thrillers, but she at least makes her character sympathetic. The same however cannot be said of Guzman, whose portrayal of menace and malevolence doesn't go much deeper than the acting you'll see in a high school play. And for those who are expecting to see Lopez and Guzman get hot and heavy, well let's just say that you're likely to find yourself left cold.

It is probably too easy to lambast a movie like 'The Boy Next Door', but the truth is there are many worse films out there which deserve to be buried more so than this does. The premise does feel dated, but there hasn't been a sexual thriller like 'Basic Instinct' or for that matter 'Fatal Attraction' in a while, so if you're in the mood for some trashy B-grade thrills, you'll probably find some of those urges satisfied somewhat by this teaser that never does really get past first base.

This movie has no point, no interesting Plot. You could tell this movie was gonna be bad just by looking at the trailer. Not even if it was the only thing on TV, I would never watch this movie ever again.

I want to forget this movie even exists, I want it erased from my memory. This movie is one of those movies where the actors just accept the movie just for the money without any purpose. Anyway I don't recommend this at all, please don't waste your time on this I'm telling you ahead of time if you haven't seen it. I don't care if it's early 2015, this is the worst movie of the year and if it get's an Oscar I'm deleting myself from this Earth.

This movie is really nothing we haven't seen before: A woman on the brink of divorce has an affair with her younger next door neighbor and, afterward, wants nothing more to do with the man. As a result, the neighbor gets violent and stalks her.

It is a fast-pace thriller with steamy love scenes and quick action sequences. However, the plot is predictable and the acting is sub-par at best. For a movie called, "The Boy Next Door," there should be more suspense and plot twists that lead up to the title role, rather than a one-time encounter that basically reveals almost immediately who the antagonist is.

It's not a entirely bad movie to pass the time with; however, you will find much more suspenseful and captivating thriller than this one.

Grade C-

Blumhouse Production's The boy next door (2015) with Jennifer Lopez, which went on to gross five times it's budget. A woman called Claire (Jennifer Lopez) , High school teacher , is separated from her unfaithful husband (John Corbett) . She's is on the verge of divorcing her husband Garrett after he was caught cheating with his secretary. While Claire's best friend Vicky Lansing (Kristin Chenoweth) stands by her and urges her to sign the divorce papers immediately and leave Garrett for good. She then falls for a younger man , the handsome, charming teenager named Noah (Ryan Guzman) who has moved in next door. She kicks him out and it causes a rift between both of them and their son Kevin (Ian Nelson). But Noah spends much of the time hanging out with Claire's son. One night, Claire gives in to temptation and lets Noah seduce her, but things go wrong when she attempts to end the relationship . Then their torrid affair soon takes a dangerous turn resulting in violent happenings. A moment she couldn't resist, an obsession he can't control !. Her mistake !. His obsession !.

This is a passable , manipulative and disturbing thriller with intrigue , suspense , twists , turns and the build-up tension is developed step by step . The plot is well-known and ordinary , as a neglected wife by her adulterous husband and left feeling particularly vulnerable as her marriage crumbles, as the lonely teacher has an affair with a younger neighbor that turns terrifying as his fiery lust morphs into perilous obsession . Exploring timeless themes of marriage and infidelity through the lens of modern attitudes toward strong women, personality disorders and coercive control . It results to be a deep-dive reimagining of the classic 80's thriller, ¨Fatal Attraction¨ by Adrian Lyne , equally dealing with one-night stand leads to terror as a main role continue to pursue the realtionship . This ¨The Boy Next Door¨ is an acceptable but no original suspense thriller , beautifully photographed by cameraman David McFarland and set to a successful soundtrack from Nathan Barr and Randy Edelman. Unfortunately, this already says everything positive, specially with films that want to surprise the viewer with their punchline, naturally it weighs particularly negatively if you already suspect the resolution at the end of the first act at the latest . The final part is at least a little more exciting , but eventually fails , due to the weak resolution, which had already been hinted at for an hour, as well as the stolen elements of other psychokiller films. Stars Jennifer Lopez who gives a so-so acting as the newly separated high-school teacher Claire Peterson , while Ryan Guzman is fine as the deranged and unsettling teen on the verge of going crazy . Being accompanied by a good support cast , such as : John Corbett , Ian Nelson, Kristin Chenoweth, Jack Wallace and Hill Harper of CSY New York .

The motion picture was regular but professionally directed by Rob Cohen who often directs high-energy action films, such as : Daylight 1996), The Fast and the Furious (2001), xXx (2002), or Stealth (2005) . He went on to produce and direct some of the most iconic films and television series of the 1980's, including Miami Vice (1984), Witches of Eastwick (1987), Ironweed (1987) and The Wiz (1978) . From 1990 onward, Cohen moved into directing full time. Much success followed with early 90's hits such as Dragon, Bruce Lee life (1993), Dragonheart (1996), Daylight (1996) and the Golden Globe award winning film The Rat pack (1998 ). At 52, Cohen had become a hit action director of youth films, directing the 2001 blockbuster, The Fast and the Furious. With this enormous hit , he partnered up with Vin Diesel again the following year to direct yet another box office hit, xXx (2002). Cohen directed the third installed of The mummy : the tomb of the emperator Dragon in 2008, grossing $405million world-wide. ¨The boy next door¨ rating : 5/10 . Mediocre but passable . The flick will appeal to Jennifer Lopez fans.