Movies are awesome and awesome movies are even better, but sometimes even the biggest Hollywood blockbusters are hiding some seriously goofy fails. Whether it’s a tech flub, an editing oopsie, or a time-traveling guitar that shouldn’t even exist yet, these mistakes are hiding in plain sight, and once you see them, you can’t unsee them.
Here are some movie mistakes that’ll make you do a double-take.
1. Back to the Future (1985)
Remember Marty McFly’s epic rock’n’roll performance? He had a sick Gibson ES-345, which is awesome, except the ES-345 didn’t exist until 1958, and this scene is set in 1955. That’s right, Marty time-traveled with an instrument from the future that technically hadn’t been invented yet. Maybe Doc Brown also packed a music catalog for the ride. Ironically, the song he plays—
Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode”—also hadn’t been recorded yet, so Marty might have invented rock’n’roll by accident, too.
2. Pulp Fiction (1994)
Christopher Walken’s intense monologue about a gold watch is one of the film’s most memorable moments. But the watch itself has other plans. As the camera zooms in on it, the time shown doesn’t match what Walken’s character just said. Continuity much? Also, that gold watch has seen some stuff. According to Walken’s character, it was hidden in, uh, “you know where.” Let’s just say the time’s wrong and it needs disinfecting.
3. Charlie’s Angels (2000)
Near the end of the movie, Sam Rockwell is supposed to be flying a helicopter, but someone forgot to fully key out the green screen behind him in post. So, instead of sky or cityscape, we get a surreal moment of Rockwell against a weird, glowing green void. Honestly, it looks like he’s hovering through a radioactive smoothie. But who cares about realism when you’ve got Cameron Diaz backflipping off rooftops?
4. Jurassic Park (1993)
The T-Rex scene is legendary. First, the giant lizard breaks out of the paddock and steps over the goat’s former snack location. But later, Dr. Grant and the kids rappel down a massive cliff from the same spot the T-Rex just walked out of. Like, huh? Was the fence built on a floating platform? Despite Jurassic Park making a billion dollars, nobody can explain this magical disappearing terrain.
5. Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)
Michael Bay movies are known for explosions, giant robots, and unfinished visual effects, apparently. In one scene, some military dudes are staring intensely at computer monitors. It’s a tense and dramatic scene, isn’t it? Until you notice that most of those screens are still green. Yeah, someone forgot to key in the graphics. Dang Decepticons and their evil pranks!
6. The Matrix (1999)
The Wachowskis pushed cinematic boundaries with this film, but even Neo couldn’t dodge this bullet. In the famous “red pill/blue pill” scene, there’s a close-up of a doorknob with a very visible reflection of the camera. The filmmakers tried to disguise it by covering the rig with a bit of Morpheus’ jacket, but the illusion doesn’t hold. It’s kind of poetic, though.
7. Notting Hill (1999)
Ah, the romantic run-in between Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. It’s swoon-worthy until you notice her sunglasses reflecting literally the entire camera crew behind him. Lights, boom mics, the whole shebang. It’s like a behind-the-scenes featurette snuck its way into the final cut.
8. Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995)
In the scene where Ace makes fun of the poacher during the grand finale, we see all the chess pieces mysteriously vanish. Did Ace knock them off with his chaotic energy? Probably not. It’s just a classic continuity error. And considering how over-the-top this sequel is, including the rhino scene, it’s almost fitting.
9. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)
Remember little baby Harry left on the Dursleys’ doorstep with only a lightning bolt scar and a blanket? Hold on, where’s the scar? In the first shot, his forehead is smooth and unmarked. But suddenly—BAM!—there’s the iconic bolt! Either Voldemort was late to the special effects meeting, or someone forgot the scar prosthetic for that take. Fun fact: Daniel Radcliffe went through nearly 2,000 scar applications during the filming of the entire series.
10. Home Alone (1990)
In the movie, Kevin preps for the wet bandits’ arrival by making himself a classy mac and cheese dinner. At 9 p.m., the clock chimes, and Kevin blows out the candles, ready for battle. But seconds later, when the burglars show up, there’s a totally different meal on the table. What happened to the mac and cheese? Was it so bad Kevin decided to use it as a weapon? To be fair, he probably had bigger problems at that time.
