Dennis Quaid

Reagan (2024): A Discombobulated and Dull Tale of an Actor-Turned-Politician

Posted on by Jack Drees

“Reagan” is directed by Sean McNamara (Soul Surfer, The King’s Daughter) and stars Dennis Quaid (Frequency, The Day After Tomorrow), Penelope Ann Miller (The Artist, Kindergarten Cop), Robert Davi (Showgirls, Profiler), Lesley Anne-Down (Sunset Beach, The Bold and the Beautiful), and Jon Voight (Midnight Cowboy, Mission: Impossible). This film is about the life of Ronald Reagan from his childhood to his acting work to his political career.

Of all the movies I could have seen this year, “Reagan” was not a movie I was genuinely anticipating. The marketing made it look unbearably generic. In a sense, it came off as if it was made for television. And the only reason why it got a theatrical release is because of the actors on screen like Dennis Quaid. But what do I know? I went to go see this film less than a month ago at my local cinema, on opening weekend. And while I do not recall the theater being full, it actually got quite a large audience. Granted, the auditorium was on the slightly smaller side. But it showed there may have been more interest in this film than I expected.

But as for the movie itself, it is, as I thought it would be, bad. It is not the worst movie of the year, but it is definitely one of the most discombobulated and convoluted.

In fact, would you like to know how convoluted this movie becomes by the very end? Well, you do not even have to watch the movie to find out. Just go to the Wikipedia page! If you are reading this page years down the road, I have no idea if anybody will make any dramatic changes to the page, but as of this writing, if you go to the “Plot” section, there is a warning that reads, “This section’s plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed.” Even Wikipedia says this movie is overstuffed! The most unreliable reliable source on the Internet agrees with me! And calling Wikipedia the most unreliable reliable source is not an error! It is not inaccurate! Much like Wikipedia, Scene Before is written by some random moron on the Internet, so you can trust me!

During my time in school, history was a mixed subject for me. There are times I would do well in history, but as I got into high school, that’s where things started to fall apart. But one thing I would remember about history is the textbooks. Remember how huge those things were? Granted, time is enormous. There is a lot to go over. I can gladly say that “Reagan” is slightly more entertaining than a by the numbers history textbook. Something that amazingly could not be accomplished with the ambitious Czech film “Medieval.” But despite the massive size of history textbooks, they cannot quite cover every minor detail of an event. Much like a history textbook, I learned something. Granted, I knew Reagan was an actor. But I did not know how much of an impact he had on the Screen Actors Guild. Knowing his background as that union’s president makes sense considering his future in politics. As someone who was not alive during Reagan’s time as president, I thought I would learn something from this movie. I did not think it would be that.

With that in mind, “Reagan” does remind me of a history textbook because it goes over a lot in such little time. And in the same way, you could also say “Reagan” reminds me of CliffsNotes, which if you are a teacher reading this, is something your students are probably using to pretend they read “King Lear.” It feels like we are flying faster than the speed of light from one important moment of Reagan’s life to the next to the point where the impact of whatever moment came before is less than it should be.

There is one particular moment in this movie, particularly during the 1976 RNC, where such a lack of impact is noticeable. Let’s just say it presents a moment involving Reagan’s political ambitions, where he cannot quite make it to the top, only to have a much more monumental moment be presented to us several minutes later. The pacing between these scenes is too fast and lessens the depth of the Reagan character. It does not give enough time to sympathize with him during his lowest low. The movie just says, bop-da-le-skiddly-bop, onto the next scene!

At times, this movie does not really know what it wants to be. I mentioned the marketing makes “Reagan” look generic. Having seen the film, I can confirm it is quite generic. But it is not all generic. If anything, the thing that sets this film apart, is probably its most bewildering element. On top of the mostly linear story that we get regarding the life of Ronald Reagan, we also get several scenes between two men in present day Moscow. Those two men are Russian agent Andrei Novikov and KGB agent Viktor Petrovich, both fictional characters by the way. The duo spend some time in the latter’s home discussing why the Soviet Union fell. Now I get it. The Soviet Union and Russia were a hot topic during Reagan’s life and his time as presidency. Despite that, I honestly do not see how the movie benefits from any of the scenes between these two. This movie is already over two hours long, and boy did I occasionally feel the runtime. Do we really need to see these two on screen? No we do not! In fact, one of those fictional Russian characters, Viktor Petrovich to be specific, is played by Jon Voight. Part of me is convinced those scenes were kept just so you could have Jon Voight’s name on the poster! As for the duo’s performances, while not quite as comedic as an “SNL” sketch, they lacked a certain authenticity. Although Voight’s accent in particular is not doing him any favors.

As for the lead performance, I will not deny that Dennis Quaid had a monumental task in front of him. He had to play a well-known world leader. He had to play said world leader during various portions of his life. But his performance to me was a bit of a mixed bag. At times, he embodied the nature of Ronald Reagan. At others, he overemphasized his accent and presence. And at others, he was somewhat unconvincing. Again, I recognize the challenge at hand, but it does not change the fact that watching this performance on screen resulted in Dennis Quaid trying a bunch of different things only to have them all combine into something average at best. If you want to see a more convincing lead performance by someone who plays the same character in multiple parts of their life, just go watch Zendaya in “Challengers.” I did not love the movie, but I will not deny Zendaya did a great job in her role. But most of the performances in “Reagan” range somewhere between overdone, unmemorable, or mediocre. There are no performances in this movie that I would imagine to be nominated for an Oscar. Maybe one or two will get nominated for a Razzie, but it is hard to know whether they are going to be nominated simply because the performances are bad or because it is funny to nominate performances in political movies. This is, after all, the same awards body that nominated several members of the Donald Trump administration for their “performances” in the 2018 documentary “Fahrenheit 11/9.” I try to avoid talking about my political views on Scene Before unless it is absolutely necessary, but if you must know my thoughts on “Reagan,” they are quite simple. Just say no.

In the end, “Reagan” is dull, bland, and all over the place. As fast as this movie moves, it oddly feels kind of slow. Occasionally, it gives you little time to take in one scene before quickly waltzing straight onto the next. The performances are nothing to write home about. You could literally take out all the scenes between the men in Moscow and dramatically improve the film’s substance. There are no positives in this film that stand out, but at the same time, I cannot say the film is incompetent. It is well shot, well lit, and the locations are okay. But the movie itself is kind of forgettable. It is almost kind of propaganda-like in its presentation. Some of the lines just feel oddly preachy and over the top at times. Maybe that was the intention. Maybe not. But again, if you want to know about my thoughts on “Reagan,” I wonder if my score of 5/10 will give you any hints.

“Reagan” is now playing in theaters everywhere. Tickets are available now!

Thanks for reading this review! My next review is going to be for “It Ends with Us,” the brand new film starring Blake Lively. Stay tuned! If you want to see this review and more from Scene Before, follow the blog either with an email or WordPress account! Also, check out the official Facebook page! I want to know, did you see “Reagan?” What did you think about it? Or, what is your favorite movie heavily involving a U.S. President? I’ll even count fictional ones. Shoutout to “Air Force One” for being totally awesome! Let me know down below! Scene Before is your click to the flicks!

Strange World (2022): No Awe, No Wonder, Just Boredom.

Posted on by Jack Drees

“Strange World” is directed by Don Hall and co-directed by Qui Nguyen. The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler, Spider-Man: Far from Home), Dennis Quaid (A Dog’s Purpose, The Express: The Ernie Davis Story), Jaboukie Young-White (The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Only Murders in the Building), Gabrielle Union (America’s Got Talent, Think Like a Man), and Lucy Liu (Charlie’s Angels, Kung Fu Panda). This film follows the Clades, a family who must overcome each other’s differences in order to successfully navigate themselves in a space off the map.

Thus far, animation has not been perfect this year. The only real highlight in regard to 2022 animation for me would have to be “Turning Red,” which I watched back in March and enjoyed immensely. In fact, my favorite animation I watched that came out this year is one that technically came out last year, specifically “Belle,” as it released in Japan in July 2021. That movie was so nice that I had to post about it twice. Therefore, I was hoping that “Strange World” could join the ranks of “Turning Red,” or surpass it, and give the genre a boost. “The Bad Guys” was okay. “Lightyear” was fun but it is no “Toy Story.” “Luck” was not perfect. Let’s not even talk about “Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank.” I wanted something that could potentially be a medium-defining movie. We had a couple of those last year with “The Mitchells vs. the Machines,” the recently mentioned “Belle,” and Disney’s own “Raya and the Last Dragon.” The good news for those movies, depending on how you slice it, is if they wanted to remain superior, then this is a good day for them. “Strange World” is a movie that should have dazzled me. Unfortunately, I was bored.

Now let me be clear, for the people who ask why I do not like this movie, please note that this has nothing to do with a certain character having feelings for another specific character. If you are looking for another review where the writer disses on the movie because it is “woke,” go someplace else, arrogant scumbags. Scene Before is not the place for that. That said, it is time to talk about why “Strange World” is one of the most underwhelming and snore-inducing animations of the decade.

However, before we get there, I do want to drop some positives. Because the movie does have its moments. The first act, while not flawless, introduces the characters at a quick pace and provides some fascinating setup for what is to come. There is a particular event towards the end of the movie that caught me off guard, but in a good way. The opening song, while short, is kind of a banger. Oddly enough, this does not go for that traditional Disney movie soundtrack extravaganza where every other scene becomes a musical all of a sudden. There is no equivalent to Let It Go in “Strange World.” If you are seeking a musical, look elsewhere. If you are instead seeking a mediocre adventure in unfamiliar territory, look no further.

When your movie is called “Strange World,” that should be code to make a world that looked kooky and fun. However, I had my arms crossed for a good portion of the runtime. “Strange World” had scenes that looked like an escape from reality, but it is not just a matter of how the movie looks, but how it feels. Despite being taken on an adventure to somewhere unfamiliar, I never felt immersed into this world. Part of the reason is because this movie feels like it spends more time building its vast environments as opposed to the characters who are surrounded by said environments. Sure, we get moments where we get to know the characters, but it sometimes comes off as the bare minimum. In addition, the characters themselves are annoying.

Now the characters, for the most part, are well voiced. Dennis Quaid and Lucy Liu are particular standouts as Jaeger Clade (top right) and Callisto Mal (top left) respectively. The voice performances serve their purpose and are in no way problematic. However, I was annoyed by a character that should have been a lovable sidekick, Splat.

I found out that nobody voices Splat (right), so the voice actors are safe in this instance. However, the sounds that Splat makes, while somewhat appropriate, are honestly more headache-inducing than trying to find a parking spot at the mall on Black Friday. I can say this is based on true events. Both as someone who just wanted cheap Blu-rays the other day, and as someone who wanted to have a good time watching “Strange World,” but failed miserably.

Like most animated fare, there is a lesson intertwined that the crew perhaps aspire to deliver towards the children watching the movie. As an adult, I took away a particular lesson that sounded halfway decent. But at the same time, the lesson made for an atrocious story. It is predictable, dull, and worst of all, the three main characters all made me roll my eyes. Whether it was cheap dialogue, selfish motives, or overembellishing what could easily be shown instead of told. There are scenes where the main characters argue, and it had dialogue that should have been compelling, it should have gotten me invested in the scene and where things could go from here. All it did was made me put my hand on my head, begging for the movie to move along.

I watched “Strange World” in a theater that had some people. It was nowhere near its total capacity, but there were some families and kids. Despite the various attempts at comedy in “Strange World,” no one uttered a sound. I could barely hear children chuckling. For all I knew, the children at this screening had a good time. But when your family movie fails to get the family to emote, that is a problem. Although when the movie was over, people did clap. So there is that.

Watching and/or reviewing a Disney movie sometimes has its complexities. Because Disney is not just movies. That is just a small aspect of how they entertain the masses. What goes into their movies often factors into their merchandising, their parks, and so on. While “Strange World” is not a good movie, it was the kind of movie that despite its failed attempts to immerse me, made me think there could be a chance that this would make for a decent theme park ride. I can imagine this universe as a motion simulator in Disney World because it is so otherworldly. Kind of like some of Disney’s other rides such as Star Tours or Pirates of the Caribbean, it feels like going somewhere else. It does not feel like Florida. It does not feel like California. You’re either in space or some vast environment far from home. Unfortunately, I am not reviewing a theme park ride. I am reviewing a story. And despite one or two okay scenes, there was not enough to make me root for the characters or care about what was going on. As a story, this is dull. This is forgettable. This is uninteresting. I wanted it to end. Thankfully the movie not that long, but despite time flying by, I was not having fun.

In the end, “Strange World” is a bit of a letdown. I did not think this movie looked like the next big thing, but it also looked fun. Disney movies, even ones that are lower tier, seem to have glimmers of fun on a consistent basis. When I fail to walk out of a Disney movie, or any movie for that matter, with a smile on my face, that is not a good sign. Let me just put it this way. I had more fun with another Disney film, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” and that is despite the film saying goodbye to a major character (in addition to the actor who plays him) and having a few downer scenes. “Strange World” occasionally made me angry because it looked fun, but it did not feel fun. There is a difference between designing something pretty, and doing something with it that is interesting. This movie felt like a first date with the most attractive woman alive, only to find out she has zero personality whatsoever. “Strange World” is a waste of time and I am going to give it a 3/10.

“Strange World” is now playing in theatres everywhere. Tickets are available now.

Thanks for reading this review! If you liked this review, check out some of my other ones! If you want to see more animated movie reviews, check out the review I did for “The Bob’s Burgers Movie.” If you want to see more family movie reviews, check out my thoughts on the brand new Netflix film, “Slumberland.” I am planning on seeing a movie this weekend, I am not sure which one specifically, so as to whether “Violent Night” or “Spoiler Alert” is going to be my next review is a total mystery. You will have to find out for yourselves. If you want to see this and more from Scene Before, follow the blog either with an email or WordPress account! Also, check out the official Facebook page! I want to know, did you see “Strange World?” What did you think about it? Or, what is an animation that you saw recently that disappointed you? Let me know down below! Scene Before is your click to the flicks!

Kin (2018): Two Brothers, A Ray Gun, and a Stripper

Posted on by Jack Drees

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“Kin” is directed by Jonathan and Josh Baker, two brothers who have worked together on multiple short films. This movie stars Myles Truitt (Queen Sugar, Black Lightning), Jack Reynor (Sing Street, Glassland), Zoë Kravitz (Divergent, After Earth), Carrie Coon (The Leftovers, Gone Girl), Dennis Quaid (Far From Heaven, Frequency), and James Franco (Spider-Man, The Disaster Artist) and is about an ex-con who has been recently released from prison and his teen brother who are on the run from soldiers. Alongside them we have a unique weapon, which just so happens to be some of their only protection.

The main reason why I’m reviewing “Kin” is not because I’m particularly interested in the movie, but because this review works around my schedule. I have reviewed movies in August, but there’s no point where I’ve actually gone out to see a movie actually released in the month of August. I wanted to see “The Meg” so bad, but I never got around to it. I had some sort of interest in movies including “Mile 22,” “The Happytime Murders,” “The Spy Who Dumped Me,” and “Searching.” I could have gone out to see these movies, but there was no time and on occasion, no way, to get to any of these. Apparently adventures like “2001” in IMAX and “Eighth Grade” are a lot more important. Now it’s September, and my chance to review an August movie is finally here. And I’d say for the most part, this August movie was worth my time. I have my problems with it, but we’ll get to those later.

This movie stars Myles Truitt and Jack Reynor as two “brothers” if you will. Jimmy (Reynor) was raised by his birth family while Eli (Truitt) happened to be adopted. Jimmy is not essentially the brightest bulb in the world. As the movie begins, we find out that Jimmy just happened to be released from prison. When the main plot kicks in, this is essentially where the two brothers have to team up. So the two go on a road trip, leaving post-apocalyptic Detroit to wherever their travels take them. And I gotta say that this is probably where “Kin” hits its highest marks. Not only did both actors play their characters well, but they’ve also delivered terrific and believable chemistry. None of it was awkward, at least from what I remember, and it made me see these actors purely as these characters. Who else is gonna play them now?

Now this movie is produced by the same folks who produced “Stranger Things.” While I have not seen much of “Stranger Things,” I am certainly well aware of what it is all about. And there are some moments of this that can feel like “Stranger Things.” Probably the biggest reason that can associate with such a statement is that the two main characters who have to stick together are on the younger side of the spectrum. And as mentioned, both of them did very well in this movie.

Along the way, the duo meet a girl by the name of Milly, played by Zoë Kravitz. Where do they meet her? A strip club.

Now whoa whoa whoa hold the phone!

Out of all the places that the two brothers could stop, the older brother, who happens to be in control of the wheel (for good reason), decides it would be reasonable to go to a strip club alongside his FOURTEEN YEAR OLD ADOPTED BROTHER. As crazy enough as that alone is, they don’t check IDs (upon research though I don’t think ALL clubs do that).

Anyway, they meet her at a strip club and what I love about this is not what any stereotypical teenager would go ahead and talk about. It’s not about how f*ckable she is or how hot she looks onstage. In fact, this movie is rated PG-13, so it’s not like you have to come in expecting anything hardcore. The thing I love about her is how the movie utilizes her character to make her actually have a personality. It’s not like she’s a sex object, she has a purpose in the film. There’s a point where I wouldn’t say she’s actually “doing s*it,” but she does happen to have heavy involvement in the plot. But then again, and this may be nitpicky, but this probably wouldn’t have happened if the dynamic duo didn’t get kicked out for having a CLEARLY underage kid in their party.

One of the movie’s biggest things it has going for it is the futuristic ray gun that seems to be getting a lot of attention when it comes to marketing. When it comes to that particular aspect, I’m both impressed and maybe a tad disappointed at the same time. On one hand, the ray gun was a nifty little tool and I thought it really served a purpose, not to mention a bit of fun, in the story. On the other hand, it might have gotten maybe somewhere near minimal use, which kind of underwhelmed me. If this movie gets a sequel, which I doubt will happen unless this movie makes a s*itton more money than it did during its first few days, I want to see more use out of the ray gun if there is time for it. I’ve been exposed to others’ reviews on “Kin” before publishing this one, and they’ve said that this film, tonally speaking, is way off. While I do happen to disagree on that point, I do agree that this film needs to hit the big guns. There is although a pretty cool side story involving a couple of people who actually had the gun before it was even found and taken by the two brothers. Also that reminds me, I wanted there to be perhaps a more memorable and fascinating discovery. I don’t even remember how it was found except for bits and pieces. In the “Jumanji” movie, specifically the one starring Robin Williams, I still remember the discovery of the Jumanji board game. I remember bits of the music, where it was, and it just felt like you were maybe in an adventure film. Maybe like “Indiana Jones” or something.

This film is actually based on a short film directed by the twin brothers Jonathan and Josh Baker. These two brothers eventually went on to direct this exact movie. I have not seen the short, but it is called “Bag Man,” so I have nothing to compare it to, but I do want to give a bit of credit to this film for at least raising my interest towards checking that out.

In the end, “Kin” is actually a bit of a surprise for me. I went in not expecting much at all. In fact, I walked out thinking, that wasn’t really that bad. This is like walking into a Kmart or Sears at this point seeing that they’re actually doing a somewhat decent business and keeping the stock flowing smoothly. Maybe it’s not perfect, but hey, it could definitely be a lot worse. I do have my problems with it, and trust me, some stand out. I don’t think I’ll remember “Kin” as much as I do with some other movies, but this was certainly something I couldn’t complain about. I’m gonna give “Kin” a 6/10. Thanks for reading this review! Right now it is September, and it is more than a month away until “First Man” releases in several countries, including the US. For those of you who don’t know, “First Man” stars Ryan Gosling (Blade Runner 2049, Crazy Stupid Love) and Claire Foy (The Crown, Breathe), it is directed by Academy Award-winning director Damien Chazelle (La La Land, Whiplash), and happens to be, depending on how you look at things, based on the true story, or a fantasy with a hidden truth and meant to be shot in a studio, on the Apollo moon landing. In honor of that, starting sometime later this month, I’m planning to be reviewing a bunch of space-related movies. Be sure to stay tuned for that. I’ve got a number of options in my head. I’ll just say, that my first review is probably guaranteed to be “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Not only does it have some sort of relation to space, but this year is the movie’s 50th anniversary, and based on results from a Twitter poll, “2001” received the popular vote. Stay tuned for this, along with other great content! Also, be sure to follow Scene Before either with an email or your WordPress account! I want to know, did you see “Kin?” What did you think about it? Or, what is your favorite fictional weapon in a movie? Let me know down below! Scene Before is your click to the flicks!