Neil Morris

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation★★★ ½ Now playing Last year, in an LA Weekly article entitled “How YouTube and Internet Journalism Destroyed Tom Cruise, Our Last Real Movie Star,” Amy Nicholson contended that the action roles Cruise has taken in recent years are urgent attempts by an aging actor (he just turned 53) to reclaim […]

Pixels★★★ Now playing Adam Sandler has spent so many years producing one abominable film after another (while still inexplicably turning tidy profits) that there’s an understandable impulse to assail anything with the faintest echoes of his previous affronts to cinema. So when grown men are called upon to employ their dormant video gaming skills to […]

Minions★ ½ Now playing Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines “minion” as “a servile dependent, follower, or underling.” In the case of Minions, a prequel and spin-off of the popular Despicable Me franchise, the overlord isn’t über-baddy Felonius Gru. It’s the money-changing moviemakers mainlining the yellow pill-shaped playthings into the adrenal glands of youngsters—and the wallets of their […]

The Wrecking Crew ★★★ Now playing The story behind the making of The Wrecking Crew is nearly as interesting as the film itself. In 1995, director Denny Tedesco set out to document the life story of his father, legendary guitarist Tommy Tedesco, who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Tommy was one of a group […]