Midnight Run (1988)

What's the best film of 1988? ...I don't know. That's no simple question, who am I, Leonard Maltin?

But, I will say, when I think of The Best Films of the 80's, Midnight Run always comes up. Always.

What could be looked at as one of the best 'road trip' movies, as vague a genre that may be, it's also a great 'Odd Couple' dynamic for Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin.

The music alone in this movie is worth the watch, by someone you would know, but not at all by the theme he lays down in this. That guy who wrote the Simpsons theme song, also Tales From the Crypt, and gave us the timeless Batman theme. This film is fun, engaging throughout, with a healthy dose of heart in the second act, and shares some tones (and the director) with Beverly Hills Cop.

This film was my introduction to De Niro, and technically all actors in it, at a very young age. And, for all the movies one falls in love with as a little, little kid, this is one that has never had diminishing returns upon countless rewatches over the years.

Directed by Martin Brest. Starring Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, John Ashton, Dennis Farina, and Joe 'the Pants' Pantoliano.