Production Company(ies)
Power Pictures, 2002 Ltd., Bórd Scannán na hÉireann Nederlandse Programma Stichting
 
Distributor
Universal Pictures
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
New Zealand
 
MPAA / Certificate
R
 
Year of Release
1988
 

 
Genre(s)
Comedy/Action
 
Keyword(s)
starring Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Yaphet Kotto, John Ashton, Dennis Farina, Joe Pantoliano, directed by Martin Brest, written by George Gallo, comedy, action, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Martin Chilton, Michael Wilmington, Richard Schickel, Carrie Rickey, Peter Travers, Jay Boyar, MPAA rating R, bounty hunter, mob accountant, FBI, cross-country chase, odd couple comedy, chemistry, execution, brilliant talent, Danny Elfman, low-key comedy, character development, danger, thrilling, exciting, pathos, friendship, believable, intimidating, lightness of touch, endearing, highly irritating, obsessive, intelligent, gentle of heart, seamless, supporting roles, portentous, unscrupulous, dynamic score, poignancy, freshness, underrated, enjoyable, amazing chemistry, organically, appropriately dramatic, action-filled, extremely funny, horror movies, MCU movies, Netflix series, TV premiere dates, worst horror movies, careers
 

Cast & Crew

Robert De Niro

Charles Grodin

Yaphet Kotto

John Ashton

Dennis Farina

Jack Walsh

Jonathan Mardukas

Alonzo Mosely

Marvin Dorfler

Jimmy Serrano

Robert De Niro – Jack Walsh
Charles Grodin – Jonathan Mardukas
Yaphet Kotto – Alonzo Mosely
John Ashton – Marvin Dorfler
Dennis Farina – Jimmy Serrano
Joe Pantoliano – Eddie Moscone

 

Martin Brest

George Gallo

Martin Brest

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Martin Brest
 
Writer(s)
George Gallo
 
Producer(s)
Martin Brest

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
2 wins & 4 nominations
 
Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Martin Chilton

Michael Wilmington

Richard Schickel

Carrie Rickey

Peter Travers

Daily Telegraph

Los Angeles Times

TIME Magazine

Philadelphia Inquirer

People Magazine

MIDNIGHT RUN
  All Critics (54) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (51) | Rotten (3)
  The interplay between the two leads is pure gold.
 
  June 27, 2015 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Martin Chilton
  Daily Telegraph (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  Who said movies always have to be original? This one is redeemed by execution and brilliant talent: De Niro, Grodin, director Martin Brest, composer Danny Elfman, most of the cast and technicians.
 
  July 30, 2013
 
  Michael Wilmington
  Los Angeles Times
  TOP CRITIC
  A performance like De Niro’s, in a well-made entertainment like Midnight Run, is cheap at any price. And capable of restoring the audience’s faith in the form.
 
  July 30, 2013
 
  Richard Schickel
  TIME Magazine
  TOP CRITIC
  De Niro is nervily hilarious and Grodin nervelessly exceptional in Midnight Run, a formula buddy movie exalted to insta-classic status by their performances.
 
  July 30, 2013 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Carrie Rickey
  Philadelphia Inquirer
  TOP CRITIC
  Brace yourself for a movie joyride that sends you home reeling from thrills, laughter and the pleasure of honest sentiment.
 
  July 30, 2013
 
  Peter Travers
  People Magazine
  TOP CRITIC
  Grodin and De Niro are different kinds of actors, but they share a knack for detail and a gift for understatement that keeps their scenes together crackling.
 
  July 30, 2013
 
  Jay Boyar
  Orlando Sentinel
  TOP CRITIC
  It’s trite to say “they don’t make ’em like this anymore,” but listen, studios really don’t make movies like Midnight Run anymore.
 
  April 27, 2021
 
  Chris Plante
  Polygon
  There’s a certain blue-collar demographic pocket in America where “Midnight Run” will live on forever. I still hear manly guys quoting it 30 years later. You wanna die laughing? Here’s your chance.
 
  May 17, 2020 | Rating: 4.5/5
 
  Mark Jackson
  Epoch Times
  The comic chemistry between Grodin and De Niro is of a rare, and relentlessly funny calibre.
 
  May 13, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Leigh Paatsch
  Herald Sun (Australia)
  …as funny as it is exciting.
 
  April 14, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
  David Nusair
  Reel Film Reviews
  This could have been engaging fluff except De Niro’s acting has grown as heavy as Jake La Motta.
 
  February 27, 2020
 
  Molly Haskell
  Vogue
  Midnight Run is a witty, low-key comedy with the accent on character. Individually, De Niro and Grodin are brilliant; together, they are hilarious.
 
  October 30, 2019
 
  Brian D. Johnson
  Maclean’s Magazine…

 

Plot
Bounty hunter Jack Walsh (Robert De Niro) is sent to find and return bail jumper and former Mafia accountant, Jonathan “The Duke” Mardukas (Charles Grodin). The FBI has had no success in locating The Duke, so when Jack finds him in next to no time, they are a little embarrassed. In order to collect his $100,000 fee, Jack must take The Duke from New York to Los Angeles. However, the Mafia and the FBI have other ideas, as does Marvin Dorfler (John Ashton), a rival bounty hunter. On their long cross-country trip to LA, the two get to know each other and they build up a strange friendship.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
The interplay between Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin is pure gold, according to Fresh Kernels.
 

 
Martin-Brest.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
K T C A Minneapolis Kartemquin Films, Sprockets Music
 
Distributor
Touchstone Pictures
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
3280 Hyperion Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
PG
 
Year of Release
1988
 

 
Genre(s)
Comedy
 
Keyword(s)
starring Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Joanna Cassidy, Stubby Kaye, Alan Tilvern, Richard LeParmentier, Kathleen Turner, directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Jeffrey Price, Peter S Seaman, comedy, PG rating, box office gross $152.8M, reviewed by Christy Lemire, Sheila Benson, Carrie Rickey, Peter Travers, Jay Boyar, Gene Siskel, Rene Jordan, Trace Thurman, Joe Lipsett, Brian Eggert, Allison Rose, Jim Rohner, innovative, live action, animation, film noir, private eye, cartoon producer, adultery scandal, sultry wife, biggest star, murder, villainous, groundbreaking, original story, technical marvel, Warner Bros, Disney, smoking, drinking, adultery, pieced together weird
 

Cast & Crew

Bob Hoskins

Christopher Lloyd

Joanna Cassidy

Stubby Kaye

Alan Tilvern

Eddie Valiant

Judge Doom

Dolores

Marvin Acme

R.K. Maroon

Bob Hoskins – Eddie Valiant
Christopher Lloyd – Judge Doom
Joanna Cassidy – Dolores
Stubby Kaye – Marvin Acme
Alan Tilvern – R.K. Maroon
Richard LeParmentier – Lt. Santino

 

Robert Zemeckis

Jeffrey Price

Robert Watts

Frank Marshall

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Robert Zemeckis
 
Writer(s)
Jeffrey Price, Peter S. Seaman
 
Producer(s)
Robert Watts, Frank Marshall

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Won 3 Oscars
24 wins & 21 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Editing Winners, Oscar Best Achievement in Sound Editing Winners, Oscar Best Achievement in Visual Effects Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Winners
 

Top Reviews

Christy Lemire

Sheila Benson

Carrie Rickey

Peter Travers

Jay Boyar

ChristyLemire.com

Los Angeles Times

Philadelphia Inquirer

People Magazine

Orlando Sentinel

WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT
  All Critics (72) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (70) | Rotten (2)
  Technology has advanced significantly since 1988, but Roger Rabbit doesn’t just hold up, it wows.
 
  May 29, 2018 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Christy Lemire
  ChristyLemire.com
  TOP CRITIC
  For audiences who grew up with cartoons as a natural part of their moviegoing, the shock may not be the mix of live and animated folk–it may come from the truly revolutionary sight of great icons of rival studios cheerfully rubbing shoulders.
 
  July 30, 2013
 
  Sheila Benson
  Los Angeles Times
  TOP CRITIC
  Imagine watching cartoon characters and relating to them as if they were flesh-and-blood instead of paint-and-ink. This is the slap-happy effect of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and – please – a 24-carrot salute to director Robert Zemeckis.
 
  July 30, 2013 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Carrie Rickey
  Philadelphia Inquirer
  TOP CRITIC
  Your eyeballs have no choice but to go boinnnnng.
 
  July 30, 2013
 
  Peter Travers
  People Magazine
  TOP CRITIC
  If the pleasures of Who Framed Roger Rabbit are mostly incidental, they are certainly more than considerable.
 
  July 30, 2013
 
  Jay Boyar
  Orlando Sentinel
  TOP CRITIC
  This is a movie that demands to be seen twice. The first time, one is likely to be dazzled to the point of exhaustion; the second time, one can appreciate the artistry and good humor more easily.
 
  July 30, 2013 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
  Gene Siskel
  Chicago Tribune
  TOP CRITIC
  Sufficient motivation to leave the cinema in a state of euphoria. [Full review in Spanish]
 
  June 22, 2022
 
  Rene Jordan
  El Nuevo Herald (Miami)
  A somewhat predictable story doesn’t detract from the sheer technical marvel that is Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
 
  April 26, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Trace Thurman
  Horror Queers Podcast
  It’s Chinatown for children in this innovative blend of live action and animation. Also: Judge Doom is a big ol’gay
 
  April 25, 2022 | Rating: 4.5/5
 
  Joe Lipsett
  Horror Queers Podcast
  Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a technical marvel even in today’s cinema where computers do most of the complex work.
 
  February 12, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Brian Eggert
  Deep Focus Review
  While Hoskins may not have been the first (or second or third or…) to play Eddie, he does a terrific job with it especially since he was co-starring alongside a non-existent talking rabbit.
 
  December 7, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
 
  Allison Rose
  FlickDirect
  A hilarious hybrid that finds both humor and brilliance in its homage to LA film-noir…
 
  April 14, 2021
 
  Jim Rohner
  Battleship Pretension…

 

Plot
Toon star Roger is worried that his wife Jessica is playing pattycake with someone else, so the studio hires detective Eddie Valiant to snoop on her. But the stakes are quickly raised when Marvin Acme is found dead and Roger is the prime suspect. Groundbreaking interaction between the live and animated characters, and lots of references to classic animation.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Bob Hoskins delivers a terrific performance as down-on-his-luck private eye Eddie Valiant.
 

 
Robert-Zemeckis.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)

 
Distributor
Orion Pictures
 
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)
Asheville, North Carolina, USA
 
MPAA / Certificate
R
 
Year of Release
1988
 

 
Genre(s)
Comedy/Romance
 
Keyword(s)
starring Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Trey Wilson, Robert Wuhl, Jenny Robertson, directed by Ron Shelton, written by Ron Shelton, comedy, romance, R rating, box office gross $49.9M, reviewed by Carrie Rickey, Jay Boyar, Sheila Benson, Dave Kehr, Gene Siskel, Angie Errigo, Rene Jordan, Matt Brunson, Richard Propes, Mike Massie, Mark Jackson, Kevin Costner as Crash Davis, Susan Sarandon as Annie Savoy, Tim Robbins as Ebby Calvin ‘Nuke’ LaLoosh, Thom Mount as producer, Mark Burg as producer, Orion Pictures as distributor, surround sound mix, minor league baseball, poetry-loving groupie, veteran player, erratic pitching, catcher’s lead
 

Cast & Crew

Kevin Costner

Susan Sarandon

Tim Robbins

Trey Wilson

Robert Wuhl

Crash Davis

Annie Savoy

Ebby Calvin ‘Nuke’ LaLoosh

Joe Riggins

Larry Hockett

Kevin Costner – Crash Davis
Susan Sarandon – Annie Savoy
Tim Robbins – Ebby Calvin ‘Nuke’ LaLoosh
Trey Wilson – Joe Riggins
Robert Wuhl – Larry Hockett
Jenny Robertson – Millie

 

Ron Shelton

Ron Shelton

Thom Mount

Mark Burg

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Ron Shelton
 
Writer(s)
Ron Shelton
 
Producer(s)
Thom Mount, Mark Burg

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
7 wins & 6 nominations total
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
 

Top Reviews

Carrie Rickey

Jay Boyar

Sheila Benson

Dave Kehr

Gene Siskel

Philadelphia Inquirer

Orlando Sentinel

Los Angeles Times

Chicago Tribune

Empire Magazine

BULL DURHAM
  All Critics (72) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (70) | Rotten (2)
  Screwball Annie and hardball Crash aren’t playing the same game, which is Shelton’s conceit as well as a possible screen-writing miscalculation.
 
  March 20, 2013 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Carrie Rickey
  Philadelphia Inquirer
  TOP CRITIC
  Ron Shelton, who wrote and directed the film, displays a knowledge of and affection for the national pastime. You can see it in the knowing detail he brings to even the minor characters.
 
  March 20, 2013
 
  Jay Boyar
  Orlando Sentinel
  TOP CRITIC
  [Shelton is] uncanny at putting us inside his players’ heads when they’re on the mound or up at bat, running their private litanies of encouragement and subversion to psych themselves up.
 
  March 11, 2013
 
  Sheila Benson
  Los Angeles Times
  TOP CRITIC
  Rather than a vapid national epic, it is a warm, droll, deftly cracked romantic comedy.
 
  March 11, 2013 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Dave Kehr
  Chicago Tribune
  TOP CRITIC
  The acting in Bull Durham cannot be faulted and should be remembered at Oscar time. Sarandon has one of the juiciest female roles in years and she makes you think no one could play it better.
 
  March 11, 2013 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Gene Siskel
  Chicago Tribune
  TOP CRITIC
  Classic performances, witty and insightful script, this is about so much more than baseball and will no doubt prove to be a quiet classic.
 
  March 16, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Angie Errigo
  Empire Magazine
  TOP CRITIC
  Bull Durham is hit… I would even say a HOME RUN! [Full review in Spanish]
 
  July 7, 2022
 
  Rene Jordan
  El Nuevo Herald (Miami)
  Is Bull Durham the greatest sports movie ever made? Hey, no argument from me.
 
  August 10, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Matt Brunson
  Film Frenzy
  Writer/Director Ron Shelton clearly knows what he’s doing here.
 
  September 4, 2020 | Rating: 3.0/4.0
 
  Richard Propes
  TheIndependentCritic.com
  Down-to-earth personalities and the honest, simple, funny dialogue are spot-on.
 
  August 31, 2020 | Rating: 9/10
 
  Mike Massie
  Gone With The Twins
  You ‘d never find similar scenes to “Bull Durham” in, say, Europe, and not because they don’t have our national pastime; they’re just too sensible. You simply have to love America to be able to revel in our delightful, deep state of cultural silliness.
 
  June 10, 2020 | Rating: 4.5/5
 
  Mark Jackson
  Epoch Times
  Bull Durham puts Shelton in the Hollywood big leagues, and he’s hit his very first pitch over the scoreboard in centerfield.
 
  March 24, 2020 | Rating: 4/4
 
  Jack Garner
  Gannett News Service…

 

Plot
It’s the start of the minor league baseball season, and Annie Savoy, for who baseball is *the* religion, is going through the annual process of choosing the one player on her home team of the Durham Bulls of the Carolina League, he who she will take under her wings, sexual and otherwise, solely for the season, and who has always gone on to have his best year as a player. She has narrowed her choice to two recent acquires: Ebby Calvin LaLoosh, the wild neophyte pitcher with a wicked fastball – the pitch on which he solely relies – but can’t aim, the more he thinks about it, the more erratic the pitch gets, while he doesn’t appreciate anyone criticizing him or it in believing he knows best in his lack of self-awareness; and catcher Crash Davis, the veteran who has been around the minor leagues for twelve years and who was brought in solely to harness and reign in Ebby’s power. While Ebby would gladly accept Annie’s offer in seeing sex as an inherent part of his being, Crash, who is as philosophical in being a thinker as he is athletic, takes himself out of the running – the first player ever to do so – as, although attracted to her, does not see sex as the “game” she seems to treat it, especially as he knows he is nearing the end of his baseball playing career. Part of Annie’s initial transformation of Ebby is to give him that nickname he sorely wants – Nuke – to match his pitches. Thus begins Annie, Crash and Nuke’s three-way season-long relationship as they evolve because of it as baseball, sexual and human beings.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Kevin Costner is at his funniest and most charismatic in Bull Durham, according to the critics consensus on Fresh Kernels.
 

 
Ron-Shelton.jpg

 
Production Company(ies)
Wildbear Entertainment, National Geographic
 
Distributor
20th Century Fox
 
Release Type
Theatrical
 
Filming Location(s)

 
MPAA / Certificate
TV-PG
 
Year of Release
1988
 

 
Genre(s)
Comedy/Fantasy
 
Keyword(s)
starring Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia, John Heard, Jared Rushton, David Moscow, directed by Penny Marshall, written by Gary Ross and Anne Spielberg, comedy, fantasy, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Duane Byrge, Kathleen Carroll, Victoria Mather, Keith Phipps, Gerald Clarke, Desmond Ryan, PG rating, produced by James L Brooks and Robert Greenhut, MacMillen Toy Company, wish, New York City, promotion, testing new toys, romantic interest, pressure, living as an adult, simple, former life as a boy
 

Cast & Crew

Tom Hanks

Josh

Elizabeth Perkins

Susan

Robert Loggia

Josh

Susan

MacMillan

Paul

Billy

Tom Hanks – Josh
Elizabeth Perkins – Susan
Robert Loggia – MacMillan
John Heard – Paul
Jared Rushton – Billy
David Moscow – Young Josh

 

Penny Marshall

Gary Ross

James L. Brooks

Robert Greenhut

Director

Writer

Producer

Producer

Producer

Director(s)
Penny Marshall
 
Writer(s)
Gary Ross, Anne Spielberg
 
Producer(s)
James L. Brooks, Robert Greenhut

 

Film Festivals

 
Awards & Nominations
NA
 
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
 

Top Reviews

Duane Byrge

Kathleen Carroll

Victoria Mather

Keith Phipps

Gerald Clarke

Hollywood Reporter

New York Daily News

Daily Telegraph (UK)

The Dissolve

TIME Magazine

BIG
  All Critics (78) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (76) | Rotten (2)
  Director Penny Marshall doesn’t hammer any themes or satire into the film; she, quite shrewdly, keeps Big likeably small. The comedy is natural and unforced, in no small part because of Hanks’ wonderfully slapstick performance.
 
  December 26, 2018
 
  Duane Byrge
  Hollywood Reporter
  TOP CRITIC
  The film succeeds largely because of the splendid performance of Tom Hanks — who is irresistibly funny as “big” Josh.
 
  July 28, 2015 | Rating: 3.5/4
 
  Kathleen Carroll
  New York Daily News
  TOP CRITIC
  Tom Hanks is marvellously child-like as Josh, all restless energy, innocence and real pleasure in the liberation that being grown-up allows him.
 
  December 25, 2014 | Rating: 3/5
 
  Victoria Mather
  Daily Telegraph (UK)
  TOP CRITIC
  A funny, bittersweet film that opens as a cautionary tale about growing up too fast, but deepens into a movie about the unplumbable gulf between childhood and adulthood.
 
  December 16, 2013 | Rating: 4/5
 
  Keith Phipps
  The Dissolve
  TOP CRITIC
  A delightful comedy-fantasy.
 
  August 2, 2013
 
  Gerald Clarke
  TIME Magazine
  TOP CRITIC
  Penny Marshall brings a logic to the premise that is sustained through most of the movie. And where the other movies snickered at the sexual possibilities in the idea, she faces up to them with both candor and taste.
 
  August 2, 2013 | Rating: 3/4
 
  Desmond Ryan
  Philadelphia Inquirer
  TOP CRITIC
  Big is not laugh-out-loud farce. Instead it’s a funny take on a situation that is potentially serious. [Full review in Spanish]
 
  July 7, 2022
 
  Rene Jordan
  El Nuevo Herald (Miami)
  [Tom Hanks] put his all into this roll to make it believable.
 
  March 29, 2022
 
  Nathan Paige
  Call and Post (Cleveland)
  Full of exquisite moments that help the film become both continually hilarious and unforgettably unique.
 
  June 28, 2021 | Rating: 9/10
 
  Mike Massie
  Gone With The Twins
  Oh, this movie. It’s not sad, but it makes me tear up every single time without fail. It’s delightfully 80s and Tom Hanks is an adorable heartbreaker.
 
  October 24, 2018
 
  Lindsay Pugh
  Woman in Revolt
  What makes this all work, of course, is Hanks himself, who brings remarkable authenticity and simplicity to the role. He makes being a kid seem as wonderful as it was, and as scary and as confusing too.
 
  August 23, 2016
 
  Cathy Burke
  United Press International
  Hanks, as a stranger in a strange land, gives us equal portions of laughs and insights into the worlds of both adults and adolescents. Big also offers up a very funny satire of corporate ladder climbing.
 
  April 3, 2016 | Rating: A-
 
  James Plath
  Family Home Theater…

 

Plot
Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper are both brilliant physicists working at Cal Tech in Pasadena, California. They are colleagues, best friends, and roommates, although in all capacities their relationship is always tested primarily by Sheldon’s regimented, deeply eccentric, and non-conventional ways. They are also friends with their Cal Tech colleagues mechanical engineer Howard Wolowitz and astrophysicist Rajesh Koothrappali. The foursome spend their time working on their individual work projects, playing video games, watching science-fiction movies, or reading comic books. As they are self-professed nerds, all have little or no luck with women. When Penny, a pretty woman and an aspiring actress from Omaha, moves into the apartment across the hall from Leonard and Sheldon’s, Leonard has another aspiration in life, namely to get Penny to be his girlfriend.
 
Trivia

 
Goofs / Tidbits
Tom Hanks delivers a “wonderfully slapstick performance” in Big, according to Fresh Kernels.
 

 
Penny-Marshall.jpg