Nice effects though.

A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

242: Best Seller. An 80s and I do mean very 80s movie about a cop who doubles as an author who has his life invaded by a professional hit man who wants him to write a memoir of his life. He worked with a corporation to take out the competition. It could have been an interestingly done movie. As I was watching the credits, I saw that this movie had been written by the great Larry Cohen. Alright now I'm on board with an interesting plot and a great script writer. Was I in for a treat? Nope. No I wasn't. I later found out that the director John Flynn had heavily rewritten the script. It felt like it. This movie did not feel like a Larry Cohen film. This felt like a generic action film from the 80s with a very genial performance from James Woods. He was fairly good in this movie. This is hokey and then it takes a meta moment where James Woods asks Brian Dennehy to make him sympathetic in the book and eventually he becomes a more sympathetic person in the movie itself. I imagine there are moments here that clearly came from Larry Cohen's mind. That is probably one of them. The other performances in the movie leave a lot to desired including Brian Dennehy. He was a dull main character and he paled in comparison to James Woods even when they start to go for those odd couple moments. Overall this is a movie that can be missed and no one would even know it. I give this movie a D.

I have reached the conclusion that mainly fans of a particular film visit its respective page at IMDb. How else to explain this film's rating of 6.3 out of 10 stars? Sure, Dennehy and Woods work well with what they are given. But it is what they are given that is the problem.Best Seller is filled with "that would never happen" moments, which is fine if the premise is not to take it seriously. But there is every indication that this film wants to be a believable thriller.Cleve's (James Woods) story would best be told from behind bars, but for some reason Dennis (Brian Dennehy) allows Cleve to drag him all over the country in an attempt to prove that he was once a hit-man working for David Madlock so that Dennis can write a book about it. And along the way, Dennis discovers that Cleve is the one who shot him and a couple of his fellow officers in a robbery of a police evidence room 15 years earlier. Despite his knowledge that Cleve is indeed a dangerous killer, the fact that Dennis proceeds to share a hotel suite, visit Cleve's parents home (where Cleve puts a gun to Dennis' head in the middle of the night) or generally has anything to do with him outside of a jail cell is really absurd. Of course, the book will reveal the criminal empire of David Madlock. So naturally, Madlock is doing everything he can to prevent Dennis from publishing it. So while he is out of town doing additional research, would Dennis be so foolish to leave the mostly finished manuscript with his teenage daughter alone at home? Apparently so.There are many other examples, but my main point is that Best Seller is a cheesy 80's thriller with its share of plot holes along with decent performances by most of the cast (with the exception of Allison Balson - her acting was fine for Little House on the Prairie - but not so much here).So if you sit down to watch this movie, don't bring your disbelief or high expectations with you. It will make for a much better viewing experience.

A veteran cop(Brian Dennehy), who narrowly escaped a hold up shootout in '72, tired and worn down(the loss of his wife to cancer especially draining, not to mention debts because of her long term sickness)after years of undercover work, also a notable best-selling author, is visited by a hit-man(James Woods)who has quite a history he wishes to reveal for a novel as revenge for his dismissal. A powerful corporate businessman had Cleve(Woods) on his payroll removing anyone who stood in his way towards amassing an empire and power.The idea of a cop and criminal joining forces certainly intrigued me which is why I got hooked by the premise. Planted in my mind was how trustworthy could a man such as Cleve be. He's been a hired killer for a considerable amount of time, and, thanks to a supposed falling out with the boss, all of a sudden he wants this cop to write a best seller about their notorious "business relationship". Cleve spends time trying to convince Dennehy' cynical cop, Dennis Meecham, that he's a legitimate killer for Madlock(Paul Shenar)..of course, Dennis has a right to be skeptical. When cigarette burns and a knife wound reveal Cleve as the man who shot him in '72, Dennis decides to punch him in the chops a few times before writing the novel. This will be the chance to stare into the abyss, and pen the memoir of a bonafide assassin.Woods and Dennehy are quite a pair and could make any material worthwhile, and we have a chance to see the complex relationship of two men on opposite sides of the law, no matter how unrealistic such a story might seem. Woods is at times scary and charismatic, and we see his dark side emerge on more than one occasion(such as the scene where he visits Dennis' publisher), particularly when he's at what he does best, killing..and he does so unflinchingly, without batting an eye. As is often the case, Dennis' daughter Holly(Allison Balson) is pulled into the whole mess, her life in possible danger.What's interesting to me is how Cleve so desires for his image to be portrayed differently, not as a cold blooded murder-for-hire, but as a hero. He may just get the chance when Madlock kidnaps Dennis' daughter in order for the novel to be "put out of commission". I think Woods is so electrifying that the movie, even if it has flaws, is worth seeing for him alone. Dennehy is just fine as the honest cop with a true moral code, who often conflicts with Woods' abrasive methods. I dug their friction and eventual, if maybe a bit illogical, friendship. This partnership truly, I think, adds a compelling ingredient to BEST SELLER because of the unusual alliance of such totally different people, with completely opposite ideals. Truly bizarre is the scene where Dennis meets Cleve's family. It ends as expected, with Madlock offering to return Holly in exchange for his name not being muddied by a scandalous book, with Cleve bound and determined to kill his former employer once and for all. As I had mentioned before, when Cleve confronts Dennis' publisher, we see two sides to him, how convincing he can be in order to make an impression, and his passion in the way he's viewed in the novel(he was initially in the house to secure Dennis' manuscript, but decides to leave the publisher with a little reminder of why he's the best at his job, the teary-eyed mascara and torn dresses from her closet are more than enough for lasting impact as to his seriousness regarding how the novel relates him to the readers).

1987's "Best Seller" is not my type of movie, I'll say up front, as it's a little too violent. I do like Larry Cohen, who wrote the script, and the casting of Brian Dennehy and James Woods is great. Woods plays an assassin for hire who approaches cop/author Dennehy about doing an expose about his work for a new book. He claims to have been in the pay of a corporate mogul (Paul Shenar) with a gleaming public image, so the material is explosive. The only problem is, is Woods for real or a whack job? Dennehy seeks to find out.This was one of Paul Shenar's last films. Shenar, a handsome man with a magnificent voice, died of complications due to AIDS in 1989. His role in this film is, alas, too small.This isn't a big film, but if you can stand the blood and violence, you'll enjoy it, as it's a good cast.