Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: After her boat sinks in a storm, Jennifer Remming is stranded on a small tropical island. She is fortunate to be alive. However, she quickly discovers her life is in danger from a human-like sea creature that come ashore every night to feed. Who's in it? The movie stars Kiersey Clemons, Emory Cohen , Hanna Mangan Lawrence , Benedict Samuel and Andrew Crawford . Review: After three straight nights of watching episodes of The Simpsons, I was determined to find a horror movie to watch with my wife. I was a little disappointed to see Netflix's selection was a little thin. However, after some consideration, I wound up picking this film. After watching it, my opinion of it was a bit mixed. I'll start out by saying I loved the premise. It was simple yet effective and the fact Jennifer (Clemons) was trying to survive a man-eating monster while trapped on an island that had limited places to hide created a situation with the potential for non-stop suspense. ...

The restaurant we normally have our company Christmas party at closed down this year so we wound up looking for something different to do. After some discussion, this resulted in a trip to Milwaukee for an evening of axe throwing at Axe MKE. If you haven't heard of it, it is pretty much what it sounds like. You throw axes (well, I would probably describe them more as hatchets). It's apparently becoming somewhat popular because there are axe throwing places popping up all over the state. Image courtesy of Pixabay .This was originally my idea but I wasn't sure if it was going to be a good experience or not. In fact, my wife wasn't really all that keen on the idea when I told her what was planned. And, let's be honest, throwing sharp objects doesn't exactly sound like the safest way to spend your time, especially when drinking is involved. But, as it turns out, it was actually pretty fun. First of all, as far as safety goes, I thought the rules in place...

Synopsis: Desperate to close down the Lochdubh police station and be rid of Hamish Macbeth , Chief Inspector Blair sends officer Cyril Sessions on an undercover operation to dig up dirt on the police sergeant. When Sessions is brutally murdered, Macbeth begins to suspect a restaurant owner with potential drug connections. However, his investigation is mysteriously hindered by his superiors. Review: It was a little hectic this week because of the holiday and, because of that, I had to go out of my way to make time to read. However, I was finally able to finish this murder mystery this morning and, after doing so, was happy with the result. The mystery itself was actually kind of weak. Hamish had his initial suspect almost from the beginning and, as a result, rather than a whodunit-style mystery, it became more about him finding away around all the various forms of interference (including breaking the law) to prove he was correct. And, even the "surprise" twist about ...

Synopsis: Morag Merrilea is unfriendly and arrogant. So, when she comes to Sergeant Hamish Macbeth claiming she was drugged, potentially raped and had her sketchbook stolen, he isn't overly anxious to help her. However, when Morag's body is discovered and, later, other seemingly-connected murders happen, Hamish must try to retrace Morag's steps to find out what happened on a night she didn't even remember. Review: I was fighting a bit of a head cold the past few days and, because of that, had a hard time focusing enough to get through this book in a timely fashion. However, I did finally finish reading this mystery this past weekend and, after doing so, did think it was worth my time. The mystery in this book was actually pretty interesting. This is because, even though it might have centered around something Morag might have seen (and potentially sketched) while sitting at a pub, her lack of memory about that night did complicate things considerably. In fact, ...

Synopsis : In July 1942, convoy PQ-17 set sail from Greenland to northern Russia to deliver weapons and other supplies to aid in their fight against Nazi Germany. The voyage is a treacherous one, with the ships under constant threat of attack from submarines and air strikes. It becomes even more impossible when the military vessels assigned to protect the shipment is ordered to withdraw and the merchant ships are told to scatter and fend for themselves. The surprise change in events forces four ships to attempt a dangerous detour north that could cause them to be sunk by Mother Nature before the Germans even get a chance to do it. Review: I came across this book while at the library last week and, as someone who is a fan of history, I decided to give it a read. I finally finished it earlier today and have to say I enjoyed it even more than I was expecting to. I think the thing I loved most about this book was the way the author managed to put human faces to the event. I've ...

Synopsis: Victoria loves her fiancé, Nick. But, with their wedding date approaching, she begins to have cold feet about a man that never talks about his past. Things get worse when Nick inherits a toy shop and accidentally releases a possessed elf doll that is determined to kill the people on its "naughty" list. Who's in it? The movie stars Natassia Halabi , Gabriel Miller , Lassiter Holmes , Lisa May and Joseph Daniel Ellis . Review: I originally was going to watch another Marvel superhero movie with my wife last night. But, as I was scrolling through Disney+, I realized I was actually in the mood for a horror movie. I found this one on Vudu and, figuring it was a good choice for this time of year, went with it. I've seen quite a few low-budget horror films and, since I don't expect them to have Oscar-worthy material in them, am pretty forgiving when it comes to the genre. That being said, this film, simply put, was just plain awful. In fact, this...

My wife had a couple things she wanted to pick up at East Towne Mall, so we made a quick run down to Madison shortly after it opened on Sunday. Since it was about noon by the time we were done, I offered to buy lunch before driving home and, since the food court proved to be quite a bit more expensive than we were expecting, we opted to go to Portillo's Hot Dogs instead. To be honest, we almost didn't eat there because it was our first time at that restaurant and, when we walked in, it took us a minute to figure out which counter we were supposed to use to order our food. Once we did that, however, we did find we enjoyed our experience. We both wound up ordering chili dogs with a side of fries to share. She also got a peppermint shake to drink. In total, we spent about $18 for lunch, which isn't too terrible. Photo courtesy of Cynthia Helmer I thought the set-up inside the restaurant was pretty decent. Basically, you order your food on one end of the counter and w...

Synopsis: When wealthy and spoiled Jesper deliberately tries to flunk out of the postal academy, his father assigns him to a remote town in the arctic with the task of posting 6000 letters in one year to avoid being cut off financially. Unfortunately for Jesper, the town is embroiled in a generations-long feud that has made the post office obsolete. However, he finds renewed hope when he convinces the town's children to send letters to a woodsman named Klaus in exchange for the toys he makes. Who's in it? The animated movie uses voices from Jason Schwartzman , J. K. Simmons , Rashida Jones , Joan Cusack and Norm Macdonald . Review: My youngest daughter wanted to see our town's holiday parade yesterday evening but, since none of the rest of us was really all that interested in standing out in the cold, I convinced her to stay home with a bribe of hot chocolate and a Christmas movie. I had noticed this film on Netflix a few days ago and thought it looked interestin...

Synopsis: Blessed with good looks, charm and a strong business sense, Mary Leinster is the perfect choice to oversee the Fairy Glen that has brought an economic boon to the town of Braikie. After all, even Sergeant Hamish Macbeth is falling in love with her. However, when the kingfisher that had been one of the main draws to the glen is killed and strung up in a ritual-like fashion, things continue to go downhill from there and Hamish is drawn into an investigation involving murder, theft and Russian hitmen. Review: After taking a short break from murder mysteries and reading something outside my normal comfort zone , I was happy to get back to reading an author I was familiar with and learning more about what is to become of Hamish Macbeth. Overall, while I didn't like it quite as much as some of the earlier books from this series, I did find I enjoyed it. I think the thing that really stands out about this book is the complexity of the case. When the kingfisher is kille...

I was driving to the office this morning which, in itself, was a bit of a challenge because everyone else seemed to forget how to drive today. I was about halfway across town when my phone (via my Bluetooth link with the radio) started broadcasting step-by-step driving instructions. Naturally, I was a bit confused by this because it wasn't as though I had asked it to do this. But, after momentarily being startled, I figured I accidentally bumped something on the phone and it thought I wanted directions to the office, store or home (the three places that normally pop up when my Android Auto app kicks in). When I got to the office and checked my phone, I became even more puzzled because, rather than trying to give me directions to some place local, it was giving me driving directions to a pizza place more than 30 miles away that I hadn't even heard of before. Image courtesy of Pixabay So, now I'm wondering if my phone just wanted a cheese pizza or one with all th...

Synopsis: After nearly dying from a drug overdose, actress Suzanne Vale goes to a rehab clinic and, after successfully completing the program, tries to get her life back in order and her career back on track. Review: While I prefer murder mysteries, I do still try to occasionally change things up by checking out a book from a genre I wouldn't normally read. This book wound up making the cut mostly because I recognized the author and figured a story that is loosely based on her own drug problems would be interesting. For the most part, I found I was right. Truthfully, I'm not sure if I liked this book enough to want to read any of Fisher's other books and, to be fully honest, there were times when I did regret not checking out a book in my preferred genre instead. But, as I braved through this, I did find there were a lot of things I liked about it. I think the thing I was most impressed by was how Fisher managed to talk about a very real problem in a way that k...

Synopsis : Six strangers accept invitations to participate in an escape room. They believe it will be a fun break from their lives. However, they quickly learn the multi-leveled challenge has deadly consequences if they fail. Who's in it? The movie stars Taylor Russell , Logan Miller , Jay Ellis , Tyler Labine , Deborah Ann Woll and Nik Dodani . Review: My wife and I ended up getting this movie on DVD through Netflix a few weeks ago but, thanks to a variety of distractions, didn't get an opportunity to watch it until this past weekend. After finally seeing it and taking a couple days to reflect, my opinion of it is a bit mixed. At first glance, this is the type of thriller I would expect to enjoy, with a group of people facing certain death but still having a chance if they work together as a team and think things through. The problem was the film just didn't quite live up to its potential. Part of the problem, I think, is there was a lot about this film that...