Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: After a successful newspaper publisher dies unexpectedly, his slacker son, Britt Reid, partners with his father's former mechanic (a genius inventor and martial arts expert) to form a crime fighting duel. Who's in it? The movie stars Seth Rogan , Jay Chou , Cameron Diaz , Christoph Waltz and Jamie Harris . Review: We were under a heat advisory yesterday afternoon and, since I was pretty much wiped out from mowing our lawn earlier, I decided to sit down on the couch and watch a movie. After some consideration, this is the one I wound up picking out. Overall, my opinion of this movie was mixed. It wound up being better than I was expecting but, at the same time, there was definitely room for improvement. I think my biggest problem with this movie is it never really gave me a reason to root for Britt (Rogan). To start, his motivation for becoming a crime fighter was a bit unclear. In fact, the movie almost makes it seem like he just did it out of boredom. Then, once ...

Synopsis: In 1987, The Princess Bride received a tepid response at theaters. However, thanks to a new technology, VHS, the movie, which combines action, comedy and romance, became an all-time favorite spanning multiple generations. Actor Cary Elwes tells the behind-the-scenes stories that took place over the months the movie was being filmed. Review: I was reminded of this book a few days ago, when I saw it referenced in an article I was reading. Realizing I had never taking the time to read it despite the fact it was about one of my all-time favorite films (if not THE favorite), I decided to correct it. Fortunately for me, it was at our local library.  I finished the book a little while ago and have to say I will never look at the movie the same way again (and I mean that in a good way). Elwes does a great job of telling the movie's story scene-by-scene and the challenges director Rob Reiner faced getting it off the ground, whether it was dealing with an over-protective writer...

This isn't my first time trying this product and, to be honest, the first time I did try it , I wasn't overly impressed with it. However, I happened to find it on sale when doing some grocery shopping last weekend and, since my wife was at kickboxing last night, I figured it would be a simple meal choice. My stance on the actual product itself really hasn't changed much. It's not bad. But, it's nothing special. However, I did manage to remedy that with the help of my garden. I decided to chop up and add one of the "Beaver Dam Special" Hungarian peppers I have growing in the box garden behind my house. That, along with the crushed tortilla chips I also added, did give this a little extra something. It wasn't too spicy but, at the same time, there was still a little kick to it that just wouldn't be there normally (even with the salsa they have you add). In fact, I have another one of these (only in Philly Cheesesteak flavor) that I might try to exper...

Synopsis:  Jack Hardisty is suspected of embezzling money from a bank owned by his father-in-law Vincent Blane. When Jack is found murdered at Blane's cabin, his widow, Milicent, who was seen near the cabin disposing of a gun, becomes the primary suspect and attorney Perry Mason is hired to defend her. Adding some mystery to the case is an alarm clock that was found buried near the cabin but was then moved shortly before Jack's body was found. Review: I've had more time to read recently, thanks mostly to this COVID pandemic messing up my normal routine, and was able to get through this book relatively quickly as a result. At first, I wasn't really sure what to think of it (other than be afraid this very old copy would fall apart) but, after finishing it last night, I do think it ended up being a decent mystery. The best part about this book, in my opinion, had to be the clock. It was discovered in the very first chapter and, based both on that and the book's title...

Please forgive me And pardon my potty mouth. I got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Then things just kept going south. I normally have a filter And am careful about what I say. But, for right now, You might want to keep sensitive ears away. Image courtesy of Clker-Free-Vector-Images via Pixabay I'm not proud of myself Or of my profanity. It's just this language spewing out of my mouth Is the only way I can keep my sanity. This is probably just temporary and this frustration will eventually go away. Today, however,  Is just a swear word kind of day.

Synopsis: In 1917, 18-year-old Ruth Cruger disappeared shortly after picking up her newly-sharpened ice skates at a New York City motorcycle shop. The police investigate but, mostly because they believe Ruth has eloped with a secret boyfriend, are unable to find her. Months later, Ruth's father solicits help from attorney/detective Grace Humiston, who has made a name for herself helping immigrants and defending innocent death row inmates during an era when women still didn't even have the right to vote.    Review: I wanted to take a short break from Perry Mason mysteries and was in the mood for something educational. As a result, I wound up visiting the biography section the last time I was at our local library. This book caught my eye, partly because it was about a real-life mystery, and I decided to check it out. It turned out to be a very interesting book. I thought the author did a solid job of telling his readers about a woman that, for reasons he describes in the epil...

Synopsis : A struggling musician is struck by a bus during a mysterious world-wide power outage and wakes up in a world that does not know about the Beatles. He takes advantage of the situation by claiming their songs as his own and quickly becomes a world-wide phenomenon. However, his success comes at a price he wasn't expecting. Who's in it? The movie stars Himesh Patel , Lily James , Ellise Chappell , Joel Fry and Sophia Di Martino. Review: My wife and I saw a trailer for this movie some time ago and were intrigued enough to put it on our Netflix DVD list. We finally got around to watching it yesterday evening and it turned out to be as good as advertised. There were a couple things, in particular, that really stood out when it came to this movie. For one, I loved the mystery behind what actually happened. People didn't just forget about the Beatles, he woke up in an alternate reality where they never existed (along with Coca Cola and cigarettes). Yet, in addition to ...

Synopsis : After being fired as a hat check girl and not wanting to go back to her rich but controlling uncle, Stephane Olger decides to change her name to Stephane Claire and hitchhike to Hollywood for a fresh start and a shot at being a movie star. However, before getting to her destination, one of the men driving her decides to cross a line and, as she's defending herself from his amorous assault, he crashes into oncoming traffic.  She comes out of the crash with minor injuries but wakes up to find the driver has fled and left her behind the wheel of what was reported to be a stolen vehicle. With authorities reluctant to believe her story, it is up to attorney Perry Mason to prove she wasn't the one responsible for the fatal accident. His job becomes even more difficult when the man he believes was driving the car is found murdered. Review: When I started reading this book Saturday afternoon, while cooking some chicken and zucchini on the grill, I wasn't expecting to f...

Synopsis: When the wealthy Alden Leeds is committed to a mental hospital by relatives looking to protect their potential inheritance by preventing him from getting married, Leeds' niece, Phyllis, asks attorney Perry Mason to intervene, only to find out Leeds has already escaped on his own and gone into hiding. Later, a man believed to have been blackmailing Leeds is found murdered and Mason must defend his seemingly guilty client despite Alden's reluctance to tell the truth. Review: After reading this book for the past couple of days, I was finally able to finish it early this morning, while everyone else was still in bed. At first, it took me a bit to make a decision about whether or not I liked this particular mystery. After some reflection, however, I do think it was a decent book. One of the main reasons why it took me as long as it did to decide whether I liked this book was there were a lot of characters introduced, many of which had very little to do with the actual m...

Synopsis: Helen Kendal has not heard from her uncle, Franklin Shore, since he disappeared 10 years ago. So, she is surprised when a man claiming to be him calls her on the phone and asks her to bring attorney Perry Mason to meet him. This sets off a whirlwind day of events that include finding a dead body, her boyfriend being shot and her new kitten being poisoned. Review : My daughter returned to the ice rink earlier this summer and, since parents aren't allowed inside due to this COVID pandemic, I have a lot of time to read while waiting for her out in my car. As a result, I managed to make it through this Perry Mason book in near-record time. After doing so, my overall opinion of it was mixed. As far as the mystery went, I was honestly not that impressed with it. I think it's because the book threw in a bunch of red herring characters that ultimately had nothing to do with the main plot and, since it was pretty obvious what really happened to Franklin Shore, it wasn't ...

Synopsis: John L. Witherspoon has a problem. His daughter, Lois, is in love with and wants to marry Marvin Adams. But, Witherspoon knows a secret about his daughter's fiancé, his dad was convicted of murder 18 years ago and executed. He doesn't want his daughter to marry a murderer's son but, before breaking her heart, wants to make sure authorities didn't convict the wrong guy. As a result, he hires attorney Perry Mason to reinvestigate the case. Things, however, take a strange turn when a private investigator with knowledge of the 18-year-old crime is found murdered with evidence that points to Adams and, later, a second murder results in Witherspoon being arrested for both crimes. Review: I had planned on taking a break from Perry Mason books and, instead, checked out a modern murder mystery written by a European author. However, as much as I tried, I just couldn't get interested in it and ultimately wound up returning to the library to pick out an author I wa...

Synopsis : Artemis Fowl always believed the stories his dad told him about faeries and other mystical creatures were just fiction. However, when his dad is taken hostage over a mysterious magical object, Artemis finds himself facing a fairy army in an attempt to locate the treasure and rescue his father. Who's in it? The movie stars Ferdia Shaw , Josh Gad , Colin Farrell , Nonso Anozie and Lara McDonnell. Lara McDonnell. Review: It had been a while since we watched a movie together as a family and, since the various trailers we've seen about this film looked interesting, this wound up being my pick. As it turns out, this was a mistake. To put this bluntly - WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT, DISNEY? I think the best way to describe this film is it was as though whoever wrote the script glanced at the books, picked out bits and pieces that sounded interesting and slapped those parts together without putting them in the proper context. The end result was a movie that looked like it might...