Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: With Georgie ( Montana Jordan ) and Connie ( Annie Potts ) in jail for trying to smuggle cigarettes across the Mexican border, George ( Lance Barber ) enlists help from Dale (Craig T. Nelson) to bail them out. Feeling she is being challenged, Mary ( Zoe Perry ) faces a crisis of faith that only grows when she tries to return to church. My Thoughts: With all the drama affecting the Cooper family, I think the person I still feel sorriest for is Mandy ( Emily Osment ). She's stuck between a rock and a hard place because she doesn't want to marry Georgie (and probably shouldn't) but I'm sure still feels horrible about the fallout created by her pregnancy. I'm sure her conversation with Missy ( Raegan Revord ) didn't help with that. Despite the huge mistake he made, I feel like Georgie deserves a pat on the back. Yes, smuggling cigarettes was a horrible mistake but, as Connie even pointed out, he's at least trying to do the right thing by finding a w...

Synopsis: Well-renown surgeon and conservative icon Ben Carson gives his view on race relations in America as well as subjects like critical race theory and George Floyd's death at the hands of police officers. Review: As a moderate independent, I try to keep an open mind and read books/articles written by people from both ends of the spectrum. That's why, when I came across this book at the library, I was intrigued enough to check it out. Since I was familiar enough with Ben Carson to know his basic political views, I pretty much knew what to expect from the book. However, I also hoped a conservative, black, doctor would offer a slightly unique viewpoint about racism in America and how to solve it. Unfortunately, that turned out not to be the case. To be fair, there were a couple things that did stand out for me when reading this book, such as his stories about the racism he faced when he was a child and how his white teachers hated the fact he was doing better than the whit...

Well, "celebrating" might not be the right word for it since I have stuff I need to do today. However, it's still one more year added to a life that has witnessed the rise and fall of NASA's space shuttle program, the fall of the Berlin Wall, a pandemic that shut the world down and a president being impeached because his intern didn't get her dress dry cleaned. It's been a wild ride and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.

  This is a sequel to Murder by Chili I've been working on for some time now and it stars the detective from that book, Maxwell V. Diamond. I decided to publish this book on Kindle Vella, which is a platform on Amazon that lets me publish the story in "episodes" rather than all at once. I've never tried this platform before so it's definitely a new experience for me. My hope is, depending on how successful this murder mystery is, I can add other stories as additional episodes down the road. The first four chapters are already published and can be read here:  The Body at Belmount Manor | Kindle Vella (amazon.com)

Synopsis: Master Sergeant Ernest Bilko, runs a successful gambling operation out of the motor pool at Fort Baxter Army base and has the commanding officer, Col. Hall, wrapped around his finger. However, this is all threatened when Maj. Thorn from the Inspector General's office arrives and decides to seek revenge against Bilko for an incident that happened years earlier. Who's in it? The movie stars Steve Martin , Dan Aykroyd , Phil Hartman , Glenne Headly and Daryl Mitchell. Review: My outdoor chores were hindered by rainclouds this past weekend and, while waiting for the sun, I came across this film on one of our movie channels. It had been a while since I had seen it and, after re-watching it, I remembered why it is one of my favorite military-themed comedies. One of the things I really like about this movie is it isn't as predictable as most comedy films are. Part of this is because Bilko (Martin) is so arrogant about the stuff he does, the addition of Thorn (Hartman) ...

  I've seen this particular brand of frozen pizzas at a couple different grocery stores but was reluctant to try it because the $7.99 price seemed a little too high for a frozen brand (I can buy plenty of others for a couple dollars less). However, I had a coupon for one and decided to try it at the discounted price yesterday evening. Overall, I have to say I was impressed. A couple things really stood out for me when it came to this brand. One of the main ones was the generous number of toppings on the pizza . There was a lot more meat on this pizza than I would normally expect from a frozen brand, but it also had a lot of cheese as well. This made the pizza very filling. I also liked the crust on this pizza. It wasn't overly thick, but I also wouldn't refer to this as a thin-crust pizza either. Basically, it was thin enough to get crispy on our pizza oven while being thick enough to keep the toppings from sliding off when we picked up a slice. That's a good combo in ...

Synopsis: Four years after dinosaurs escaped confinement and humans were forced to coexist with them, a new threat arises, giant locusts that threaten to destroy the world's food supply. Believing Biosyn Genetics is behind the threat, Ellie Sattler investigates with the help of Alan Grant and Ian Malcolm. Meanwhile, Biosyn locates and takes custody of the cloned Maisie Lockwood and Blue's offspring, Beta, forcing Owen Grady and Claire Dearing into a rescue mission. Who's in it? The movie stars Chris Pratt , Bryce Dallas Howard , Jeff Goldblum , Laura Dern , Sam Neill and Isabella Sermon. Review: As a general rule, I avoid judging movies based on their reviews. So, even though this one had a low score on Rotten Tomatoes, I was still willing to give it a chance. However, since I did have some doubts about it, I waited until I could watch it on one of my movie channels rather than pay extra to see it. My wife and I watched it last night and, overall, I have to say I thought...

Synopsis: When an island nation comes under the control of an anti-American regime, a group of criminals is dispatched to destroy a Nazi-era research facility containing a dangerous starfish-like alien. Who's in it? The movie stars Margot Robbie , John Cena , Sylvester Stallone , Idris Elba and Viola Davis. Review: I wasn't a huge fan of the 2016 Suicide Squad , though I did admittedly like it a little more the second time I watched it. As a result, I wasn't overly interesting in seeing this film but, since my wife checked it out from the library to see Harley Quinn (Robbie), we ended up watching it last night. Let's just say this film made the first Suicide Squad movie look like it was Oscar material. There were a couple things that hurt this film. One of the main ones was the filmmakers couldn't figure out what direction they wanted to take - action film or comedy. Sure, it is possible to combine those two things but this film didn't do a good job of that. ...

Synopsis: When a teenage faith healer, Boyd ( Thomas Dekker ), becomes House's ( Hugh Laurie ) patient, the doctor thinks the boy is a fraud. However, when Boyd seemingly cures a cancer patient ( Tamara Braun ), he shuts down House's attempts to diagnose his ailment, believing God will choose to cure him instead. My Thoughts: I wasn't overly crazy about the intro to this episode. I prefer it when the show tries to throw a bit of a curve ball, such as having one person be out of breath only to discover someone else is sicker. This intro, in comparison, was very predictable and seemed to choose irony over any sort of attempt at a surprise. The part about Cameron ( Jennifer Morrison ) and Foreman ( Omar Epps ) feuding was way too much of a storyline. I wasn't crazy about it in the previous episode but could have lived with it if it were just a one-and-done thing. Having it carry over to other episodes was overkill because it just isn't that interesting of a story. Th...

Synopsis: Cameron ( Jennifer Morrison ) is angry at both Foreman ( Omar Epps ) and House ( Hugh Laurie ) when Foreman chooses to publish a paper similar to the one she was waiting for House to read and approve. The tension rises when they attempt to diagnose a patient ( Jayma Mays ) suffering from insomnia and curing her involves a liver transplant from the patient's girlfriend ( Dahlia Salem ), a woman their patient intended to break up with before becoming ill. My Thoughts: I often wonder how Cameron became a doctor. I get it, she's a nice person overall. However, I find it hard to believe she somehow made it through medical school without having any sort of competitive bone in her body and, frankly, she seems more than a little bit childish at times. It's no wonder nobody takes her seriously. Foreman's an ass, but he wasn't wrong. At no point during the course of the show, at least through this episode, has there been any indication of him and Cameron being frien...

Synopsis: After breaking up with the Joker for good, Harley Quinn believes she will enjoy her new independence. However, once everyone finds out she is no longer under his protection, every person she ever wronged decides to seek revenge. Her only chance is to help another criminal kingpin retrieve a special diamond that was stolen and swallowed by a young pickpocket. This results in her crossing paths with three other women with their own unique gifts and stories. Who's in it? The movie stars Margot Robbie , Rosie Perez , Mary Elizabeth Winstead , Jurnee Smollett and Ewan McGregor . Review: My wife has been on a bit of a Harley Quinn kick lately and, because of that, we ended up re-watching the 2016 version of Suicide Squad before seeing this film yesterday afternoon. My opinion of both movies was pretty much the same - Harley Quinn (Robbie) is a badass who should have just gotten her own film. While I thought the concept was entertaining and am always a big fan of strong, fem...

Synopsis: After a series of small acting parts, Jennette McCurdy finally got her big break by being cast on the Nickelodeon series iCarly . However, while her acting success resulted in financial security, being famous wasn't Jennette's dream and acting was something she only did to please her overbearing mother. Her autobiography provides details of this and the ways she was affected even after her mother died. Review: Having two daughters, I was familiar with Jennette McCurdy both from iCarly and the spin-off series Sam & Cat and I'll even go so far as to admit she was probably my favorite from both shows. As a result of this, when I heard about her autobiography, I was intrigued. To be honest, I wasn't really expecting much from this book when I was finally able to get a copy from the library. A lot of that was from the skepticism I'm sure I shared with plenty of others regarding just how bad off she was. I mean, sure acting might not have been her dream,...

Synopsis: Foreman's ( Omar Epps ) supervision over House ( Hugh Laurie ) is put to the test when House insists on treating Anica ( Cynthia Nixon ), a woman who had a seizure shortly after meeting him at a horse track. House is confident Anica is sick but faces opposition from the rest of the team, who believe she is suffering from Münchausen syndrome and faking her symptoms to get attention. My Thoughts: Having Foreman being House's boss was one of Cuddy's ( Lisa Edelstein ) worst decisions . Even on a temporary basis, it just didn't make sense. I know the other options were limited, especially since both Cuddy and Wilson ( Robert Sean Leonard ) would also have been bad choices, but there had to be some other doctor from a different department that was knowledgeable enough to look over House's shoulder and report anything that wasn't above board. It's not like his supervisor needed to be able to diagnose people, he/she just needed to make sure he wasn't...

Synopsis: When Kerry Dutton was given the task of managing a trust set up for a naive and irresponsible heiress, he made some moves with the money that made her more financially secure but also crossed some legal lines that could be construed as embezzlement.  He hires Perry Mason to help protect him when he comes clean but instead needs the lawyer to defend him against murder charges. Review: I had planned on taking a break from Perry Mason books. However, the library didn't have the book I was interested in reading and, while waiting for it to come in, I checked this one out. Unfortunately, the book did nothing to offset my recent disappointment with the series. This was a book I frankly had a hard time getting interested in to begin with. The talk about his client's misuse of trust funds was something I found to be kind of dull, even though there was a good chance he was lying to the lawyer and was really trying to embezzle the money. I think a big part of this was becaus...

Synopsis: While walking home from school in 1978, Finney is abducted by a serial killer known as the Grabber and locked in a basement cell. With escape seemingly impossible, Finney accepts the fact he will likely die until he receives a series of calls on a non-working phone in his cell from the Grabber's previous victims. Who's in it? The movie stars Mason Thames , Ethan Hawke , Madeleine McGraw , Jeremy Davies and E. Roger Mitchell . Review: My wife and I saw the trailer for this movie some time ago and were immediately interested in seeing it. This interest was renewed recently when one of her friends said she saw it and described it as the most terrifying movie they've seen. We finally watched it last night and, while I definitely disagreed about the "terrifying movie" part (her friend apparently needs to see more horror films), did think it was an OK movie. I think the thing I like best about this movie is the mystery surrounding the Grabber (Hawke). He se...

  I wasn't in the mood to cook last night so, since I had to stop at the grocery store anyway, I decided to pick up a frozen lasagna as a way to keep things simple. Normally, I would just buy the one from On-Cor because, while it isn't necessarily the highest quality, it is also less than $5. However, I saw this one in the freezer section too and, even though it was about $3 more, decided to give it a try. After making it, I am convinced I should have stuck with the On-Cor brand. Just to be clear, I didn't necessarily hate this lasagna. It did, after all, succeed in giving me what I was looking for - a dinner that was convenient, filling and didn't taste terrible. I just think I spent more money on something that wasn't any better than the cheaper alternative. The very first thing I noticed about this product when I took it out of the microwave was the way it looked nothing like it did on the box. This isn't unusual. However, there was a very noticeable lack of...

Synopsis: Cuddy ( Lisa Edelstein ) offers to give House ( Hugh Laurie ) a month off from clinic duty if he can go a week without pain killers. The bet seems to compromise House's ability to diagnose a teenager ( Nicholas D'Agosto ), upsetting the boy's father ( Mark Harelik ) and making his team question his judgement. My Thoughts: I get the point Cuddy was trying to make about House's use of Vicodin , however I do question the overall execution of what she was trying to prove. Having him be in pain the entire week seemed counterproductive, especially since he was still trying to practice medicine. Why not help him by demonstrating pain managing alternatives at the same time? You know, like Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) did with that "masseuse?" House's team really wasn't much of a help either. Yeah, sure, he was compromised because he was off his meds and that was maybe causing him to make poor decisions. However, I didn't see anyone else stepping...

Synopsis : After learning the last of his elite combat unit from Vietnam has died from cancer, John Rambo enters a small town in Washington looking to buy a meal and is arrested for vagrancy. When abusive sheriff's deputies trigger his PTSD, Rambo turns violent and, during his escape, inadvertently kills one of the deputies pursuing him. With the sheriff determined to get revenge, Rambo is forced to flee into the woods and fend off both deputies and members of the local National Guard. Who's in it? The movie stars Sylvester Stallone , Richard Crenna , Brian Dennehy , Bill McKinney and Jack Starrett . Review: I came across this movie while my wife and daughter were at karate/kickboxing yesterday evening and, since it had been a long while since I had watched it in its entirety, decided to do so. After seeing it again, I have to admit this was a movie that earned its "classic" status. I think the thing I like best about this movie is, even though Rambo (Stallone) is ...

Synopsis: When a high school student, Matt ( John Patrick Amedori ), collapses during an exam House's ( Hugh Laurie ) team eventually suspects he has been poisoned, likely from a pesticide used while tending to his garden. However, that theory is thrown for a loop when another student ( Ulysses Lee ) comes into the emergency room with similar symptoms and seems to have nothing in common with the first patient. Complicating things is Matt's overprotective mother ( Roxanne Hart ), who refuses to let House's staff treat her son. My Thoughts: Matt's mother is portrayed as being unreasonable , but I kind of agreed with her. It wasn't as though she was simply refusing a treatment the doctors knew would cure her son. They nearly killed him, made a second wrong diagnosis that could have also resulted in him being killed and weren't 100 percent sure about the last treatment. Waiting for a second opinion from the CDC didn't seem like such a bad idea. In fact, I'm ...

Synopsis: A 1940s carnival worker and grifter, Stanton Carlisle, learns how to use coded words and body language to pass himself off as a clairvoyant and, two years later, makes a living performing his act for the wealthy elite. Against his girlfriend/partner Molly's objections, Stanton decides to take the act one step further by partnering with an unscrupulous psychiatrist, Dr. Lillith Ritter, and using her patients' private secrets to pretend to talk to their deceased relatives. Who's in it? The movie stars Bradley Cooper , Cate Blanchett , Toni Collette , Willem Dafoe and Rooney Mara . Review: My wife and I saw a preview for this movie a few months ago and thought it looked interesting. So, when I found it at our local library last week, I decided to check it out. Overall, it was an OK film, though not quite as good as we hoped it would be. The overall plot was unique and interesting. I especially liked how the film went through a great deal of effort to show how a gr...

Synopsis: When Virginia Baxter is arrested after drugs are found in her luggage at the airport, she suspects her estranged husband of setting her up. However, when the former legal secretary is approached by a stranger asking her to help him forge a will for the wealthy Lauretta Trent, Perry Mason suspects the two things are related and uncovers an attempt to murder Lauretta using arsenic. When Lauretta's car is later forced off the road and she is presumed to be dead, the evidence points to Virginia and Mason must defend her against murder charges.   Review: I haven't been a big fan of many of the Perry Mason books I've read recently, and, because of that, I had a bit of skepticism when I checked this one out from the library last week. I finished it over the weekend and, while it still wasn't one of my favorites, it was admittedly better than some of them. I thought the overall premise was intriguing, especially how Mason starts out defending Virginia from one accu...

  We knew this was around the corner but, now that we're about 24 hours away from her moving into her dorm, the reality is starting to set in. This is going to be a tough one. It's the first time either of our daughters won't be living at home and I know it's going to sink in multiple times over the next couple of weeks. However, I am choosing to put this in some perspective. For one, she is going to be learning how to be a responsible adult by getting a chance to make decisions for herself. However, she'll also have a bit of a safety net since the college has everything from advisors to therapists at her disposal. And I am going to trust that we did a great job preparing her for that. Plus, it's only college. Sure, it's 250 miles away, but there are plenty of other 18-year-olds who are enlisting in the military and looking at the possibility of being shipped thousands of miles from their families and put in situations where their lives are on the line daily...