Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: Still traumatized from seeing his brother's abduction as a pre-teen, Mike Schmidt loses his job as a mall security guard after assaulting a man he mistook for a kidnapper. At risk of losing custody of his younger sister, Mike accepts a job guarding the long-abandoned Freddy's Fazbear's Pizza, a once popular pizza restaurant and family entertainment venue that shut down after several kids disappeared. Mike doesn't know the animatronic animals that once entertained the kids are now both haunted and have a connection to his past. Who's in it? The movie stars Josh Hutcherson , Matthew Lillard , Elizabeth Lail , Piper Rubio and Mary Stuart Masterson . Review: Both of our kids are fans of the video game franchise that inspired this movie, and because of that, my wife and I had planned on taking the kids to the theater to see it on opening weekend. Scheduling conflicts prevented that from happening, but we were able to watch it at home on Peacock last night. O...

My thoughts from the Green Bay Packers 24-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings today. I know it's likely easier said than done but I think fixing the Packers' slow start issue will go a long way toward turning this team's season around. The offense has shown flashes of what it is capable of but it's usually too little, too late. Constantly trailing also doesn't give the team a chance to fix its running game woes. It also leads to a lopsided time of possession that leaves the defense tired late in the game, when it is often called upon to make a play. On the subject of a running game , all you need to do is look at the Vikings' offense to see how much of a difference it could make for the Packers and Jordan Love. If the defense needs to respect the run, it gives the quarterback so many more options, especially off a play action. And staying on that subject, maybe the team just needs to design more run plays for Love himself. I don't think I'd describe him a...

My daughter had a field trip to Madison today and my wife and I accompanied her. We toured the capitol building. The first time for my wife and daughter and the first time for me since I was around my daughter's age. Here are some photos taken with my phone.

It was warm enough for some of the turtles to come out during my walk at lunch today. Since it'll probably be the last time I'll see them until spring, so I made sure to include them in my photos.

I wasn't out for my walk long, both because it's very windy and because I apparently forgot to charge the battery in my camera. However, I did catch this photo of some Canadian geese as they flew in to take a break on a pond.

 My thoughts from the Green Bay Packers' 19-17 loss to the Denver Broncos today. The offense is young, but at some point, that ceases to be an excuse and other explanations for the struggles on that side of the ball need to be considered. Matt LaFleur's offense tops that list. Is the Packers' head coach really an offensive genius? Or were Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams bailing him out in his first seasons? On that note, defensive coordinator Joe Barry gets a lot of grief from Packers' fans but other than the game against the Detroit Lions, the defense has kept the team in games. With the league rules giving advantages to the offense, that's really all you can ask for. Jordan Love needs to play better. It's his first year as a starter and it's not all on him. However, back-to-back late game interceptions aren't exactly something that makes it easy to have faith in him. In this game, Romeo Doubs looked wide open with the first down when Love forced the ...

Synopsis: After going off to college, Christopher Robin returns to the 100 Acre Woods with his new wife so he can reconnect with the friends everyone else thinks were imaginary. However, he soon learns Winnie the Pooh and Piglet have killed the other animals and angry over his abandoning them, have turned feral. He and a group of women on a retreat have their lives in danger as a result. Who's in it? The movie stars  Nikolai Leon ,  Maria Taylor ,  Natasha Rose Mills ,  Amber Doig-Thorne and  Danielle Ronald . Review: This wasn't a film that was particularly high on my list of movies I wanted to see. However, it was readily available on Peacock and since my wife and I wanted a horror film, gave it a try. Frankly, I wasn't impressed. I'll give the movie a few points for uniqueness. I mean, when you think of killers, Winnie the Pooh would probably be the last character that would come to mind. Other than that image though, there's really nothing special about t...

It was a little windy out but otherwise decent, so I ended the work week with another walk. Here are some of my photos:

Yeah, I know, I'm a few years too late with this entry. GOT, after all, had its finale in 2019. However, my wife and I FINALLY got around to watching the series and finished it last night. After doing so, I now understand why people were upset with the final season and how things ended.  While there were a lot of things to be unhappy with, one in particular stood out for me. But first, just so I'm doing my due diligence *Spoiler Alert* for anyone who hasn't watched it yet. Tyrion Lannister's ( Peter Dinklage ) plan to elect Westeros' king sounds like a good one when compared to the history of insanity that had sat on the iron throne the previously. The problem is, it's also a sure way to send the six kingdoms into another civil war. Look, I'm the first to agree being born into the right family isn't the best way to pick a new leader. However, there's a reason why there is usually a hereditary line of succession with monarchies, including constitution...

I managed to get outside before the afternoon rain today. Missed out on a few photos because the birds didn't cooperate but did get the below:

Synopsis: I probably won't get an opportunity to get out for another walk this week because of other commitments and rain. I managed to get out today though and got some photos. Here are some of the ones I took:

It was cool and overcast today, and my feet got wet from the damp grass, but I squeezed another walk in at lunch. Here are some of my photos:

Synopsis: A group of paranormal investigators arrive at the now-closed Bodega Bay Inn to investigate the mysterious events that happened in the first movie. They are unaware of both the animated puppets and the resurrected original puppet master, André Toulon, living inside. Who's in it? The movie stars Steve Welles ,  Elizabeth Maclellan ,  Nita Talbot ,  Collin Bernsen and  Greg Webb . Review: Even though we were disappointed by the original Puppet Master , my wife and I decided to give the sequel a chance because, at least sometimes, the second movie in a franchise is a little more entertaining because it isn't bogged down with all the character introductions and backstory. Unfortunately, this film ended up being as bad and possibly worse than the original. After re-watching the first movie and seeing the second one for the first time, I am truthfully struggling to figure out why this film was successful enough to warrant multiple sequels. The first film ...

Synopsis: When their former colleague commits suicide, a group of psychics travel to a hotel to search for the ancient Egyptian scroll, with the ability to bring inanimate objects to life, they believe he had in his possession. While there, they are stalked by a group of killer puppets. Who's in it? The movie stars Paul Le Mat , William Hickey , Irene Miracle , Matt Roe and Mews Small . Review: It was cold, windy and rainy outside yesterday and my wife and I wound up spending most of the day on the couch binge watching Game of Thrones . By yesterday evening, I was ready to change things up a bit with a movie and since this was one of my wife's favorites when she was younger, found it on Peacock. It wasn't as good as we remembered. I think the biggest disappointment for us is it turned out not to be as scary as we thought it was. If anything, it is kind of a dull film. The puppets are quirky rather than frightening, especially with the weaker 1980s special effects, and th...

As is usually the case whenever we have some sort of rare celestial event, it was cloudy/rainy out during the solar eclipse. Fortunately, it popped out just enough for me to get a photo of it, though I do think it looks a bit more like a lunar eclipse since it was so dark out.

Synopsis: In August of 2021, the Columbus, Ohio-based Bishop Sycamore High School football team was blown out by IMG Academy in front of the nation on ESPN. Shortly after an investigation of the school and the team's coach, Leroy Johnson, revealed BS High wasn't a real school and its players weren't even high school students. Review: I came across this documentary a few days ago and thought it was intriguing enough to add to my library. Since it was raining this morning, I decided to give it a try and it proved to be as interesting as I thought. There were a couple things that really stood out for me regarding this movie's discussion of the scandal. One of the main ones was how Johnson's point of view about the scandal differed greatly from his players and those who investigated him. The latter considered him a con artist while Johnson thought of himself as someone who was trying to help disadvantaged youth use football as an opportunity to get into college. What ...

It was kind of cold and crappy out when I went for a walk on Thursday, so I didn't get much for photos. Here are a couple of them though.

With yesterday being Friday the 13th, last night's movie choice was kind of a no-brainer, especially since our youngest daughter hadn't seen the 1980 classic yet. As I re-watched the movie in its entirety for the first time in about a half dozen years, I noticed somethings I hadn't noticed before. There is a very clear Alfred Hitchcock influence. It's probably because I also recently re-watched Psycho , but the similarities were a lot more obvious than I realized. This starts with a character who, at least at first, seemed to be one of the main characters (and possibly the final girl) only to be one of the first victims. In addition, the first-person perspective of the killer and the killer being influenced by a dead person's voice were very Hitchcock-like. Speaking of the movie's final girl , the one that does survive until the end is kind of dumb. I won't spoil things by saying which one it was, just in case you haven't seen the movie yet, but it was a...

It was somewhat nice out today. It was much warmer than it's been, and the rain hasn't gotten here just yet, so I got out for a short walk. Here are some of my photos:

A little overcast today but a bit warmer than yesterday so I squeezed another walk in while I could. Here are some of the photos.

 My thoughts from the Green Bay Packers 17-13 loss in Las Vegas last night. This game was lost in the trenches. It's a bit cliche but true. The Packers' offensive line only had one player to fear going into the game and did nothing to stop or slow Maxx Crosby, putting Jordan Love in danger of being sacked whenever he dropped back to pass. On the defensive side of the ball, the struggles against the run continue. It wasn't as bad as it was against the Detroit Lions, but the Raiders were able to take time off the clock and do just enough to open up the pass lanes. On that note, Joe Barry's job is likely in jeopardy. The Packers have invested a lot in this defense and there are times when that shows and other times when it does not. It's not all the defensive coordinator's fault but if the inconsistency continues, someone is going to be asked to fall on the sword. I don't think it'll happen over the bye week, but you never know. The offense also needs to be...

It's getting a bit cool outside, but I braved the temps and the wind and got a walk in. Here are some of my photos.