Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: Twenty years after discovering a leprechaun's gold, trapping the leprechaun with a magical medallion and stealing a golden flute, Mack Daddy O'Nasses is a successful record producer in Los Angeles. When he turns down three wannabe rappers, Postmaster P., Stray Bullet and Butch, they get revenge by stealing both the medallion and the flute, setting the leprechaun free and putting them in the crosshairs of both the evil creature and Mack Daddy while the flute's magic helps their music career. Who's in it? The movie stars Warwick Davis , Ice-T , Anthony Montgomery , Rashaan Nall and Red Grant. Review: My wife and I were both a bit tired out yesterday evening so I decided to find a movie to watch while we crashed on the couch. Despite quite a bit of hesitation after watching the previous four movies, I ended up picking Leprechaun 5: In the Hood . As it turned out, I probably should have picked a different movie. There are a lot of things wrong with this film, b...

 I wasn't sure what kind of trail camera activity I would have last night because I knew we were going to get some rain. I decided to put one out anyway, keeping it close to the house, and had a surprising number of photos this morning. Here are some of them: 4

I have wanted to get out with my camera for a couple weeks now, but the weather never seems to cooperate whenever I have time. Today wasn't any different but I decided to brave the chill, damp wind and darkened skies long enough to do a little photography, even if it was just in my yard. The photos aren't my best, I'm a little out of practice and always did struggle a bit when the light is limited. I am also experimenting a bit with black-and-white photography. No real reason other than it's a throwback to my days as a journalist (many, many years ago), when photos were taken in black-and-white 35mm and developed in a dark room. Anyway, here's the best of the bunch. Camera: Kodak AZ425

I wasn't sure what the weather was going to do last night, as is often the case during Wisconsin's Marches, but since I needed to take something out to the recycle bin anyway, I decided to set up one of my trail cameras. I didn't wind up with a lot of photos last night but there were a few. Here they are:

I'm not going to discuss who I will or will not vote for during the Wisconsin Supreme Court election on April 1. I will, however, discuss the election itself. To give a brief recap. Wisconsin Supreme Court judges serve a 10-year term with no more than one judge running for office in any election. While judges are supposed to be non-partisan, the court currently has a liberal majority but with Justice Ann Walsh Bradley retiring, the outcome of this election can either keep it liberal with Susan Crawford winning or tilt it to the right if Brad Schimel wins. This in turn could determine the outcome of a number of state-related things ranging from abortion rights to election districts. The main problem is it has stopped being just a race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court and has become a de facto measuring stick for President Donald Trump and his agenda, with nearly $100 million being spent, including a large portion from groups and individuals (like Elon Musk) from outside the state. Pe...

 I was caught a bit off guard by a thunderstorm this morning and wound up recovering my trail cameras in the rain while keeping an eye on the lightning as it got closer. At least the cameras had photos on them from yesterday evening, last night and early this morning, making it a little bit worthwhile. Here are some of the photos:

Synopsis: While on a short flight to Catalina Island in California, schoolteacher Hildegarde Withers witnesses a fellow passenger, Roswell Forrest, come down sick then die. Police and the local coroner believe the death was from natural causes, but Hildegarde believes the man was murdered by one of the other passengers. When her friend, Police Inspector Oscar Piper, learns of the death and realizes Forrest was a key witness against a crime syndicate, Hildegarde's theory becomes more plausible. However, proving Forrest was murdered and determining how become more complicated when the body goes missing. Who's in it? The movie stars Edna May Oliver , James Gleason , Lola Lane , George Meeker and Willie Best. Review: I absolutely loved The Penguin Pool Murder and Murder on the Blackboard . So, when I saw Murder on a Honeymoon , I quickly added it to my library. I watched it this morning and was not disappointed. I'll start out by saying the dynamic between Hildegarde (Oliv...

I put one of my trail cameras out again yesterday evening but since the batteries are starting to get a bit low, decided to put it in photo mode rather than video. I wasn't sure what kind of results I'd get but I ended up with quite a few photos this morning. Here is a selection:

Everyone makes mistakes, especially when starting a new job. And, along those lines, I do try to remind myself government officials like Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz have only been in their current jobs for about two months. The same for Vice President J. D. Vance. So, while discussing potentially classified military plans via a text messaging app is not the best decision and accidentally adding a civilian (who also happens to be the editor of the Atlantic) to that group chat only made that questionable decision worse, I normally would be willing to be OK with no harm being done and lessons learned. Unfortunately, this is the Donald Trump administration and that's not what's happening. Here's my word of advice to Hegseth, Waltz, Vance, etc. as an independent voter - own up to your mistake and apologize. Period. This Trump-like systematic denial, spin and even blame shifting is unprofessional and honestly embarrassing. It's c...

I once again set up one of my trail cameras in my back yard last night and found myself rewarded with quite a few videos this morning. This included multiple visits from the local opossums and as a pleasant surprise, the return of one of the masked bandits that occasionally visit.  Here are some of the videos:

 I love vampire movies and while most of my favorites were made before I was born, two of them were from my 1980s childhood, Fright Night (1985) and The Lost Boys (1987). Today, for reasons I can’t even begin to explain, I asked myself “which is the better of the two?” So, I decided to do an analysis based on five categories:   Category 1 – The cast. I think the thing that stands out for me most when I think of The Lost Boys is the list of actors that could be considered who’s who of the 80s and 90s. There are the “two Coreys” Corey Haim and Corey Feldman . Joining them are Kiefer Sutherland and Alex Winter with Jason Patric and Dianne Wiest having significant roles. Fright Night also has some recognizable names, like Chris Sarandon , Roddy McDowall and William Ragsdale . However, as far as star power goes, I think they are simply outnumbered. Winner: The Lost Boys Category 2 – The main protagonist. While I get why people loved Haim (rest in peace) and I ...

Synopsis: Smalltown Nebraska 17-year-old Scott Howard is an awkward high school student who is trying to find himself while pining after the popular Pamela Wells. If things weren't bad enough for Scott, he inadvertently learns he has inherited a family curse and, like his father, is a werewolf. However, when his werewolf abilities help his basketball team win its first game in three years, Scott suddenly becomes the most popular kid in school. There's just one problem; people seem to like the wolf version of Scott more than the human version. Who's in it? The movie stars Michael J. Fox , James Hampton , Susan Ursitti , Lorie Griffin and Jerry Levine. Review: My wife was working on a sewing project yesterday evening and since I had time before I needed to start our dinner, I wound up watching Teen Wolf , which I came across on one of our movie channels. It had been ages since I last saw this film in its entirety, I may have even still been a teenager, and I didn't re...

 I skipped a day because of the weather but put one of my trail cameras out yesterday evening, just to see what it caught on video last night and early this morning. I had fairly decent selection of the usual suspects (including two separate stray cats). Here are some of them:

  I have pretty much accepted the fact I am not going to be able to keep the squirrels out of the birdfeeders. However, there is swiping the food because they are hungry and then there is this mess I came home to today. Based on the spread, I honestly think it was intentional. One (or more) of them must have purposely flung it all over the patio table for no other reason than to fling it. It's like that time when they dug up the potatoes in my garden then just left them on the ground. I wonder if there is a way for me to attract more hawks to my yard, as a way of discouraging this behavior.

Synopsis: Like thousands of women, Diane Evans served as a nurse during the Vietnam War, patching up wounded straight from the front lines and often being the last face a soldier saw before he died. In 1983, 14 years after returning home, Diane found a new mission, making sure she and the women volunteers she served with received the same recognition as the men. While doing so, she was forced to do the one thing she had been avoiding, talk about what she had experienced.  Review: One of my mom's friends had given her a copy of Healing Wounds and it looked intriguing enough for me to ask her for an opportunity to read it when she was finished. I managed to read through the book in a fairly quick amount of time and can only describe it as inspirational. One thing I learned when studying history is women's accomplishments are often diminished or even forgotten when the end result favors men. This is especially true when it comes to the history of war, when women are barely ment...

Synopsis: During Labor Day weekend in 1959, four 12-year-old boys lie to their parents and begin a trek to see the dead body of a missing boy. Along the way, the four friends discuss their feelings, face their fears and find their lives occasionally at risk, including from a group of bullies who are also looking for the body. Who's in it? The movie stars River Phoenix , Wil Wheaton , Jerry O'Connell , Corey Feldman and Kiefer Sutherland. Review: It had been ages since I last watched Stand by Me , to the point the only things I could even recall about the film were the train bridge scene and the scene with the leeches. I came across the film on one of our movie channels yesterday and since my wife and I had some free time, we ended up re-watching it. Overall, the film was surprisingly better than I remembered. This isn't your typical movie based off a Stephen King book. It's not a horror movie. There isn't any sort of weird twist. It's just a very simple comin...

It's that time of year when Wisconsin weather is a little unpredictable and I haven't had my trail cameras out every night as a result. However, I managed to put them out yesterday evening and was rewarded with some videos, including of a neighbor's dog who once again is apparently running around the neighborhood unleashed and unsupervised. Here is a selection of them:

Synopsis: Five years after Thanos erased half the universe's population before destroying the Infinity Stones, the surviving Avengers are beginning to accept what happened and move on with their lives. However, when Scott Lang/Ant-Man returns after being trapped in the Quantum Realm, he comes back with a plan, travel back in time to retrieve the stones so they can undo what Thanos did. There's just one problem; an earlier version of Thanos has figured out the plan. Who's in it? The movie stars Robert Downey, Jr. , Paul Rudd , Scarlett Johansson , Mark Ruffalo , Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth . Review: My wife and I binge watched the various Avenger movies a few years ago but stopped one short and never took the time to watch Avengers: Endgame , mostly because we couldn't find time to slip a 3-hour-long film into our schedule. We finally decided to do that yesterday evening and weren't disappointed. With very few exceptions, movies that are longer than 2 hours ra...

  I had to go up the street to Walgreen's this morning for a couple items and while waiting in the checkout line, saw Reese's PB&J Big Cups for $2.49 per pack. They looked intriguing enough for me to pick up two, one for my wife (strawberry) and one for me (grape).  I had mine this afternoon and while it wasn't terrible, it also wasn't quite as unique as I was expecting it to be. When I think peanut butter and jelly, I naturally immediately think of the sandwich. So, when I saw these, I thought it would be something similar, only better because it had chocolate.  The main difference, however, is while PB&J sandwiches have a relatively equal amount of those two ingredients, these candy cups don't. There is quite a bit more peanut butter than jelly and as a result of that, all I could taste was the PB and not the J. If it weren't for the wrapper and the purple color, I honestly wouldn't have been able to tell these apart from a regular peanut butter cu...

Synopsis: After his second marriage leads to a divorce, wealthy businessman Thornton Melon decides to attempt to reconnect with his son, Jason, a freshman at Grand Lakes University. When Jason tells him he intends to drop out of college, Thornton, who didn't graduate high school, convinces him to stay enrolled by making a massive financial donation to the university so he can be a college freshman too. However, while Jason is there to learn, Thornton is more interested in partying and using his money to pass his classes. This leads to a conflict between father and son, especially when Jason is led to believe Thornton bribed his diving coach to give him a spot on the team. Who's in it? The movie stars Rodney Dangerfield , Sally Kellerman , Keith Gordon , Robert Downey, Jr. and Ned Beatty . Review: My wife and I celebrated our wedding anniversary yesterday by visiting some Wisconsin wineries. During one of the visits, we were told one of the wines was named after the "Tr...

Synopsis: Raven agrees to travel to England, pose as a student at a British boarding school and locate a hidden room containing the Jack-in-the-box that houses a deadly demon so she can hand it over to a collector who has agreed to pay off her father's debts before he is killed. Despite the prison-like atmosphere of the all-girl school, Raven manages to complete the first part of the task. However, before she can leave with the box, someone turns the handle and releases the demon, which immediately begins collecting six souls. Who's in it? The movie stars  Isabella Colby Browne ,  Nicholas Anscombe , Leona Clarke , Anna Blackburn and Jade Groves . Review: After watching binge watching the first four Leprechaun movies earlier this week, I was in the mood for something different and when I saw Amazon Prime had The Jack in the Box Rises , decided to pick that movie for last night. I wasn't really sure what to expect from this film because, while I liked the first two The Ja...

Synopsis: While hunting down a mysterious alien interfering with mining operations, a team of space marines encounter a leprechaun that has kidnapped and is now successfully wooing an alien princess, Zarina, who is attracted to his gold. The marines blow up the leprechaun and bring both Zarina and his gold back to their ship. However, the creature isn't dead and soon begins to terrorize the marines while searching for his stolen treasure. Who's in it? The movie stars Warwick Davis , Brent Jasmer , Jessica Collins , Rebecca Carlton and Guy Siner. Review: My wife and I began watching Leprechaun 4: In Space a couple nights ago, immediately following Leprechaun 3 but not finishing the movie until last night. After binge-watching this movie series this week, I think we will be pausing for a bit because I am pretty sure this film might have melted some of my brain. I guess I'll start with the good. My wife and I absolutely loved Princess Zarina (Carlton). My wife thought he...

Synopsis: While on his way to Los Angeles to attend college, Scott McCoy visits Las Vegas and immediately loses the $23,000 his parents gave him for housing and tuition. Hoping to chase his losses, he goes to a pawn shop to get money for his watch, crosses paths with a recently freed leprechaun and uses a stolen coin from the leprechaun's treasure to wish for gambling success. However, when the leprechaun hunts him down in search of the coin, Scott is bitten by the creature and begins turning into one himself. His only hope is to kill the leprechaun with help from a magician's assistant, Tammy. Who's in it? The movie stars Warwick Davis , John Gatins , Lee Armstrong , John DeMita and Michael Callan. Review: I was planning on waiting at least a few days before watching Leprechaun 3 . However, since we had Leprechaun 2 fresh in our minds, my wife and I decided to check out the next installment in the movie series last night instead. As it turns out, it was about what I t...

After having some success Monday night and early Tuesday morning, I decided to put the trail cameras out again last night. One tipped over at some point during the night (I think it was bad placement rather than something knocking it over) but I still managed to get some videos. Here is a selection of them:

Synopsis: Los Angeles resident Cody is having a rough St. Patrick's Day. First, he needs to cancel a date to cover a city tour for his uncle, Morty, who is too drunk to drive. Then, he is arrested for numerous traffic violations and later accused of murder. On top of all of that, his girlfriend, Bridget, has been kidnapped by a leprechaun who wants to make her his bride and Cody is the only one who can save her. Who's in it? The movie stars Warwick Davis , Charlie Heath , Shevonne Durkin , Sandy Baron and James Lancaster . Review: It took me nearly 20 years to watch the first Leprechaun movie and since that time, I have seen the Jennifer Aniston-led original a few more times. However, when my wife and I watched Leprechaun 2 last night, it was the first time I had ever seen any of the sequels. While not as bad as I thought it would be, the film failed to convince me I was missing much. The plot of the movie is fairly simple (in a good way). The leprechaun (Davis) has a pre...