Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: In the late 1970s, pilot Barry Seal simultaneously works as a courier for the Central Intelligence Agency and as a smuggler for a South American drug cartel. He makes more money than he knows what to do with as a result. But, even with the CIA's assistance, must find a way to stay a step ahead of several law enforcement agencies.

Who's in it? The movie stars Tom Cruise, Domhnall Gleeson, Sarah Wright, Caleb Landry Jones and Jesse Plemons.


Review: We had a Father's Day dinner at my parents' house on Sunday and, while there, I wound up watching this movie with my dad.

This is a film I've seen previews for and, while it admittedly looked decent, I wasn't really sure if I would like it or not. However, after watching it, I do have to admit it was a pretty good film.

I'm not a fan of most of Cruise's later films but this role was perfect for him. He always manages to have a natural arrogance when he's in front of the camera and it was one of thos…

I manage to avoid using an air conditioner until this past weekend, when the temps were in the 90s, it was extremely humid and very uncomfortable. However, after digging our portable air conditioner out of the shed and getting it going, we discovered it developed a leak over the winter.

While this is something we can probably fix, my wife and I weren't in the mood to mess with it right now and, because we also didn't want water all over our living room floor, I decided to just purchase a cheap window AC unit instead and picked up this air conditioner at Wal-mart yesterday morning.

My primary reason for purchasing this air conditioner was the $116 price tag, which was about $30 less than the next most affordable choice. Since we are on a bit of a tight budget during the summer, I was trying to spend as little as possible and, because of that, there really weren't any other serious factors that weighed into that decision.

I did have two big concerns about this air condition…

My family and I continued an (almost) annual tradition by walking down to the Swan City Car Show yesterday. We weren't there long but did manage to see all the cars. Here are some of the photos I took:

My wife and I are in between shows at the moment and, because of that, decided to give Orange is the New Black a try.

Granted, this show has been on Netflix for a while now and isn't exactly a hidden gem. But, based on our normal viewing habits, we weren't really sure if it would be for us and weren't expecting to make it past the first episode. As it turns out, however, it is actually as good as people say it is.


The show is definitely geared more toward women. But, even as a guy, I have found there are quite a few things I do enjoy about it (none of which involves the occasional nudity or lesbian sex). In particular, one thing I found I really like from season 1 is the relationship between the incarcerated Piper (Taylor Schilling) and her fiancé (Jason Biggs). It's an intriguing story (please don't ruin it with spoilers) because they both have made some pretty big mistakes and I'm curious if their relationship will make it.

I'm not sure if it's a seri…

Synopsis: While serving detention, four teenagers discover a video game and decide to play it. However, the game, Jumanji, is magical and, when they are sucked inside, they must work together if they hope to survive and return home.

Who's in it? The movie stars Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan and Nick Jonas.


Review: It was pretty warm out yesterday and, even though I did manage to get some work done outside (and make an appearance at a graduation party), none of us had a lot of energy by yesterday afternoon. As a result of that, we wound up having a family movie night and picked this movie, which I got on DVD through Netflix.

I wasn't really sure what to expect from this film when I first saw previews for it. I didn't hate the original Jumanji, but it also isn't on my list of favorite movies. And, because of that, I wasn't sure if I would enjoy this sequel. But, as it turns out, the movie was pretty good.

One thing I found I liked about this movi…

Heat advisory starts today so we'll be bunkering down at some point. Unfortunately, central air didn't fit our budget this year (thank you $40 tax return) so I guess I probably should go get the air conditioner out of the shed and hope it still works.