Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: A group of six strangers are summoned to a remote mansion for a dinner party and learn their host, Mr. Boddy, has been the person blackmailing them. When the lights are turned off, Mr. Boddy is murdered and soon after, the cook is found dead as well. As the night progresses, more bodies begin to accumulate and the group, with the help of the butler, Wadsworth, must figure out who the killer is. Who's in it? The movie stars Eileen Brennan , Tim Curry , Martin Mull , Madeline Kahn , Christopher Lloyd , Michael McKean , Lesley Ann Warren and Colleen Camp . Review: I think I have seen the movie Clue at least 30 times now yet, when I happened to come across it this morning, I figured "what the heck" and decided to watch it again. My reaction to this comedy was the same as it was every other time, it's a movie that just doesn't get old. There are a lot of movies out there that are based off games. Only a very few of them are good. This movie, which is bas...

Synopsis: Laine Morris has a hard time accepting her best friend, Debbie, died of suicide and convinces both her sister and a group of her friends to attempt to contact Debbie using Debbie's Ouija board. The board works. However, instead of contacting Debbie, they inadvertently awaken an evil presence that killed her. Who's in it?  The movie stars Olivia Cooke , Ana Coto , Darren Kagasoff , Bianca Santos and Shelley Hennig. You can read my review here:  Movie Review: Ouija (2014)

Synopsis: German widow Nadja and her son, Elias, board a plane to New York, where she hopes to receive treatment for what appears to be cancer. The plane is hijacked mid-flight and Nadja is shot by one of the men. However, instead of dying from her wounds, as would be expected, Nadja reveals her real condition, vampirism. Determined to protect her son, she soon starts a fight with the hijackers but as her ability to control her disease diminishes and one of the men injects himself with her blood, the plane is soon filled with blood-lusting creatures. Who's in it? The movie stars Peri Baumeister ,  Carl Anton Koch ,  Alexander Scheer ,  Kais Setti and Gordon Brown . Review: My wife and I had time for two movies last night and while I took a quick shower, she picked out Blood Red Sky on Netflix. The movie's description didn't do it a lot of favors, and we both had some serious doubts about the film. However, it turned out to be surprisingly unique and entertaining. My ...

Synopsis: While driving to Los Angeles with her fiancé, Kevin, aspiring actress Monica stops in Houston, Texas to visit her father and learns he is dying from cancer.  Wanting to make sure her dad is as comfortable as possible in his final weeks; Monica agrees to pay the hospital expenses but soon discovers the only way to make the money they need is as an exotic dancer. Kevin reluctantly agrees and Monica is soon bringing in hundreds of dollars per night. However, as she forms a bond with one of her patrons, Chicago, jealousy and suspicion begin to tear the young couple apart. Who's in it? The movie stars Ali Cobrin , Robert Hoffman , Datari Turner , Carmen Electra and Briana Evigan. Review: My wife and I were a bit wiped out after our day trip yesterday and as we sat down on the couch with dinner, I wound up picking out the movie Lap Dance simply because it was the first film I came across. While I had some doubts about the film at first, it ended up being a surprisingly goo...

Our daughters' birthdays are coming up later this month so, before it becomes all about them, I decided to take a day off and do something with just my wife. We wound up taking a day trip to three of Wisconsin's wineries. It wasn't originally going to be three. I had only planned on going to Baraboo Bluff and Balanced Rock wineries in Baraboo. However, it's road work season and when we got to Portage, we discovered getting to Baraboo required a major detour. As a result, our return trip went through Sauk Prairie and since it was right there, we made a return visit to Wollersheim. I think it ended up being a fun trip despite the unexpected detour. We had brunch at Log Cabin Family Restaurant in Baraboo, which was very filling. I had some of their fresh-squeezed lemonade along with a western omelet, hashbrown casserole and a giant cinnamon roll that I shared with my wife (half of it still came home with us). Our first stop after brunch was Balanced Rock Winery since it wa...

Synopsis: Recently widowed Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski has prejudiced views toward the Hmong that have bought most of the houses in his neighborhood and nearly shoots his teenage next-door neighbor, Thao when the latter attempts to steal his vintage 1972 Gran Torino as part of a gang initiation. However, when he saves both Thao and his sister, Sue, from the neighborhood gangs, he inadvertently and reluctantly becomes a neighborhood hero. As he grows closer with those neighbors and the gang violence escalates, Walt decides to put an end to it once and for all. Who's in it? The movie stars Clint Eastwood , Bee Vang , Ahney Her , Christopher Carley and Brian Haley. Review: While Gran Torino has been out for some time now, I never got around to watching the movie until last night, when it happened to come on and my wife and I had nothing better to do. The film was both a surprise and a good choice. Walt (Eastwood) was an intriguing character. You could tell there was a lot of...