Steven Helmer Publications

I debated going for a walk today, both because I knew the trails would be muddy after the rain we got and because of a pain in one of my hamstrings that likely is either from a pull or old age. Ultimately, I decided to go mostly because I realized the latter feels better if I move around and, as it turned out, it was a good day for photos too. The first discovery was the baby turtles that are finally hatching. I was able to get photos of two, including one with my cell phone for scale. The second discovery was the deer that is hiding out in the wooded area in the middle of the park. I figured there was one in there again because I heard something moving around last week but it finally made enough of an appearance for me to get some photos. I made sure to thank the deer for being ultra cooperative as I had to change positions multiple times to keep my camera from focusing solely on the trees and grass around it. Here are some of the photos: ______________________________________________...

Synopsis: While working as a page at a Hollywood radio station, Frankie Ryan aspires to be an on-air comedian with his friend, Jeff Jefferson while also doing his best to convince producer Bob Farrell to give a singing audition to the beautiful Anne Mason, who works at the radio station receptionist desk. He soon finds himself caught up in a mystery when the station's top talent, Rita Wilson, is murdered during a rehearsal and a singing cowboy, Tex Barton, is later found killed.  The mystery takes a whole new urgency when the police arrest Anne for the crimes. Who's in it? The movie stars Frankie Darro , Mantan Moreland , Marjorie Reynolds, Tristram Coffin , Dick Elliott , Lorna Gray and Clyde Dilson. Review: I was recently introduced to actor Frankie Darro when watching another movie this week and was surprised when I realized he starred in Up in the Air , a movie that has been in my library for a couple months, but I just never got around to watching. After making that di...

Synopsis: Bellhop Buzzy O'Brien dreams of solving crimes like his father, a now-deceased police officer, and while he has had some success, family friend Det. Steve Lanahan doesn't like Buzzy's meddling, which he knows can put the young man in danger.  This comes to a head when a banker is murdered in Buzzy's hotel and Buzzy chooses to protect the police's top suspect, Kitty Monahan, because he doesn't believe someone with that last name could commit murder. Facing possible jail time for interfering in the investigation, Buzzy must figure out who the real killer is before Steve or the hotel detective, Fluger, catch and arrest him. Who's in it? The movie stars Frankie Darro , Dick Purcell , Mantan Moreland , Sheila Darcy and James Flavin. Review: While trying to decide if I wanted to watch vampire movie this morning or a fantasy film promising plenty of sword fighting, I happened to come across Irish Luck. Unable to decide between my first two choices, I e...

As I go through another re-watch of the series Psych , I find myself a bit amazed at the number of characters who were introduced, some with multiple-episode stories, only to be written off the show and never mentioned again.  My opinion about this is mixed. While some of the characters, like Freddie Prinze Jr.'s cameo as the alien-obsessed Dennis Gogolack made sense as a one-off, other characters, such as Shawn Spencer's ( James Roday Rodriguez ) long-time love interest, Abigail Lytar ( Rachel Leigh Cook ) seemed like they should have been around longer than they were. There is one character, however, that I find myself lumping into a different category - someone who both deserved a bit more time on the show but also in a different capacity. I am referring to Nestor Carbonell's Declan Rand, a character that I think would have made an awesome supervillain but was never given the opportunity. A quick recap for anyone who doesn't remember Declan. Introduced in the season...

Synopsis: Elderly and unliked goat farmer, Pete Jenkins, performs a Satanic ritual right before he dies and later returns as a younger version of himself, posing as his nephew, Nick Richards. Soon after, a dog attack leaves a local gas station owner, David Simpson, seriously disfigured and that is followed by a pair of mysterious deaths. Meanwhile, Richards seems to be endearing himself to Simpson's fiancée, Nell Lucas. Who's in it? The movie stars Ed Nelson , Jean Allison, Richard Crane , Edgar Buchanon and Spencer Carlisle. Review: I had woken up this morning intending to watch the 1927 silent film version of The Cat and the Canary.  However, it turned out to be a poor-quality copy, and I decided to call an audible after a few minutes. I had come across Devil's Partner a couple days ago, thought it looked interesting and decided to give it a try. It turned out to be an OK choice but not quite as good as I was hoping it would be. I think the best way to describe this fi...

Synopsis: After committing what they hope will be their last armed robbery on their way to a new life in Florida, Mickey and his girlfriend, Jules, run out of gas and break into a nearby home in the hopes of either stealing the car in the garage or gas. While searching the house, they come across a young girl chained in the basement and soon after encounter the home's owners, George and Gloria. When an attempt to rescue the girl, Sweetiepie fails because of the girl's surprising reluctance to leave, Mickey and Jules are taken captive by the other couple with little hope for escape and their lives likely in danger. Who's in it? The movie stars  Bill Skarsgård , Maika Monroe , Jeffrey Donovan, Kyra Sedgwick and Blake Baumgartner. Review: My wife and I had discussed going out tonight, but she has a potential modeling gig tomorrow (weather pending) and my bucket-list archaeology dig earlier today took a bit more out of me than expected. So, as usually happens, we found a mov...