Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: After being released from prison, conman Gabriel Caine and his partner, Fitz, travel to Diggstown, a town named after is most famous resident, boxer Charles Malcum Diggs. The town is run by Diggs' former manager, Charles Gillon, who secretly drugged his fighter to fix a fight and scam the residents out of their property, leaving Diggs in a vegetable-like state.  Caine gets Gillon to accept a wager, any 10 county residents versus 48-year-old retired boxer 'Honey' Roy Palmer. At first, it is just about the money but soon turns personal. Who's in it? The movie stars James Woods , Louis Gossett Jr., Oliver Platt, Heather Graham and Bruce Dern. Review: I remember watching Diggstown when I was a teenager but really didn't remember a whole lot about the movie, including what it was about. So, when I came across the film again, I decided to add it to my library and wound up watching it this morning.  I would now classify the movie as a forgotten favorite. The...

Synopsis: When his home planet of Eternia is attacked by an army led by the skull-faced villain, Skeletor, Prince Adam is tasked with protecting the Sword of Power and sent through a portal that takes him to the planet Earth. Fifteen years later, Adam is working in a human resources department while searching for the sword, which he lost along the way. When he finally finds it, he returns to his home planet with the help of his childhood friend, Teela and discovers the sword can turn him into a mighty warrior. However, that might not be enough to beat Skeletor. Who's in it? The movie stars  Nicholas Galitzine , Camila Mendes , Idris Elba , Jared Leto and Alison Brie. Review: While I know there are those who don't share this opinion, I think the 1987 version of Masters of the Universe isn't as bad as people say it is. Despite that, when I saw they were once again attempting to make a live-action version of the cartoon I grew up with, I was admittedly skeptical. However, ...

After having rain, or at least the chance of rain the past couple days, the weather finally cooperated enough for me to get back out with my camera at lunch. Between the overcast sky and visible humidity, I did have a few challenges with the photos being a bit darker than my editing skills could overcome. However, there were a few unique things this time around as well, offsetting that a bit. Here are some of the photos: I've taken quite a few green heron photos this year, but what can I say? They are very cooperative. I was a bit surprised this grey heron hung around the whole time I was walking to a spot I could get a clear photo of it. They are usually very skittish, and I fully expected it to let out a loud squawk and fly away. It was in the same spot when I got back to my car. I would have liked to have gotten a better photo of this hawk since I was standing quite some distance away when I took it. However, it flew off before I could get closer.  If you look closely at its leg...

Here are my thoughts from the Green Bay Packers 28-9 preseason loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers last night: I am cautiously optimistic about kicker Trey Smack. I think you can forgive me for having a healthy dose of skepticism after they traded up to draft him in April, especially after the high turnover at that position since letting Mason Crosby walk following the 2022 season. However, so far, so good. Yes, it was just one game, and a preseason contest at that, but Smack was on the road in Pittsburgh and went 4-for-4 (with one being negated because of a penalty), including two from 58 yards. That's something he can hopefully build upon. It was hard to get a good read on the starting offense. Jordan Love and the rest of the starters have a history of getting off to a slow start and their lone drive in the game, which ended with a field goal, was restarted because of a penalty, and then ended with a field goal again, didn't do anything to change that narrative. However, since it...

Synopsis: The device transports Stuart ( Kevin Sussman ) to a mental hospital where his psychiatrist, Amy Fowler ( Mayim Bialik ) works to convince him the alternate universes were just inside his head. He is cured and returned to Denise ( Lauren Lapkus ) and their two kids. However, while he seems to have a happy life, there are clues warning him it isn't real. My Thoughts: This was, by far, the weirdest episode yet but I liked it. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I love a good mystery, and this episode had multiple. There was the mystery about where he was, the mystery about who was trying to warn him and the mystery about why his friends seemed to be accepting their perfect reality without question. The last one is never given an answer, other than maybe Stuart is immune because of his connection with the device. The episode seemed to be setting up a larger storyline. The universe inside another universe twist was an intriguing one. It might just be a one-of...

As someone who loves classic movies and classic television, it shouldn't be a surprise to learn I've seen every episode of Gilligan's Island at least a couple dozen times and the made-for-TV movies based on the series at least a half dozen. While I will stop short of saying I can recite the episodes word-from-word, I can recall most details from those episodes without seeing them. Anyone who knows the show also knows it was cancelled after just three seasons and less than 100 episodes, forcing it to rely on the movies, which were made more than a decade later, to bring closure. That may or may not be the reason the series/movies left quite a few unanswered questions. Here are five that have always nagged at me: Was Ginger ( Tina Louise ) psychic? I am asking this question based solely on the episode "Ship Ahoax" which features Ginger pretending to be a psychic at the Professor's ( Russell Johnson ) request to fend off island madness only to have her prediction...