Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: Matt Cordell was a decorated New York police officer who was sent to prison for police brutality. After being beaten and stabbed in a prison shower, Cordell is believed to be deceased. However, years later, he resurfaces and begins a killing spree while searching for those who framed him for his crime. While Det. Frank McCrae has figured out who the killer is, another police officer, Jack Forrest, has already been arrested and remains his superior's favorite suspect. Who's in it? The movie stars Tom Atkins , Bruce Campbell , Laurene Landon , William Smith and Robert Z'Dar . Review: Since my daughters had a sister date and saw A Minecraft Movie twice yesterday while I was at home taking care of my sick wife, I decided to find a film to watch too. I don't know what drew me to Maniac Cop when I came across it on Amazon Prime but decided to give it a try. It ended up being pretty much what I would expect from a 1980s B-movie. The overall premise of the film ...

 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: Roughly 12 years after being flushed down a toilet after being purchased at a Florida tourist trap, a pet alligator by the name of Ramone has grown to an enormous size in Chicago's sewers thanks to a laboratory conducting illegal hormone experiments on dogs and dumping their corpses into his feeding area. Believing the series of deaths are homicide related, detective David Madison searches for the killer only to not be believed when he discovers the truth. Who's in it? The movie stars Robert Forster , Robin Riker , Dean Jagger ,  Michael V. Gazzo and Henry Silva .     Review: Our youngest daughter was at theater rehearsal last night so; while waiting, my wife and I picked out a movie to watch. I came across Alligator on Peacock and since it had been forever since I last saw it, we chose it. Overall, I was happy with that decision. The movie did, at times, remind me a bit of Jaws . The premise was basically the same, with an enormous creature eating peo...

Synopsis: After a shoulder injury causes him to be cut from his team, professional football player Terry Brogan, desperate for money, accepts a job offer from club owner and criminal Jake Wise and travels to Mexico to locate Wise's ex-girlfriend, Jessie Wyler. Things become complicated when Brogan falls in love with Wyler and Wise learns of the love triangle. Who's in it? The movie stars Jeff Bridges , Rachel Ward , James Woods , Alex Karras and Jane Greer . Review: There was nothing on TV a couple days ago, so my wife and I wound up watching music videos from the 1980s. The Phil Collins' song Against All Odds came on and my wife, who had never seen the movie, suggested she'd like to see it. So, we did. Overall, it was good as I remembered. There were times when the movie feels a bit like an advertisement for traveling to Mexico and a couple parts that did seem a bit dragged out, especially toward the end. However, the film offers an interesting love story mixed in ...

Synopsis: In 1978, 12-year-old Florida resident David Freeman is sent to escort his 8-year-old brother, Jeff, home from a friend's house and ends up falling into a ravine. He climbs out a few hours later and discovers, while he hasn't aged, it is now 1986. He has no memory of the last 8 years, but a team of NASA scientists believe his mystery is somehow connected to an alien spacecraft that crashed at the same time he reappeared and convince David to let them study him. Only he doesn't stay on the base, he instead reconnects with the alien that abducted him for study 8 years earlier and is now looking for star chart information implanted in David's brain. Who's in it? The movie stars Joey Craemer , Paul Reubens (under the alias Paul Mall) , Cliff De Young , Veronica Cartwright and Sarah Jessica Parker. Review: My wife picked out some movie options for our family movie night and, since my daughter had some homework, and this film had a reasonable runtime, it ended...