Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: Frustrated by her English homework, Judy dreams of abolishing the alphabet with the help of the Mad Hatter and the Jabberwock. However, Dr. Linguistics changes her mind. Who's in it? The movie stars Cheryl Callaway , Hans Conried , Frank Baxter , Cactus Mack and Daws Butler. Review: I came across this short movie last night while waiting for my wife and daughter to get back from martial arts classes. Since I had dinner already prepped, I decided to give it a try and it ended up being surprisingly good. I won't lie, parts of this movie are about as dated as you would expect, especially when referencing "primitive" cultures. There are also some scenes, like the one with the dancing letters, that seem a bit drug induced. However, there was also a lot to like about this film. I think the thing that impressed me was how the movie gives a fairly sound (albeit maybe missing more modern interpretations) explanation of language, including how it started, how huma...

Synopsis: After having their wedding disrupted by a torch-bearing mob, Gomez and Morticia Addams move to New Jersey and make their home in an abandoned insane asylum, where they eventually raise a family. Thirteen years later, they face a new threat, a reality show host who sees the Addams home as a blight on her newly-remodeled perfect community and is willing to take extreme measures to protect her investment. Who's in it? The animated movie uses voices from Oscar Isaac , Charlize Theron , Chloe Grace Moretz , Finn Wolfhard and Bette Midler . Review: When I first saw a trailer for this movie a few months ago, I thought it looked kind of dumb. However, the 1991 movie was a pleasant surprise and its sequel wasn't as bad as I thought it would be so, ultimately, I decided to give this animated film the benefit of the doubt and add it to my Netflix DVD queue. We watched the movie as a family last night and, as it turns out, I was right the first time. This was actually kind o...

Synopsis: A disinterested piano student and a plumber try to stop piano instructor, Dr. Terwilliker from opening a new institute and enslaving 500 piano students. Who's in it? The movie stars Peter Lind Hayes, Mary Healy , Hans Conried and Tommy Rettig Review: I did not know the legendary Dr. Seuss once wrote a live-action movie but, once I learned that, I was definitely intrigued enough to watch it. So, when my youngest daughter wanted a family  movie night this weekend, it's the film I picked. After seeing it, I can understand why Dr. Seuss didn't make more. To tell you the truth, this movie wasn't the worst I've seen or even one of the worst. In fact, I think there were some good things going for it. For one, I did like the main plot, involving a piano student (Rettig) trying to stop his evil piano teacher (Conried) from enslaving other piano students. Adding to this was the way the movie made it seem like nobody was on his side. His mom (Healy) wa...

Synopsis: After once again foiling the Joker and Gotham City's other villains, Batman uses his fame and glory to overcome the loneliness he feels because he has chosen to isolate himself from the rest of the world. However, when a new police commissioner takes over and the Joker and the other villains surprise everyone by surrendering, it flips his life upside down. To make matters worse, his alter ego, Bruce Wayne, accidentally adopts an orphan. Who's in it? The animated movie uses voices from Will Arnett , Zach Galifianakis , Rosario Dawson , Michael Cera and Ralph Fiennes . Review: My wife, oldest daughter and I saw the trailer for this movie a few weeks ago and, even though it is a film we normally wouldn't make an effort to watch, we thought it looked interesting enough to add it to our Netflix list. We received it on DVD this past weekend and ended up watching it for our family movie night on Saturday. While it (predictably) wasn't as good as the prev...

Synopsis: Even though she is forbidden to do so, Zarina, a pixie dust keeper fairy, conducts secret experiments to learn more about the pixie dust and what it can do. When one of her experiments causes an accident, Zarina flees Pixie Hollow. A year later, she returns, as a pirate, and steals the blue pixie dust that is essential for fairies to fly. It is up to Tinker Bell and her friends to retrieve the dust and, if possible, convince Zarina to return home. Who's in it? The animated movie uses voices from Mae Whitman , Christina Hendricks , Tom Hiddleston , Lucy Liu and Jim Cummings . Review : My youngest daughter wanted to have a family movie night so, after turning her down a couple times this week (due mostly to not really having the time), we ended up having one last night. I let her and her older sister pick out the movie as long as it was one none of us had seen yet. This film happened to be on Netflix and ended up being the one we watched. While this isn't the...