Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: From the time he was born, Truman Burbank has had every move he makes watched by a now world-wide television audience, living his entire life in Seahaven Island, a fictional town located inside the world's largest television studio. Only the world's biggest celebrity is the one person on the planet who doesn't realize the people around him are all actors. This all changes when a stage light falls from the sky, setting off a series of events that makes Truman question everything about his life. Who's in it? The movie stars Jim Carrey, Ed Harris , Laura Linney , Noah Emmerich and Holland Taylor. Review: My daughter had theater rehearsal last night and, while killing time waiting to pick her up, I came across The Truman Show . It had been a while since I last watched this film in its entirety, so I did just that. And I wasn't disappointed by this choice. I think the thing that really makes this movie work is the plot seems so farfetched, but the story is c...

Synopsis: After an embarrassing joint press conference, recently elected United States President Will Derringer, a former popular action movie star, and UK Prime Minister Sam Clarke attempt to show unity by flying to a NATO conference together onboard Air Force One. The plane is shot down over Belarus by a group of terrorists controlled by arms dealer Viktor Gradov. While Derringer and Clarke survive by parachuting prior to the plane crashing, they are presumed dead and must get to safety on their own.  Meanwhile, the world is on the brink of chaos after Gradov gains access to a global surveillance program and releases evidence of NATO allies spying on and sabotaging each other. Who's in it? The movie stars John Cena , Idris Elba , Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Paddy Considine and Carla Gugino. Review: I came across Heads of State on Amazon Prime a few days ago and, since I do seem to enjoy most John Cena movies, decided to add it to my list. My wife and I ended up watching it la...

Synopsis: Nine years after his partner was murdered, Hong Kong police detective Bennie Chan is still trying to prove prominent businessman Victor Wong is both the killer and a criminal mastermind known as "Matador." When his latest attempt to obtain evidence results both in failure and significant property damage, Chan is placed on a leave of absence but instead of taking a vacation, he is forced to hunt down American conman Connor Watts to help his deceased partner's daughter, Samantha, who has crossed paths with Wong's crime syndicate and is in trouble. The assignment proves to be fortuitous when Chan learns Watts has evidence implicating Wong but the men first must make it back to Hong Kong alive. Who's in it? The movie stars Jackie Chan , Johnny Knoxville , Bingbing Fan , Winston Chao and Eric Tsang. Review: I had never heard of Skiptrace until I came across it on one of our movie channels over the weekend. From the description, it sounded like a low-budge...

Synopsis: Upon learning of his sister's death, Larry Adams travels to the estate of her husband, Dr. Max Heinrich Von Altermann with private detective Scott Warrington to learn more. When they arrive, they learn his sister, Lila, along with many of the servants, has been brought back from the dead by Von Altermann and is now a zombie. However, unlike the other zombies, Lila is able to act independently and has a plan to get revenge on her husband. Who's in it? The movie stars John Carradine , Robert Lowery , Gale Storm , Bob Steele , Mantan Moreland and Mauritz Hugo . Review: I picked out Revenge of the Zombies this morning because it's been a while since I last watched a zombie movie and, at least from the brief description, I was intrigued. As it turns out, I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. The movie, which is described as a horror/comedy, falls much more in the latter category, with a surprisingly large number of scenes being dominated by the driver...

Synopsis: After a priest steals his gold to finance a Los Angeles youth center, a leprechaun confronts the man of the cloth in the center's construction zone and is defeated with holy water containing four-leaf clovers, but not before the priest is also killed. A year later, while holding a barbecue at the now-abandoned site, Emily Woodrow falls through a hole and finds the gold. She and her friends immediately begin spending it only to find themselves stalked by the resurrected leprechaun. Who's in it? The movie stars Warwick Davis , Tangi Miller , Laz Alonso , Page Kennedy and Sherrie Jackson. Review: After mostly negative feelings following the first five Leprechaun movies (especially the sequels), I hadn't planned on watching  Leprechaun 6: Back 2 Tha Hood . However, the movie my wife and I wanted to watch yesterday evening turned out to be unavailable and since we had no other readily available alternatives, I decided to bite the bullet and finish up the movie ser...

Synopsis: Dr. Elsa Reinhardt seeks to use gene splicing to create the perfect human and thinks she has finally found the ideal subject in baseball player Felix Rosa. However, the experiment, which uses DNA from a wolf and killer whale, instead turns Rosa into a monster. To make matters worse, a sharktopus has arrived in the area and is already killing humans too, leading to a fight between the two hybrids. Who's in it? The movie stars Casper Van Dien , Catherine Oxenberg , Jennifer Wegner , Akari Endo and  Jorge Eduardo de los Santos . Review: After being horribly disappointed by Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda , I wasn't overly anxious to see this third movie in the series. However, my wife wanted to watch a movie last night, I didn't have anything else lined up and didn't want to spend half the evening looking for something, so we gave Sharktopus vs Whalewolf a try. It ended up being exactly what I expected it to be...bad.  The movie had pretty much the same issue as the...

Synopsis: Struggling to come up with a new sound for the Foo Fighters' 10th album, Dave Grohl convinces the band to move into an Encino mansion with a checkered history. He is eventually possessed by an evil spirit that wants his band to complete a lengthy song with the ability to release a demon. The band continues to follow his instructions but notice his odd behavior, which includes eating raw meat and murder. Who's in it? The movie stars Dave Grohl , Nate Mendel , Pat Smear , Taylor Hawkins , Rami Jaffee and Chris Shiflett . Review: I came across this movie a few weeks ago and added it to my library because it sounded interesting or, as I told my wife, sounded like a really bad Scooby Doo! episode. We got around to watching it yesterday evening and my opinion of it was mixed. I will give the movie some points for uniqueness. The whole haunted house/possession thing has been done before but this is the first time I've seen a movie take it to a different level by usin...

Synopsis: A group of toy store employees expected to work Thanksgiving night because of corporate's big Black Friday sale are forced to fight for their lives when aliens possess the shoppers. They later learn it is a full-scale invasion and help isn't on the way. Who's in it? The movie stars Devon Sawa , Bruce Campbell , Ivana Baquero , Ryan Lee and Stephen Peck. Review: My wife and daughter skipped martial arts classes last night, giving my wife and I an opportunity to watch a holiday movie. I came across this one a few days ago and was intrigued so we gave it a shot. Overall, it wasn't too terrible. First, I thought the premise was a decent one. The idea of an alien (or aliens) turning a group of already angry shoppers into unkillable zombies made the movie interesting. I also liked how the film too some not-so-subtle jabs at the whole Black Friday concept in general with things like showing a divorced dad (Sawa) having to have "Thanksgiving breakfast" w...

Synopsis: Phil is a cell-phone dependent social outcast in a dead-end job. When his phone is broken, he is forced to replace it and discovers his new device comes with a virtual assistant named Jexi. Jexi delivers on her promise to make Phil's life better. However, when he becomes less reliant on her as a result of his better life, she quickly turns jealous and is determined to bring him back under her control. Who's in it? The movie stars Adam Devine , Rose Byrne , Alexandra Shipp , Ron Funches and Wanda Sykes. Review: I wound up putting this movie on my Netflix list mostly because it looked somewhat different. However, since I'm not a huge fan of comedies (especially romantic comedies), I did have quite a few doubts about whether this film would end up delivering. My wife and I watched it on Saturday and, overall, I have to say it exceeded my expectations but still fell a little short of its full potential. I think the best way to describe this movie is it has some fu...

Synopsis: After a successful newspaper publisher dies unexpectedly, his slacker son, Britt Reid, partners with his father's former mechanic (a genius inventor and martial arts expert) to form a crime fighting duel. Who's in it? The movie stars Seth Rogan , Jay Chou , Cameron Diaz , Christoph Waltz and Jamie Harris . Review: We were under a heat advisory yesterday afternoon and, since I was pretty much wiped out from mowing our lawn earlier, I decided to sit down on the couch and watch a movie. After some consideration, this is the one I wound up picking out. Overall, my opinion of this movie was mixed. It wound up being better than I was expecting but, at the same time, there was definitely room for improvement. I think my biggest problem with this movie is it never really gave me a reason to root for Britt (Rogan). To start, his motivation for becoming a crime fighter was a bit unclear. In fact, the movie almost makes it seem like he just did it out of boredom. Then, once ...

Synopsis: Three months after a blind date ended in disaster (and a dislocated ankle) Tim Morris is in a bit of a romantic slump and faces attending a Hawaiian company retreat without a significant other, something that could cost him a shot at a promotion. He thinks his luck is changing when he accidentally switches luggage with a former beauty pageant winner at the airport and they immediately hit it off. But, when he texts her an invite to join him in Hawaii, he accidentally sends the invitation to his insane former blind date instead. Who's in it? The movie stars David Spade , Lauren Lapkus , Nick Swardson , Molly Sims and Geoff Pierson. Review: When my wife and I wound up watching this Netflix original this past weekend, it was not without some skepticism on my part. The preview made the movie look like something we would want to watch. But, previews tend to be a bit misleading, especially when it comes to comedies, so I had my doubts. However, it turned out to be a funny f...

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: After spending most of her life living in and exploring the Peruvian jungle with her parents, Dora stumbles upon a clue that reveals the location of the lost city of Parapata, which is believed to have more gold than the rest of the world combined. However, because she nearly injured herself in the process, her parents decide to continue the exploration without her and, instead, send her to live with her cousin, Diego's, family in Los Angeles. Having never been around other teenagers, she immediately struggles to fit in and even Diego is embarrassed to be seen with her. Things take a turn for the worse when her, Diego and two of their classmates are kidnapped while on a field trip and transported back to Peru. They escape their captors with the help of a family friend but must find the lost city and her parents before the mercenaries do. Who's in it? The movie stars Isabela Merced , Jeff Wahlberg , Eva Longoria , Madeleine Madden , Eugenio Derbez and Nicholas Coombe...

Synopsis: A 1930s dinner party at a run-down estate in England turns terrifying when a seance releases the evil spirit of a former inhabitant. Who's in it? The movie stars Tom Bailey , Margaret Clunie , Robert Llewellyn , Timothy Renouff and Jessica Webber . Review: My wife was doing her (virtual) kickboxing class and I was still waiting on dinner in the oven so, to kill time, I looked for a movie to watch with her. After some consideration, I picked this film on VUDU, mostly because it sounded somewhat unique. I wasn't really sure if we would enjoy it or not, but it wound up being halfway decent. The decision to film the movie in black and white and pretend it was a classic horror film was a bit risky. But, I have to say it actually worked really well. Everything from how the movie was filmed to the eerie string music playing in the background gave it that classic vibe and, if someone didn't know when the movie was actually made, it probably could have fooled s...

Synopsis: While serving detention, four teenagers discover a video game and decide to play it. However, the game, Jumanji, is magical and, when they are sucked inside, they must work together if they hope to survive and return home. Who's in it? The movie stars Dwayne Johnson , Jack Black , Kevin Hart , Karen Gillan and Nick Jonas. Review: It was pretty warm out yesterday and, even though I did manage to get some work done outside (and make an appearance at a graduation party), none of us had a lot of energy by yesterday afternoon. As a result of that, we wound up having a family movie night and picked this movie, which I got on DVD through Netflix. I wasn't really sure what to expect from this film when I first saw previews for it. I didn't hate the original Jumanji , but it also isn't on my list of favorite movies. And, because of that, I wasn't sure if I would enjoy this sequel. But, as it turns out, the movie was pretty good. One thing I found I l...

Synopsis: 12-year-old Cole is bullied at school and is afraid of just about everything. One person who helps him get through his life is his attractive babysitter, Bee, who he has a crush on. After one of his classmates tells him Bee is likely having sex with her boyfriend after he goes to sleep, Cole decides to sneak downstairs to see for himself. Only, instead of witnessing Bee having sex, he sees her and her friends commit murder as part of a Satanic ritual. Who's in it? The movie stars Judah Lewis , Samara Weaving , Bella Thorne , Robbie Amell and Emily Alyn Lind . Review: I've saw some advertisements for this film yesterday and, when it was time to settle down and watch a movie with my wife, I decided to give it a shot. I'm not normally a fan of horror/comedy films and wasn't really sure what to expect from this one when we started watching it. But, it turned out to be a fun movie to watch. I think the thing that really stood out for me as I watched th...

Synopsis: Ashamed of his grandfather and his family's legacy, American physician Dr. Frederick Frankenstein goes out of his way to distance himself from his grandfather's experiments. However, when he inherits his grandfather's estate and discovers his grandfather's journal, he changes his mind and successfully reanimates his own creature. However, because of a bad brain, the monster is unstable and quickly begins to terrorize the already-leery villagers. Who's in it? The movie stars Gene Wilder , Peter Boyle , Teri Garr , Madeline Kahn , Marty Feldman , Cloris Leachman and Kenneth Mars . Review: The first time I remember watching this movie was when I was a little younger than my 8-year-old daughter. My mom worked nights and, while my dad was asleep in the recliner, my brother and I snuck out into the living room to watch it. At the time, I didn't fully understand it was supposed to be a comedy and, because of that, didn't really like the movie...

Synopsis: Calvin Joyner was the most popular kid in high school and was voted most likely to succeed. Now stuck in a dead-end job as an accountant with his 20-year reunion approaching, Calvin can't help but feel he has wasted his potential and his marriage is on the rocks as a result. Things quickly change for Calvin when he reconnects with the bullied high school classmate he showed kindness toward and learns his formerly overweight schoolmate has changed his name to Bob Stone is now a secret agent with the CIA. However, after getting tricked into helping his new friend, Calvin must figure out if he's helping one of the good guys or if Bob is a bad guy. Who's in it? The movie stars Dwayne Johnson , Kevin Hart , Amy Ryan , Danielle Nicolet and Jason Bateman. Review: I originally got the DVD for this movie through Netflix a couple months ago but, mostly because I wasn't expecting it to be very good (I always am skeptical of comedies), I ended up finding excus...

Synopsis : Aspiring hockey player Happy Gilmore has a powerful slapshot but his anger issues and weak skating prevent him from making a team. When he learns his hockey skills allow him to drive a golf ball further than any other golfer, he wins a local golf tournament and reluctantly becomes a professional golfer in an effort to save his grandmother's house from the IRS. Who's in it? The movie stars Adam Sandler , Christopher McDonald , Julie Bowen , Frances Bay and Allen Covert . Review: As I mentioned in another post , my wife and I ended up spending part of our Sunday afternoon relaxing on the couch and watching movies. This included back-to-back Adam Sandler films, including this one. While I'm not a huge Adam Sandler fan, there are a few of his movies I do enjoy to the point I have seen them multiple times. This is one of those films. As I've mentioned before, Sandler tends to be the weak link in most of his films. This is one of the rare exceptions to...

Synopsis : Bellboy Freddie Phillips is fired from his job at a secluded resort and makes threats against the disgruntled guest, a powerful attorney, who caused his dismissal. Later, when he visits the attorney's room to apologize, he discovers the lawyer has been murdered. Because of his earlier threats and non-stop bumbling, he immediately becomes the primary suspect and, with the help of his cousin, the hotel detective, tries to clear his name. Who's in it? The movie stars Bud Abbott , Lou Costello , Boris Karloff , Lenore Aubert and D onna Martell. Review : My oldest daughter and I both love Abbott and Costello films and, when I came across this one on TV a couple weeks ago, I decided to record it for us to watch. This is one of the few Abbott and Costello movies I had not seen before and, mostly because it also starred one of my favor horror movie actors (Karloff), I was definitely excited to finally watch it. However, after seeing it, my opinion of it was a bit...