Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: Shepherd George Hardy is a loner who treats his sheep like his family, making sure to give them all names and taking the time to read them murder mysteries every evening. When George is murdered and his lawyer reveals he was a millionaire, his smartest sheep, Lily, becomes determined to find his killer and later learns she and the rest of her flock are also in danger. Who's in it? The movie stars Hugh Jackman , Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Patrick Stewart , Tobin Cole, Nicholas Braun and Molly Gordon. Review: Since it was Mother's Day weekend, I decided to have some family time last night and because it was less expensive than going out to dinner, took them to the movie theater. Since it was the only film we hadn't seen that looked reasonably interesting, we saw The Sheep Detectives . It ended up being a great choice. I'll start out with a word of caution for parents of young kids - pay attention to the PG rating. While I would still describe this as a family film...

Synopsis: The greedy Silas Barnaby wants to marry the beautiful Bo-Peep and when she rejects his proposal and instead decides to marry Tom-Tom, the Pied Piper, he threatens to evict her mother and her large family from the shoe they live in. Two boarders, Stannie and Ollie Dum offer to help by getting money from the toymaker they work for. However, their incompetence results in the pair being fired while other attempts to save the day end in disaster. The movie also goes by the title March of the Wooden Soldiers . Who's in it? The movie stars Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Charlotte Henry , Felix Knight, Virginia Karns and Henry Brandon . Review: As I search for new (and old) movies to watch, I am sometimes amazed with some of the inaccurate film descriptions that are out there. It's honestly as though the people who wrote them didn't bother watching the movie. In the case of Babes in Toyland , for example, the photo showed the 1986 Drew Barrymore movie, the description was ...

Synopsis: Bernard, a low-ranking stable elf, strives to be one of Santa's inventor elves. However, when his latest invention causes a power outage, revealing the location of the North Pole, an unscrupulous heir to a delivery company takes Santa Claus hostage and demands to know how he is able to deliver presents around the world in just one day. Bernard, hoping to save Santa, uses the sleigh to travel back in time in an effort to correct his Christmas-altering mistake. Who's in it?  The animated film uses voices from Tim Curry , Ashley Tisdale, Martin Freeman, Tim Conway and Joan Collins. Review: I am still trying to get into the Christmas spirit with the holiday a couple weeks away and once again decided to watch a Christmas movie for my morning movie. It had been more than a decade since I last saw Saving Santa with my kids, so I gave it a try. It was as entertaining as I remembered. One of my biggest concerns about this film and animated films in general is it would turn ...

Synopsis: Ernest P. Worrell loses his job as a taxi driver after giving Santa Claus a free ride. However, he doesn't have time to fret over it because he has a much more important job, helping Santa convince a former children's show star to take over as his replacement. Things become more complicated when a teenage runaway steals Santa's bag of toys on Christmas Eve. Who's in it?  The movie stars Jim Varney, Douglas Seale, Oliver Clark, Noelle Parker and Billie Bird . You can read my review here:  Movie Review: Ernest Saves Christmas (1988) ______________________________________________________________________ Here are some reviews of other Christmas movies: Movie Review: A Christmas Melody (2015) Movie Review: A Christmas Carol (1938) Movie Review: A Kiss Before Christmas (2021) Movie Review: In Merry Measure (2022)

Synopsis: In an effort to calm her scared children, a mother squirrel decides to tell the story of a little mouse who travels through the woods in search of something to eat. When the mouse encounters three different predators, a fox, an owl and a snake, he avoids being eaten by scaring them with his description of the fictional Gruffalo. There's just one problem, the Gruffalo is real, and his favorite food is mouse. Who's in it?  The animated movie uses voices from Helena Bonham Carter , John Hurt , James Corden , Robbie Coltrane and Tom Wilkinson . You can read my review here:  Movie Review: The Gruffalo (2009)

Synopsis: After a mission to recover an industrial control systems device from a group of terrorists goes wrong and their cover is exposed, CIA agents Matt and Emily, who are expecting a baby together, decide to let people think they died in a plane crash and go off the grid. Fifteen years later, they are married and living a quiet life in the suburbs with two kids, Alice and Leo. However, an incident involving their rebellious 14-year-old daughter results in their identities being exposed, putting their family in danger as multiple groups, believing they still have the ICS device in their possession, seek to take it from them. Who's in it? The movie stars Jamie Foxx , Cameron Diaz , McKenna Roberts , Rylan Jackson and Glenn Close. Review: The snow this weekend kept my wife and I home for most of the day yesterday and as a result of that, we wound up watching movies together. The first one, which she picked out, was dull to the point I stopped paying attention and couldn't ...

Synopsis: A year after helping Marlin cross the ocean in search of Nemo, the forgetful Dory remembers she herself was separated from her parents as a child and was in search of them before meeting her new friends. With Marlin and Nemo's help, she once again crosses the ocean, to California, in search of them. Who's in it?  The animated movie stars Ellen DeGeneres , Albert Brooks , Ed O'Neill , Kaitlin Olson , Allison Janney , Eugene Levy and Diane Keaton . You can read my review here:  Movie Review: Finding Dory (2016) (wizzley.com)

Synopsis:  Two brothers, Mario and Luigi, are trying to start their own plumbing business despite everyone, including their father, telling them it is a mistake. While attempting to prove themselves by fixing a Brooklyn plumbing disaster, they are pulled into a mysterious pipe and are separated. Mario lands in the Mushroom Kingdom, ruled by Princess Peach and in danger of being conquered by the evil Bowser, who also has Luigi as a prisoner. Mario wants to help the princess stop Bowser so he can be reunited with his brother but finds his small size and lack of fighting skills are an obstacle. Who's in it? The animated movie uses voices from Chris Pratt , Jack Black ,  Anya Taylor-Joy ,  Keegan-Michael Key and Seth Rogan. Review: My wife and I thought about taking our kids to see this film when it was at the theaters but wound up doing something else instead. We finally had an opportunity to watch it as a family last night and, after seeing it, I'm kind of glad we didn't ...

Synopsis: Struggling performer Hector Valentini thinks he finally found his big break when he discovers Lyle, a crocodile who can dance and sing. However, Lyle's crippling stage fright causes Hector to lose his house and leave Lyle behind as he hides from creditors. When a new family moves in, Lyle befriends the son, Josh, and later the parents, changing all their lives for the better. However, their unfriendly neighbor is determined to get them evicted. Who's in it? The movie stars Winslow Fegley , Shawn Mendes , Constance Wu , Scoot McNairy and Brett Gelman . Review: None of us has ever read the children's book Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile and weren't really sure what to expect from this film when we first saw advertisements for it while it was at theaters. It was family movie night last night and, since it is now available on Netflix, we decided to give it a try. It ended up being better than expected. As far as family movies go, this film has a great message about over...

Synopsis: Shortly after moving to Madison, Delaware with his widowed mother, teenager Zach befriends his next-door neighbor, Hannah despite the unfriendliness of her father. After hearing Hannah scream, believing something bad happened to her and getting no help from the inept police department, Zach breaks into her house with one of his classmates, Champ, and inadvertently learns her father is author R. L Stine when he accidentally releases the monsters Stine had trapped in manuscripts of his books. Who's in it? The movie stars Jack Black , Dylan Minnette , Odeya Rush , Ryan Lee , Halston Sage and Amy Ryan . Review: As someone who never read the Goosebumps books when I was younger (they didn't even come out until I was in high school), I wasn't overly enthusiastic about seeing this movie when it first came out. However, my youngest daughter is going to be auditioning for a play based on one of the episodes from the series based on the books and, since I couldn't fi...

Synopsis: After finally being caught by the police, a gang of animal criminals tries to avoid prison by pretending to reform their ways. There's just one problem, their leader, Wolf, really does want to change. This leads to a rift between the friends when they are framed for stealing a famous meteorite. Who's in it? The animated movie uses voices from  Sam Rockwell ,  Marc Maron ,  Awkwafina , C raig Robinson and  Zazie Beetz . Review: I came across this film on Netflix a couple days ago and since I knew it was something my daughter wanted to see, saved it for our family movie night last night. Overall, it ended up being an OK movie but not one of my favorite animated films. I thought the premise of the film was decent albeit a little predictable. The idea of certain animals being judged by what they are is something that has been done before (Zootopia comes to mind) but it still worked, especially when you look at this as purely a movie meant for younger k...

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...

Synopsis: As part of Hotel Transylvania's 125th anniversary celebration, Dracula plans to announce his retirement and give the hotel to Mavis and Jonathan. However, Jonathan's overreaction to the news causes Dracula to have second thoughts and when he lies about the reason, claiming he can't leave the hotel to a non-monster, Jonathan gets help from Van Helsing to turn himself into one. This backfires when Dracula and his friends are accidentally turned human and the only way to reverse it is with a trip to the jungles of South America for a special crystal. Who's in it? The animated movie uses the voices of Andy Samberg , Selena Gomez , David Spade , Keegan-Michael Key and Brian Hull . Review: It was our family movie night and, since I came across this film on Amazon Prime a few days ago, decided to watch it. I wasn't too huge of a fan of the other Hotel Transylvania sequels and had quite a few doubts about this choice. However, it did turn out to be better than...

Synopsis: An already friendless Barney feels even more alone when he is the only kid at his middle school without a new B-bot, a robotic "buddy" created by the tech company Bubble that keeps the kids connected via social media. His dad buys him one that fell off the back of a truck but the unregistered B-bot, Ron, is unable to connect to Bubble's database and doesn't function properly as a result. While Barney tries to teach the robot how to be his friend, Bubble learns about Ron and tries to reclaim it so it can be destroyed. Who's in it? The animated movie uses voices from  Jack Dylan Grazer ,  Zach Galifianakis , Ed Helms , Olivia Colman and Rob Delaney . Review: I had honestly never even heard of this movie until my 13-year-old daughter convinced my wife to rent it from Redbox earlier today. I had some doubts when we watched it while eating lunch, but it turned out to be an entertaining movie. I think the thing I liked best about this movie is it wasn'...

Synopsis: In 1976, an 11-year-old Gru aspires to be a supervillain and thinks his dreams are about to come true when he receives an invite to interview for a position with the Vicious 6 crime team. When the team's leader, Bell Bottom, insults him, Gru tries to prove his worthiness by stealing a mystical stone from the group and, instead, finds his life in danger from both the Vicious 6 and their ex-leader Wild Knuckles and it is up to the Minions to save the day. Who's in it? The animated movie uses voices from Steve Carrell , Danny Trejo , Alan Arkin , Dolph Lundgren and Jean-Claude Van Damme . Review: My entire family is fans of the Minions/Despicable Me movies but, by the time I heard about this film, I had serious doubts about the quality. After all, even the best franchises grow stale after awhile.  That's why I didn't bother paying money to see this at the theater but did take advantage of being able to see it on Peacock. We did that last night and it turned ...

Synopsis: Emily Elizabeth Howard is bullied and friendless after moving to Manhattan with her mom and attending an elite private school on a scholarship. To make matters worse, her mom needs to go out of town on business for a few days and Emily Elizabeth must spend that time with her incompetent uncle, Casey. She finally finds some happiness when a tiny red puppy she meets at a mysterious animal rescue tent sneaks into her backpack. However, when the puppy, Clifford, grows gigantic overnight, it causes a number of problems ranging from being evicted to being the subject of a city-wide manhunt because the owner of a biotechnology company claims Clifford belongs to him. Who's in it? The movie stars Darby Camp , Jack Whitehall , John Cleese , Izaac Wang , Tony Hale and David Alan Grier . Review: My mother-in-law recommended this movie, so my wife checked it out when she was at the library a couple days ago. We ended up having family movie time yesterday evening and, to my surpris...

Synopsis : Vanessa Hall never knew her father so, when an ancestry DNA test allows her to meet him for the first time, she is thrilled, especially when he invites her to spend Christmas with him and the rest of her new family. As an added bonus, she sees romantic potential in a family friend. There's just one thing that threatens to screw everything up, a phone call from the DNA company telling her they made a mistake. Who's in it? The movie stars Aimee Teegarden , Andrew W. Walker , James Tupper , G eorgia Mae Orchard and Kendall Cross . Review: I'll be honest, by the time my wife and I started watching this movie, I was starting to get a little burned out on Hallmark Christmas films and gave consideration to finding something else to do. I did end up watching it, however, and am glad I did. This turned out to be a surprisingly entertaining movie, with a good mix of laughs and even tears (my wife had to get some tissues about midway through it). Overall, I feel I enjoye...

Synopsis: Orphaned by her parents, Ella is forced to tend to her stepmother and two stepsisters. Her dream is to sell the dresses she makes but the traditional views of her kingdom prevent her from doing so. When the prince falls in love with her and invites her to a royal ball, Ella is given the opportunity to pursue her dream but, when she falls in love with the prince, must choose between that dream and becoming his wife. Who's in it? The movie stars Camila Cabello , Billy Porter , Nicholas Galitzine , Idina Menzel and Tallulah Greive. Review: My oldest daughter's skating coach recommended watching this movie so, since it had been a while since we had a family movie night, we wound up watching it last night. At first, I wasn't really sure what to expect from yet another Cinderella remake but, overall, I do have to say I enjoyed this film. Generally speaking, the main plot of Cinderella (girl gets dressed up to meet boy) is enough to fill maybe 40 minutes of screen time...

Synopsis: Superintendent Jake Carson, the commanding officer of a group of smoke jumpers, hopes to honor his deceased father by becoming division commander. When a news helicopter records him rescuing three children from a burning cabin, that promotion seems to be in the bag. However, he and his crew must first take care of the trouble-making kids for a weekend. Who's in it? The movie stars John Cena , Keegan-Michael Key , John Leguizamo , Brianna Hildebrand , and Tyler Mane . Review: My wife wanted to see this movie after coming across the trailer for it some time ago and, since we had time to watch a film last night, I decided to watch it with her. It ended up being a cute albeit somewhat predictable choice. I still prefer John Cena in action movies rather than  comedies but did think he did an OK job as Jake Carson by bringing just the right amount of serious tough guy to the character while still mixing in a bit of comedy as well. The character I liked most, however, was Axe...

Synopsis: With hundreds of cases solved, Mystery, Inc thinks it's time to solve mysteries professionally. However, the only way they can get financial backing is if the "weakest links," Shaggy and Scooby, are no longer part of the team. Disappointed, the two friends go bowling and, when they are attacked by an army of robots, end up helping the Blue Falcon stop villain Dick Dastardly. Who's in it? The animated movie uses voices from Will Forte , Amanda Seyfried , Mark Wahlberg , Zac Efron and Jason Isaacs . Review: I must confess, I had a lot of doubts about another Scooby Doo reboot. But, since I thought it would be something my kids would enjoy, I wound up adding it to my Netflix DVD queue. We watched it for our family movie night last night, and the film greatly exceeded my expectations. There were a couple things, in particular, I found I liked about this movie. One of the main ones was the fairly decent origin story it offered both for Shaggy (Forte) and Scooby...