Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: Batman and Batgirl are at odds when the ambitious nephew of a powerful mob boss takes interest in her and Batman fears it will put his partner in an unnecessary amount of danger. Later, Batman's nemesis, the Joker, escapes Arkham Asylum and kidnaps Commissioner Gordon forcing the masked vigilante to track down his friend and possibly fight in a duel to the death with the insane clown. Who's in it? The animated movie uses voices from Mark Hamill , Kevin Conroy, Ray Wise , Tara Strong and John DiMaggio. Review: I took the afternoon off today and while having lunch, looked for something to watch. I have not seen any of the Batman animated movies, other than some of the crossovers with Scooby Doo and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles so, since Batman: The Killing Joke was available, I figured I'd give it a try. It turned out not to be at all what I was expecting, and I mean that in a good way. I had heard this and other Batman animated films described as "a...

Synopsis: On the eve of his wedding to Margo Lane, two murders are committed and Lamont Cranston's alter ego, the Shadow, is framed. Despite his fiancée's objections, Lamont is determined to clear the Shadow's name, even if it puts his wedding in jeopardy. Who's in it? The movie stars Kane Richmond , Barbara Reed , George Chandler, Dorothea Kent and Joseph Crehan . Review: Even though I wasn't a big fan of the last Shadow movie I watched, I decided to give the crimefighter one more chance by watching Behind the Mask this morning. In hindsight, I probably should have watched The Shadow Returns before this sequel but I'm not so certain it would have made much of a difference. I just can't get into these films. I'll start out with the positive about this movie; it does have an OK mystery. While there wasn't too much secrecy about who was behind the murders or why, the cause of the victims' deaths was up in the air as well as how Lamont (Richmo...

Synopsis: After superhuman David Dunn, now known as the Overseer, tracks down Kevin Wendall Crumb, aka the Horde, and frees the teenagers Crumb has kidnapped, the two men battle it out but are soon both captured by a team led by Dr. Ellie Staple, who institutionalizes the men in the same facility currently holding supervillain Elijah Price, who now calls himself Mr. Glass. Dr. Staple tells the men their powers aren't real and instead are the result of delusions created by a brain condition she believes she can surgically correct. Glass, however, suspects they are being lied to and works out an escape plan that will also expose the truth. Who's in it? The movie stars Samuel L. Jackson , James McAvoy , Bruce Willis , Anya Taylor-Joy and Sarah Paulson. Review: My wife and I planned on watching Glass last summer, after first watching Unbreakable and Split . However, the movie wasn't available on any of our streaming services or at our library and I wasn't sure I'd...

Synopsis: Gotham City is facing a new villainous threat, Shredder and his Foot Clan have teamed with Ra's al Ghul and the League of Assassins to turn all Gotham's residents into mutants. As Batman attempts to save the day, he finds himself teaming with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. However, their alliance is threatened when the turtles prove to be too undisciplined for Batman. Who's in it? The animated movie uses voices from Troy Baker, Eric Bauza, Tom Kenny , Tara Strong and John DiMaggio. Review: I was flipping through channels this morning, looking for something to watch (or at least provide some background noise) while I had breakfast and came across Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles . While I rolled my eyes at first, I was also admittedly intrigued and decided to watch it.  It was about what I expected, and I mean that both in a good and bad way. I'll start out by saying the plot of the movie was surprisingly good. The team-up between Shredder (Andrew ...

Synopsis: Security guard David Dunn is the lone survivor when a passenger train derails. Even more amazing is the fact he escaped without a scratch, baffling investigators. Soon after, Dunn is approached by Elijah Price, an art gallery owner stricken with a disease that makes his bones brittle. Price believes Dunn may have superpowers like those in the comic books. Dunn is unconvinced, until he realizes he has never been injured or sick and is able to bench press an unbelievable amount of weight. Who's in it? The movie stars Bruce Willis , Samuel L. Jackson , Robin Wright , Spencer Treat Clark and Charlayne Woodard . Review: My wife had never seen Unbreakable  and, since she is also interested in watching the sequels (which I haven't seen) we ended up picking it out for our movie night. It had been a long time since I last saw this movie and I couldn't remember much about it as a result. After seeing it again, I thought it was an OK film. This is a different kind of sup...

Synopsis: Five years after Thanos erased half the universe's population before destroying the Infinity Stones, the surviving Avengers are beginning to accept what happened and move on with their lives. However, when Scott Lang/Ant-Man returns after being trapped in the Quantum Realm, he comes back with a plan, travel back in time to retrieve the stones so they can undo what Thanos did. There's just one problem; an earlier version of Thanos has figured out the plan. Who's in it? The movie stars Robert Downey, Jr. , Paul Rudd , Scarlett Johansson , Mark Ruffalo , Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth . Review: My wife and I binge watched the various Avenger movies a few years ago but stopped one short and never took the time to watch Avengers: Endgame , mostly because we couldn't find time to slip a 3-hour-long film into our schedule. We finally decided to do that yesterday evening and weren't disappointed. With very few exceptions, movies that are longer than 2 hours ra...

Synopsis: When Gus Gorman is caught using his computer skills to skim money from his company, he avoids going to prison by helping his employer, Ross Webster, with his own criminal activity. There's just one person standing in Webster's way, Superman. Fortunately for the villain, an artificially created kryptonite has turned Superman into a bad guy. Who's in it? The movie stars Christopher Reeve , Richard Pryor , Robert Vaughn , Annie Ross and Annette O'Toole . Review: I was flipping channels this morning and came across Superman III. Since it has been a while since I've watched this film, I decided to give it a try again. Overall, it was about what I remembered it to be - a movie that is often criticized but isn't too terrible if you look at it from a different point of view. OK, to be clear, as a Superman movie, this film leaves a lot to be desired. Gene Hackman's Lex Luthor is noticeably absent with Ross Webster (Vaughn) clearly just a Lex Luthor rip-...

Synopsis: With the nuclear arms race in full swing and the world on the brink of World War III, Superman is inspired by a boy's letter to rid the world of all nuclear weapons by throwing them into the sun. His arch nemesis, Lex Luthor, decides to take advantage of the situation by attaching Superman's DNA to one of the missiles and using the sun's power to create another superhuman, Nuclear Man, to kill his heroic rival. Who's in it? The movie stars Christopher Reeve , Margot Kidder , Gene Hackman , Jon Cryer and Mark Pillow. Review: I was a teenager the first/last time I watched Superman IV and while it isn't a movie that has often been panned by critics, I honestly didn't remember it being that bad. So, when I finally had an opportunity to re-watch it, I wondered if it would end up being disappointing the second time around. As it turns out, I still don't know why people hate it. Look, I'm not saying this movie is as good as the original . In fact...

Synopsis: With his home planet deteriorating, an infant is sent to Earth by his parents and is raised by a pair of farmers who hide his both his alien origins and his superpowers created by the sun. As an adult, Clark Kent moves to Metropolis and gets a job as a newspaper reporter at the Daily Planet while secretly fighting crime as Superman. He soon faces his biggest test though, a master criminal by the name of Lex Luthor, who has control of nuclear weapons. Who's in it? The movie stars Christopher Reeve , Margot Kidder , Gene Hackman , Ned Beatty and Jackie Cooper . Review: The cats, still adjusting to the time change, woke me up earlier than I would have preferred on a Saturday and, since it was too early to go get my wife coffee, I wound up watching Superma n on one of my movie channels. It's been several years since I saw this film in its entirety and, while I'm sure there are those who will disagree, I think this still sets the standard for superhero movies. I thi...

Synopsis: Logan, a mutant with the ability to heal quickly and infused with a metallic skeleton who also goes by the nickname Wolverine, encounters a 17-year-old, "Rogue," and is injured while protecting her from other mutants. They are rescued and introduced to Charles Xavier, a telepath who runs a school/safe haven for mutants but soon learn they are being targeted by a group of militant mutants led by Magneto, who intend on turning the normal humans who discriminate against them into mutants too. Who's in it? The move stars Hugh Jackman , Patrick Stewart ,  Ian McKellen ,  Anna Paquin and  James Marsden. Review: I came across this movie while waiting for my wife to get done with martial arts classes last night and since there wasn't anything else that looked interesting, decided to watch it. It's not the first time I've seen this film, but it's been more than a decade since I watched it in its entirety. I have to admit, it was better than I remember...

Synopsis: Stricken with a disabling blood disease since childhood, Dr. Michael Morbius seeks to cure it by splicing vampire bat and human DNA. His illegal experiment works but also turns him into a living vampire that needs human blood to survive. Who's in it? The movie stars Jared Leto , Matt Smith , Adria Arjona , Jared Harris and Tyrese Gibson . Review: Since my mom's birthday was on Tuesday, we delayed our family movie night until last night and, after scrolling through several options, my daughter and I decided to give this one a try, both from the description and who starred in it. It was an OK film but not quite what I was expecting it to be. I was never into comic books so, while I had heard of Morbius, I didn't really know a whole lot about the Marvel character, including whether he was a hero, villain or anti-hero. Unfortunately, I think this was a movie that really only works if you're already invested in the title character. I think this movie would have...

Synopsis: Sam, a 13-year-old boy living in an impoverished and crime-ridden city, believes his next-door neighbor, Joe Smith, is really Samaritan, a superhero who is believed to have been killed 25 years ago. When a career criminal wears the mask and carries the powerful weapon used by Samaritan's brother, Nemesis, Sam tries to talk Joe into coming out of his retirement. Who's in it? The movie stars Sylvester Stallone , Javon "Wanna" Walton ,  Pilou Asbæk ,  Dascha Polanco and  Sophia Tatum . Review: My wife and I came across this movie yesterday evening and since the trailer made it look somewhat interesting, decided to watch it. I had some doubts about an aging Sylvester Stallone playing a superhero. However, it turned out to better than expected. The movie was far from perfect. Some of the CGI looked a bit fake and that de-aging thing they did on Stallone in flashbacks made him look more creepy than young. The final battle inside a burning building was also a b...

Synopsis: When an island nation comes under the control of an anti-American regime, a group of criminals is dispatched to destroy a Nazi-era research facility containing a dangerous starfish-like alien. Who's in it? The movie stars Margot Robbie , John Cena , Sylvester Stallone , Idris Elba and Viola Davis. Review: I wasn't a huge fan of the 2016 Suicide Squad , though I did admittedly like it a little more the second time I watched it. As a result, I wasn't overly interesting in seeing this film but, since my wife checked it out from the library to see Harley Quinn (Robbie), we ended up watching it last night. Let's just say this film made the first Suicide Squad movie look like it was Oscar material. There were a couple things that hurt this film. One of the main ones was the filmmakers couldn't figure out what direction they wanted to take - action film or comedy. Sure, it is possible to combine those two things but this film didn't do a good job of that. ...

Synopsis: Still mourning the death of his love, Jean Grey, Logan has chosen to hide himself in the wilderness and avoid violence. However, when a man he saved during World War II summons him to Japan, he honors his former friend's dying wish and ends up defending the man's granddaughter, the heir to his large corporation, from the people who want her dead. Complicating things is Logan's ability to heal quickly has been suppressed by another mutant. Who's in it? The movie stars Hugh Jackman , Tao Okamoto ,  Svetlana Khodchenkova ,  Brian Tee and  Rila Fukushima . Review: Even though I liked the movie X-Men , I wasn't overly crazy about the sequels and, because of that, never bothered to watch this movie. However, my wife decided to check it out from our local library and I agreed to watch it with her last night. Overall, it wasn't a terrible film. I think the thing I liked best about this movie was the almost-non-stop action. There was some downtime, to allow...

Synopsis: While excelling at his military training in Spain, Don Diego Vega is unexpectedly summoned home to California by his aristocrat father. When he arrives, he learns his home has come under the control of a tyrant. With the landowners, including his father, refusing to stand up for the peasants, Diego disquises himself as a masked outlaw named El Zorro in an effort to terrorize the alcalde into resignation while, at the same time, wooing the alcalde's niece. Who's in it? The movie stars Tyrone Power , Linda Darnell , Basil Rathbone , Eugene Pallette and J. Edward Bromberg. Review: I was happy to come across this film on one of my movie channels because it is one of my favorites and I hadn't seen it in a long time. I had a chance to watch it again yesterday and, as has been the case the previous times, it did not disappoint. There have been various incarnations of Zorro, including some more recent ones, but I still think Tyrone Power pulls off the role the best. Hi...