Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: After her boat sinks in a storm, Jennifer Remming is stranded on a small tropical island. She is fortunate to be alive. However, she quickly discovers her life is in danger from a human-like sea creature that come ashore every night to feed. Who's in it? The movie stars Kiersey Clemons, Emory Cohen , Hanna Mangan Lawrence , Benedict Samuel and Andrew Crawford . Review: After three straight nights of watching episodes of The Simpsons, I was determined to find a horror movie to watch with my wife. I was a little disappointed to see Netflix's selection was a little thin. However, after some consideration, I wound up picking this film. After watching it, my opinion of it was a bit mixed. I'll start out by saying I loved the premise. It was simple yet effective and the fact Jennifer (Clemons) was trying to survive a man-eating monster while trapped on an island that had limited places to hide created a situation with the potential for non-stop suspense. ...

The restaurant we normally have our company Christmas party at closed down this year so we wound up looking for something different to do. After some discussion, this resulted in a trip to Milwaukee for an evening of axe throwing at Axe MKE. If you haven't heard of it, it is pretty much what it sounds like. You throw axes (well, I would probably describe them more as hatchets). It's apparently becoming somewhat popular because there are axe throwing places popping up all over the state. Image courtesy of Pixabay .This was originally my idea but I wasn't sure if it was going to be a good experience or not. In fact, my wife wasn't really all that keen on the idea when I told her what was planned. And, let's be honest, throwing sharp objects doesn't exactly sound like the safest way to spend your time, especially when drinking is involved. But, as it turns out, it was actually pretty fun. First of all, as far as safety goes, I thought the rules in place...

Synopsis: Desperate to close down the Lochdubh police station and be rid of Hamish Macbeth , Chief Inspector Blair sends officer Cyril Sessions on an undercover operation to dig up dirt on the police sergeant. When Sessions is brutally murdered, Macbeth begins to suspect a restaurant owner with potential drug connections. However, his investigation is mysteriously hindered by his superiors. Review: It was a little hectic this week because of the holiday and, because of that, I had to go out of my way to make time to read. However, I was finally able to finish this murder mystery this morning and, after doing so, was happy with the result. The mystery itself was actually kind of weak. Hamish had his initial suspect almost from the beginning and, as a result, rather than a whodunit-style mystery, it became more about him finding away around all the various forms of interference (including breaking the law) to prove he was correct. And, even the "surprise" twist about ...

Synopsis: Morag Merrilea is unfriendly and arrogant. So, when she comes to Sergeant Hamish Macbeth claiming she was drugged, potentially raped and had her sketchbook stolen, he isn't overly anxious to help her. However, when Morag's body is discovered and, later, other seemingly-connected murders happen, Hamish must try to retrace Morag's steps to find out what happened on a night she didn't even remember. Review: I was fighting a bit of a head cold the past few days and, because of that, had a hard time focusing enough to get through this book in a timely fashion. However, I did finally finish reading this mystery this past weekend and, after doing so, did think it was worth my time. The mystery in this book was actually pretty interesting. This is because, even though it might have centered around something Morag might have seen (and potentially sketched) while sitting at a pub, her lack of memory about that night did complicate things considerably. In fact, ...

Synopsis : In July 1942, convoy PQ-17 set sail from Greenland to northern Russia to deliver weapons and other supplies to aid in their fight against Nazi Germany. The voyage is a treacherous one, with the ships under constant threat of attack from submarines and air strikes. It becomes even more impossible when the military vessels assigned to protect the shipment is ordered to withdraw and the merchant ships are told to scatter and fend for themselves. The surprise change in events forces four ships to attempt a dangerous detour north that could cause them to be sunk by Mother Nature before the Germans even get a chance to do it. Review: I came across this book while at the library last week and, as someone who is a fan of history, I decided to give it a read. I finally finished it earlier today and have to say I enjoyed it even more than I was expecting to. I think the thing I loved most about this book was the way the author managed to put human faces to the event. I've ...

Synopsis: Victoria loves her fiancé, Nick. But, with their wedding date approaching, she begins to have cold feet about a man that never talks about his past. Things get worse when Nick inherits a toy shop and accidentally releases a possessed elf doll that is determined to kill the people on its "naughty" list. Who's in it? The movie stars Natassia Halabi , Gabriel Miller , Lassiter Holmes , Lisa May and Joseph Daniel Ellis . Review: I originally was going to watch another Marvel superhero movie with my wife last night. But, as I was scrolling through Disney+, I realized I was actually in the mood for a horror movie. I found this one on Vudu and, figuring it was a good choice for this time of year, went with it. I've seen quite a few low-budget horror films and, since I don't expect them to have Oscar-worthy material in them, am pretty forgiving when it comes to the genre. That being said, this film, simply put, was just plain awful. In fact, this...

My wife had a couple things she wanted to pick up at East Towne Mall, so we made a quick run down to Madison shortly after it opened on Sunday. Since it was about noon by the time we were done, I offered to buy lunch before driving home and, since the food court proved to be quite a bit more expensive than we were expecting, we opted to go to Portillo's Hot Dogs instead. To be honest, we almost didn't eat there because it was our first time at that restaurant and, when we walked in, it took us a minute to figure out which counter we were supposed to use to order our food. Once we did that, however, we did find we enjoyed our experience. We both wound up ordering chili dogs with a side of fries to share. She also got a peppermint shake to drink. In total, we spent about $18 for lunch, which isn't too terrible. Photo courtesy of Cynthia Helmer I thought the set-up inside the restaurant was pretty decent. Basically, you order your food on one end of the counter and w...