Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: Farmer Vincent Smith runs a small motel with his sister, Ida, and is famous for his smoked meats. He takes in a motorcycle accident survivor, Terry, and she gradually begins to fall in love with his honest manner and charms. However, Vincent has a dark secret even his brother, the local sheriff, doesn't know about. You can read my review here: Movie Review: Motel Hell (1980) (wizzley.com)

  2020 is almost over But the scars will remain. This will long be remembered as the year When the whole world seemed to go insane. Pandemics, riots and political strife Were only a small part of the madness. And I think just about everyone Was left full of frustration, anger and sadness. I think what the world needs now Is a break from everything that was tragic. We all need A bit of Christmas magic. Image by  silviarita  from  Pixabay   Let's deck the halls, hang the lights And, COVID be damned, share kisses under the mistletoe. Let's try to spread holiday cheer To everyone we know. Take the time to stare up at the Christmas star As it shines its light. And crank up that Christmas music To concert-level heights. Let's love everyone like they are our family and neighbors So this big world seems a little less gigantic. And, most importantly, Let's help create that Christmas magic.

Synopsis: A family decides to spend Christmas at an old children's hospital they are renovating into a home. When the two youngest children find a chest full of toys that was left behind, they begin to act strangely and, with Christmas Day approaching, the older members of the household are terrorized as the toys reveal their intentions. Who's in it? The movie stars Verity Marks , Kyana Teresa , Georgia Waters , Dayo Ade , Saul Elias and Zoe Fish . Review: I am usually the first person to give a low-budget, made-for-TV movie the benefit of the doubt, and will usually dismiss things like campy acting and weak special effects. In fact, after seeing this movie last night, I went to bed trying to convince myself the film was worth taking the time to watch. Unfortunately, after a lot of reflection, I have to say I was sincerely disappointed by what could have been a legitimately creepy film. I will be kind and start out with some of the positives about this movie. This includes ...

Image by  Vidmir Raic  from  Pixabay   To tell you the truth, I've wanted to make the switch for a long time, mostly because my Direct TV rates kept going up and AT&T (which purchased the company some time ago) was never willing to talk to me about ways to lower them, even as they were practically giving the service away to new customers. Part of the reason why it took me this long was laziness. A bigger part of the reason was I struggled to find a replacement service that wasn't just as expensive or wouldn't result in me losing some of my favorite channels/shows. When I saw an ad for YouTube TV, I was interested but, at the same time, skeptical. In all honesty, it sounded too good to be true. However, after taking advantage of the free trial, it only took me a matter of hours to decide to make the switch permanently. Three weeks later, I don't regret that choice. There are a few reasons why this was a good fit for me: First, it was more affordable. I'm sure th...

Synopsis: When Major Claude Winnett's new bride, Marcia, goes missing, he hires Perry Mason to help find her. Suspecting the disappearance has something to do with the theft of jewelry around the same time, Mason investigates and eventually discovers a murder scene involving Marcia's blackmailing ex-husband. Review: Much like The Case of the Crimson Kiss , this book was included when I checked out The Case of the Curious Coquette . I had an opportunity to read it over the weekend and, while I liked it better than the Crimson Kiss, did find it was still somewhat lacking. I actually don't have any real issue with the case itself. I actually enjoyed that part of it. There was a missing wife who apparently had some sort of sordid past and, more importantly, missing jewelry that the husband seemed not to think was important even though the theft and disappearance happened at right around the same time. It made me wonder if he was hiding something. When Mason eventually finds ...

Synopsis: Secretly jealous of her soon-to-be-married roommate, Fay, Anita Bonsal is forced to settle for a business-like relationship with the married Carver Clements. When she finds Carter dead on the floor of his apartment with a crimson lipstick mark on his forehead, Anita decides to frame Fay for murder. She is successful, but didn't realize Fay's aunt is friends with Perry Mason 's secretary, Della Street. Review: When I checked out The Case of the Cautious Coqueutte a couple weeks ago, I didn't realize this book was a throw-in under the same cover. After discovering it, I was quick to find time to read it. After doing so, I can understand why it wasn't even listed on the cover of the book. On the surface, I think this has the potential to be a good murder mystery. The problem, however, is Erle Stanley Gardner just reveals too much information right off the bat. The best Perry Mason mysteries, in my opinion at least, are the ones where you don't know if ...

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...