Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: Sherlock Holmes, a brilliant student with exceptional deductive reasoning is expelled from London's Brompton Academy after falsely being accused of cheating on an exam. Before he can go home in shame, his mentor, Rupert Waxflatter, dies under mysterious circumstances and, believing Waxflatter and others were murdered, Holmes stays behind in an effort to find the killer with help from his new friend, John Watson and Waxflatter's niece, Elizabeth Hardy. Who's in it? The movie stars Nicholas Rowe , Alan Cox , Sophie Ward , Anthony Higgins and Nigel Stock. Review: I came across this film on one of my movie channels a couple weeks ago and, since it had been a long time since I watched it, decided to add it to my library. As I began watching this film, which used to be one of my favorites when I was younger, I realized I didn't remember a single thing about it. On one hand, this was kind of a good thing because it meant it was like I was watching the movie for th...

Synopsis: Since the end of the Civil War, black farmers have struggled to prosper under an inequitable system that has (both intentionally and unintentionally) given an advantage to white farmers. The book tells their story from the ratification of the 13th Amendment through a groundbreaking class-action lawsuit against the United States Department of Agriculture in 1997. Review: I wasn't planning on picking up a non-fiction book when I was at the library a few days ago. However, as I passed the new book section on my way to check out, this one caught my eye. It looked somewhat interesting so I added it to my pile. When I first started reading this book, I did have some doubts about it. Since it was written by a lawyer who was involved in one of the class-action settlements against the USDA, I was expecting it to be more about him and his role and not necessarily the people he was representing. Fortunately, as it turns out, I was wrong. The thing that really impressed me about th...

Synopsis: Agatha Raisin returns from vacation to discover Carsely has a new resident, Mary Fortune. Mary seems to be loved by all the residents (especially Agatha's neighbor, James Lacey) due, in part, to her gardening expertise. However, when area gardens are vandalized prior to a prestigious horticulture contest, the village turns against the "outsider" Mary and she is eventually found murdered with her head buried in a pot of soil. Despite the local authorities encouraging her not to, Agatha conducts her own investigation and discovers Mary wasn't the charming person she appeared to be. Review:   I had to go to the large print section of our local library to find this third book in the Agatha Raisin series. However, after reading it over the weekend, I was glad I didn't wait for the regular print copy of it to return. At first, I wasn't really sure what to think about the mystery. Part of this was it took quite some time for Mary to finally be murdered and...

Synopsis: After a zombie-like viral outbreak results in an Asian city being quarantined, private mercenary Maj. Max Gatling is hired to lead a team and rescue the daughter of a wealthy industrialist before the city is firebombed. The mission is a failure, with only one other member of his team surviving, but Gatling decides to stay behind and find the girl himself. Fortunately, he has some unexpected help from a group of robots. Who's in it? The movie stars Dolph Lundgren , Melanie Zanetti , Matt Doran , David Field and Lydia Look.   Review: OK, I'll admit it, the only reason this movie even made my list was the fact it had both zombies and robots. It was an intriguing combination and, even though I still had some doubts about the film overall, was just unique enough for me to give it a try. My wife and I watched it last night and, overall, I have to say it was an OK film. I think the thing I liked best about this movie was the fact it wasn't as predictable as zombie fi...

Synopsis: An earthquake releases a hoard of zombies from a sunken ship and a tsunami washes them on shore, creating terror in a tiny island village. Who's in it? The movie stars Ian Ziering , Cheree Cassidy , Shelton Jolivette , Tatum Chiniquy and Angie Teodora Dick . Review: I was looking for another movie last night when I scrolled past this one. Based on the title, I wasn't really expecting much from it but ended up giving it a try anyway. As it turns out, it wasn't too terrible. There were a couple things about this movie I found I really liked. One of the main ones was the fact the protagonists were on an island, making it much harder for them to escape as the zombies invaded their community. Just as important, the fact they couldn't reach anyone for help (and nobody showed up after the tsunami) made it unclear whether or not the zombies were an isolated thing or if the whole world was dealing with them. Another thing I liked about this movie was how difficult k...

Synopsis: Siblings Jerry and Joanna Burton take residence in the small town of Lymstock while Jerry recovers from an accident. When they receive an anonymous letter accusing them of secretly being lovers, they laugh it off. However, they soon learn they aren't the only ones receiving accusation letters and, before too long, things take a dark turn when one of the recipients kills herself as a result of it. When the investigation seems to hit a dead end, the vicar's wife calls up her friend, Jane Marple , to help. Review: After reading another Miss Marple mystery a few days ago and enjoying it more than expected, I decided to check out this book from the library. Overall, I found I enjoyed it. I thought the mystery in this book was an intriguing one. At first, the letters the Burtons and others were receiving seemed relatively harmless becasue they were filled with unfounded accusations. However, after the suicide and, eventually, another murder, it became apparent there was ...

Synopsis: In 1944, Capt. Beau Carter is given the task of taking and holding a German-occupied bridge. The important mission is made more difficult when the racist Carter learns he will need to rely on an all-black squad that has never seen combat. Who's in it? The movie stars Stephen Boyd , Robert Hooks , Billy Dee Williams , Richard Pryor and Roosevelt Grier . Review: I came across this movie on Epix under the title The Black Brigade . Even though I wasn't overly interested in a war movie, I saw the film had quite a few recognizable names and decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, it wasn't as good as I was hoping it would be. While the premise was an intriguing one, I felt like the movie failed to fully capitalize on what it was trying to do. Ultimately, it ended up being an OK film but not one that I would describe as particularly memorable. One of my biggest complaints about this movie was, for a war picture, it really didn't have a whole lot of action. In fa...