Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: College student Benny Perez pretends to be his older brother so he can earn extra money chauffeuring two attractive women to multiple parties in Los Angeles. He later learns the women are vampires and are involved in a plot to subvert a long-time treaty between vampires and humans. Who's in it? The movie stars Jorge Lendeborg, Jr ., Debby Ryan , Lucy Fry , Alfie Allen and Megan Fox . Review: Someone recommended this movie to me a few days ago and, after hearing what it was about, I decided to add it to my Netflix list. To be honest, I had some doubts because many vampire movies just don't live up to expectations. However, this turned out to be an interesting film. I think the thing I liked most about this film was it wasn't anywhere near as predictable as I thought it would be. At first, it seemed like it would be as simple as Benny (Lendeborg) needing to survive the night but, as the movie progressed and the plot became slightly more complicated than that, it...

Synopsis: Inventor James Houghland invents a new method to deliver television signals instantly and becomes the target of major television corporations when he refuses to sell it. When he is murdered during his demonstration, it is up to the chief of police to figure out who was responsible. Who's in it? The movie stars Bela Lugosi , June Collyer , Huntley Gordon , Charles Hill Mailes and George Meeker. Review: I had this movie saved to my library for a couple weeks, mostly because I am a Bela Lugosi fan and because it sounded like an interesting locked room mystery. I finally got around to watching it this morning and the film wound up being a pretty big disappointment. I guess the best way to describe this movie is it is less than an hour in length but, when watching it, I felt like it was at least twice that. This is because there is almost no action in the movie. Instead, it consists of a bunch of people standing around talking to each other. It's the type of thing that...

Several weeks ago, I took my blood pressure and discovered it had creeped up to a somewhat concerning level. Since then, I've been working to get it back down to normal by trying to lose weight and watch the types of foods I eat. So far, I've had some success, though I suspect my doctor will want me to do more when I see him next week. Along the way, I've learned a few lessons. There is a surprisingly high amount of salt in food. Not everything. I can keep the salt under control if I make the meals from scratch. However, I tend to get busy during the week and can't always make a meal from scratch (or pre-make one to be warmed up later) and I've found it's very hard to find a convenient option that doesn't have a lot of sodium in it. One food, in particular, that caught me off guard as far as sodium content goes is Chef Boyardee products. After reading the labels closer than I've done in the past, I was shocked to discover there was almost as much sodium ...

Synopsis : After successfully stopping legislation that would have helped small businesses during the Great Depression, attorney James Blake goes on a fishing trip to celebrate but instead sees first-hand evidence of his work when he ends up in a town that is full of closed businesses and on the verge of financial collapse. Inspired by an article he read in a magazine, Blake decides to liquidate all his assets, abandon his unhappy marriage and fake his death so he can start over and help reopen a shuttered cannery. His plan becomes more complicated when his wife is murdered and he is blamed. Who's in it? The movie stars Henry Wilcoxon , Betty Furness , Sidney Blackmer , Evelyn Brent and Barnett Parker . Review: I was in the mood for a mystery film and, after doing a quick search, came across this one. At first, I didn't know if I would enjoy the movie because it wasn't what I thought it would be but, overall, I did still enjoy the movie for the most part. The story about...

Synopsis: After changing his name to Bill Brady, a former gunslinger now performs with a traveling medicine show. When he and his companions are chased out of Deadwood, a small town run by corrupt businessmen, Brady offers to help a gang of exiled citizens. Things become more complicated when his friend, Professor Gabby Blackstone, is robbed of an inheritance and the only way to find proof of who did it is by burglarizing the bank and robbing a stagecoach. Who's in it? The movie stars Roy Rogers , George 'Gabby' Hayes , Carol Adams , Sally Payne and Henry Brandon . Review: My wife and youngest daughter were at a Halloween party yesterday and didn't get home until late evening. While waiting for them, I decided to find a movie to watch and, since it had been a while since I saw a Roy Rogers movie, I picked this one out. Overall, I thought it was a good choice. There were a couple things about this movie I found I enjoyed. One of the main ones is the film managed to s...

Synopsis : In 1957, Dr. Evan Rendall started killing his patients in a desperate attempt to find a replacement heart for his sick wife and was ultimately stoned to death. Thirty-five years later, his son, Evan, Jr., who believes he is also a doctor, escapes a mental hospital and returns to his hometown to seek revenge. Who's in it ? The movie stars Larry Drake , Holly Marie Combs , Cliff De Young , Glenn Quinn and Keith Diamond. Review: I came across this film on one of my movie channels a couple days ago and, since I know my wife enjoyed it when she was younger, added it to our list. We watched it last night and, overall, I thought it was a decent film. I think the thing I liked most about this film was the way the filmmakers kept the plot simple. Many horror movies try to over complicate things with drawn-out backstories and tons of filler material. This film focused primarily on the action, offering basic introductions of the main characters and filling in the details about Dr...

Synopsis: Georgi, an illiterate member of a traveling medicine show is fired after, in a fit of honesty, he reveals the medicine they are selling is fake. Alone and hungry, he wanders into a town in search of food only to have the town's dishonest leaders mistake him for Napoleon's inspector general. Desperate to hide their corruption, they treat Georgi like royalty while secretly planning to assassinate him. Who's in it? The movie stars Danny Kaye , Walter Slezak , Barbara Bates , Alan Hale and Elsa Lanchester. Review: I had this movie saved to my streaming library for several weeks before finally getting around to watching it yesterday evening, while my daughter was skating. I honestly had some doubts about it, mostly because I'm not a big fan of musical comedies. However, it turned out to be a great film. I think the thing that really set this film apart from others in this genre is the fantastic cast. Danny Kaye is the star but he gets quite a bit of help from a t...