Steven Helmer Publications

We are expecting bad weather later today, so I made sure to get the trail cameras out last night, just to make sure all is well after dark. We ended up with some visitors throughout the night. Here are some of the videos:

Synopsis: Officer Gunther Toody takes a relaxed approach to police work, including looking the other way when it is a minor crime. When his long-time partner, Officer Leo Schnauzer, retires, he is assigned Francis Muldoon, a by-the-books police officer. Their opposite approaches both threaten their partnership and threaten to derail the department's attempt at protecting a key witness against a local crime lord. Who's in it? The movie stars David Johansen, John C. McGinley, Fran Drescher , Daniel Baldwin Nipsey Russell and Rosie O'Donnell. Review: Up until scrolling through one of my movie channels a couple days ago, I didn't even realize there was a movie version of Car 54, Where Are You?  I watched quite a few episodes of that series (in re-runs) when I was younger and, while I had some doubts, I figured I'd give it a try this morning.  I've seen quite a few terrible comedies in my lifetime. I think this may have the first one to be bad enough to give me a...

Synopsis: Gomez Addams and his family are eccentric but wealthy and their lawyer, Tully Alford, in debt to a loan shark, tries to take advantage of this only to have Gomez turn him down on his investment idea. Angry and needing the money, Alford partners with Abigail Craven and her adopted son, Gordon, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Gomez's long-lost older brother, Fester. Their goal is to con the Addams family into believing Gordon is Gomez so they can gain access to a vault containing millions in gold. Who's in it? The movie stars Raul Julia, Anjelica Huston, Christopher Lloyd , Christina Ricci and Dan Hendaya. Review: My wife and youngest daughter are on a mini vacation with friends and, after introducing my oldest daughter to the movie Clue earlier in the evening, I looked for a movie to watch while waiting to go to bed. It had been years since I last watched The Addams Family , so I gave it a re-watch. I did not regret the choice. There have been more recent films...

While I would describe myself more as casual than die-hard, I have been a Doctor Who fan since first discovering Tom Baker (Doctor Number 4) in the title role when I was a kid. That's why I am more than a little sad to see the fate of the series, which was already cancelled once in the late 1980s, up in the air. In a way though, I do get it. The show, minus the roughly 16-year hiatus, has been around since 1963 with nearly 900 episodes and one movie, as well as various other media. At some point, you start running out of ideas that are new but also stick to an established narrative that is both extensive and, at times, has had conflicting stories. That's why I think the best thing the show can do is start over from scratch with a complete and total reboot. To be clear, this wouldn't be a soft reboot of the show, like in 2005. What I am suggesting is something much more daring - scrapping 62 years of canon and starting fresh, but while still paying the proper amount of resp...

Synopsis: Dockworker B. J. Hammer is fired from his job after getting into a fight and soon after, is recruited by a local crime boss who wants to sponsor him as a professional boxer. Hammer quickly rises through the ranks but then learns he is expected to throw a fight. If he refuses, his girlfriend, Lois, will pay with her life. Who's in it? The movie stars Fred Williamson, Bernie Hamilton, Vonetta McGee, Charles Lampkin and Elizabeth Harding. Review: I came across Hammer on ScreenPix this morning and, while I'm not usually into blaxploitation films, the plot sounded intriguing enough to give it a try. After watching it, I can say it was a good choice but fell short of being a great one. I'll start out with the positives. For one, Hammer (Williamson) is an intriguing character and I'm a little surprised this didn't become a film franchise as a result. He had a good mix of toughness and intelligence, making it clear he didn't trust the crime boss, Big Sid (...

I discovered a new trail camera challenge this morning, retrieving the cameras without walking through a whole bunch of spider webs in the backyard. It's amazing how much those tiny arachnids can do in just a few hours, making me feel very guilty when I accidentally break one (and do some karate moves in the process). Anyway, here are some of the videos from last night and early this morning:

Synopsis: During the daytime, Professor Brenner is a noted expert teaching a college class in criminal psychology. At night, he runs a soup kitchen in the Bowery neighborhood of Manhattan, where he recruits men to help in his criminal endeavors, often killing them after the job is done (or as a distraction during a daytime robbery). What Brenner doesn't know is one of his accomplices, the drug-addicted Doc Brooks, has been conducting experiments on the bodies of the men he has killed. Who's in it? The movie stars Bela Lugosi , John Archer, Wanda McKay , Tom Neal and Lew Kelly . Review : I've had Bowery at Midnight in my movie library for several months and, while I did start watching it at one point, I just now finally got around to seeing the entire movie this morning. While I wouldn't describe this as one of Bela Lugosi's better movies, it still turned out to be a reasonable choice.  Professor Brenner (Lugosi) was an intriguing character, running a criminal en...