Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: Tom "the Bomber" Brown is an up-and-coming boxer who is a match away from winning the lightweight championship when a fight with a well-connected gambler, Smoothy Morgan, results in him needing to flee New York to avoid assault charges. While in hiding under the name Tom Hayes, he meets a young man by the name "Babyface" Madison and seeing his potential, offers to train him while secretly working as a gas station attendant to pay for the use of a gym. Tom's past and present eventually collide, however, when Babyface gets a shot at the title and Tom needs to return to New York as a result. Who's in it? The movie stars Frankie Darro , Kane Richmond , Fred 'Snowflake' Toones , Frances Grant and Jack La Rue. Review: I've had Born to Fight in my library for several weeks, mostly because I've enjoyed other Frankie Darro films. I finally got around to watching the movie this morning and was able to add it to the list of Darro movies I...

Prequels are an effective way to continue a popular television series because it doesn't have the constraints of keeping one or more cast members from the original, allowing for fresh (and cheaper) faces while also giving a bit more insight into how certain characters became who they are.  They are, like most spin-offs, hit-or-miss as far as fans go. Some, like The Big Bang Theory prequel, Young Sheldon, were popular enough to last several seasons and inspire their own spinoff series. Others, like the Supernatural prequel, The Winchesters , were cancelled after just one season. Meanwhile, there are some series that might have done surprisingly well with a prequel based on one or more of their characters but were never given the opportunity. Here are five characters I think would have been perfect for that. Phoebe Buffay ( Friends ) -  Of the six friends on Friends , Phoebe ( Lisa Kudrow ) has the most interesting past. Her mother, who wasn't her real mother, committed suicid...

I wasn't sure if it was going to rain or not so while waiting for the weather to make up its mind, decided to check out what was on Netflix. I came across Scooby Doo , which I've seen several times, but not for a while, and decided to re-watch it. Here are my thoughts: There are a lot of horror movie franchises represented in this film. Not counting the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series, we have I Know What You Did Last Summer ( Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze, Jr. ) , Scream ( Matthew Lillard ), The Grudge ( Gellar )  and Five Nights at Freddy's (Lillard). I love this movie, but it does seem to have a hard time figuring out who its audience is. The overall material is a bit too juvenile for it to be an adult movie, but the adult references make it hard to describe it as a family movie. This is especially true of the subtle drug references and the not-so-subtle scene featuring Fred (Prinze) talking about seeing Daphne's body naked (something that ...

Synopsis: After surviving her in-laws hunting her on her wedding night, Grace wakes up in a hospital and learns she is facing charges of murder and arson. That turns out to be the least of her problems though. Her survival has resulted in the high seat of a council of satanists being vacated and she is forced to participate in a new game with multiple families trying to kill her before dawn. This time, however, she has her estranged younger sister handcuffed to her. Who's in it? The movie stars Samara Weaving , Kathryn Newton , Elijah Wood , Sarah Michelle Gellar and Shawn Hatosy. Review: When I heard there was going to be a Ready or Not 2 , I was honestly skeptical. I did enjoy the first movie more than I thought I would. However, it ended in a way that didn't exactly seem like it was setting up a sequel and there was a seven-year gap between the films being made. My wife and I did end up watching the movie last night anyway and were both very entertained. There were a cou...

I skipped a couple nights but decided to put one of my trail cameras in the yard last night just to see if there was still as much activity (the cats haven't been as interested in looking out the window at night). As it turns out, there was quite a bit happening during the night and early morning hours with visits that included everything from opossums to stray cats.  Here are some of the photos: _________________________________________________________________________ Here are some previous trail camera photos and videos: Trail Camera Videos (1/3/2026-1/4/2026) Trail Camera Photos (11/10/2024-11/12/2024) Trail Camera Videos (10/13/2024-10/14/2024) Trail Camera Photos (4/7/2025-4/8/2025)

Synopsis: After using the device to transport themselves to another universe, Stuart ( Kevin Sussman ), Bert ( Brian Posehn ) and Barry ( John Ross Bowie ) discover they are in a world dominated by an AI overlord that punishes anyone who shows any sort of aggression. While Bert and Barry go to Caltech in search of answers, Stuart goes in search of Denise ( Lauren Lapkus ). My Thoughts: What happens to the other versions of Stuart and company? Since they didn't run into other versions of themselves, I can only assume they replaced their alternate versions. Do those versions get transported to the universe they traveled from? Are they also using their own version of the device? Are they confused about what is happening? Along those lines, why didn't anyone recognize Bert and Barry? Stuart apparently owns a comic store in every universe (or at least the ones we've seen). Shouldn't the same standard apply to his friends? Barry and Bert worked at Caltech and yet Ramona No...

It was a little warm out there, making the steeper parts of my walk a bit more difficult, but I managed to get one in today just the same. There was surprisingly not a whole lot in terms of wildlife today, though I am certain I heard a deer walking just beyond my sightline. As a result, I once again focused primarily on the dragonflies and butterflies, not counting the frog I saw along the way. Here are some of my photos:   ___________________________________________________________________ Here are some previous nature photos: Morning Walk Photos (6/15/2026) Lunchtime Walk Photos (5/8/2026) Morning Walk Photos 7/6/2017 Lunchtime Walk Photos 9/15/2017