31 Days of Horror Movies: The Hand

Tonight we have a film that really shouldn't be watched by kids, yet, I first saw it as a kid. Go figure.

The Hand

Michael Caine plays Jon Lansdale, a right-handed comic artist who loses his right hand. He has a wife and kid, and not all is well with the marriage (really, have you ever seen a movie where the relationship is A-OK?), and things don't get any better when, while wife Anne is driving one day, Jon's hand is severed from his arm in an accident. Bereft of his hand (and talent), Jon sinks into a funk, and Anne feels guilty.

There's a lot of melodrama in The Hand. The Lansdale's marriage is on and off the rocks several times. Jon has an affair. Oh, and his severed hand decides to go around killing people. Or does it? Could these grisly murders he blames on his separated hand actually be Jon's own work, and he's simply transferring the guilt to something he's lost? The film (kind of) answers this, but does so in a way that finds it mainly milking the audience for more chills and thrills.

I'll admit that The Hand isn't a particularly good film. It's selection for this month of horror films is more of a nostalgia pick than anything else. The scene when Michael Caine's character loses his hand is quite memorable, in a very blunt and terrifying way. And then when the hand creeps around on its killing spree, well, let's just say that it's a childhood memory I won't forget.

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Orby-D

Twenty-four-years ago today, we lost one of the greatest singers of the rock & roll era. While Roy Orbison will be forever known in the pantheon of rock/pop legends, for me he will always be the voice that I melded with during turbulent high school years, and that I love to this day. Roy Orbison wrote and (more importantly) sang about love. Mostly, it was tragic love, not the happy-go-lucky love that so many of his contemporaries sang about. No one could do depressive songs better than Mr. Orbison. This is probably why I identified with his music so much. I mean, we all have had our down times but, during high school, I'd cornered the market.

Watching The Hours

A Twitter friend named Paula has asked for folks to submit ideas for a blog-a-thon about what we think will be the classic films of the future. In other words, what relatively recent movies (namely, from the 21st century), do we think will be considered classics in the decades to come, possibly airing on such venerable stations as Turner Classic Movies ? While a number of films come to mind for such a category, one in particular stood out from the rest, and thus is my entry for Paula's blog-a-thon.

The Year in Music

There are times in your life when you will read or watch something, stop for a moment, and think to yourself: "This is truth. This is gospel, right here." For some, it may have been the first time you read the Bible, the Tanakh, or the Koran. For others, it could have been when you read self-help books such as The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People , or Chicken Soup for the Soul . Still, for others, it's going to be this blog post right here. The truth is, dear reader, that 1993 was the best year for music. Full-stop. Some of you already know this. For others, it will be a revelation. Please, allow me to explain. Following are some of the albums released in 1993, with a bit of commentary from yours truly. During or after reading this, I think you'll agree that there's really no question anymore that 1993 was king. Ok, here we go.

Left to my own devices

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