T w e n t y S i d e d

Sorry this is later than I intended. The end of last week and the weekend suddenly changed course. And I had to wait on a repairman for the “range.” I hate that word. But it’s the English word for a “combined” oven and stove; which are two different things. I guess if you go back to an era when an “oven” was more likely to be a thing built into the fireplace construction, and a “stove” maybe then came into being as a more-controllable SURFACE heated by a fire below, without having to stick that into a fire that was already doing multiple things like heating an oven, a house, boiling, and roasting. THEN someone said “hey, you know if we built this oven and stove together, kind of like a small fireplace using this iron stuff, it would make the oven easier to use, too.” And we called that a “range?”

Anyway, Electrolux sent the wrong part. So the repairman will come back next week. That actually happened at the END of all this, but it’s on my mind and I need to exorcise those thoughts.

NOW we return to Tucker and Dale vs. Evil!

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Tucker and Dale vs. Evil part 2 (and the end, I promise)”

Paige Francis He/him

“You are a good-lookin’ man…more or less. You got a damn good heart. I mean, that’s two things right there.” –Tucker, to Dale

When a movie reaches a level of senescence with enough laud and grace…OR an excess of derision and laughter, people tend to re-analyze the film for deeper meaning, and broader lessons. It ceases being a “good” or “bad” movie and becomes a lesson in analogy or philosophy, or any other niche subject a scholar or commenter wishes to engage with. 2010’s Tucker and Dale vs. Evil has become such a film. While the budget is unverified at best, and likely unknown, it is hard to view the movie as a box office success with a domestic gross of about $250,000 and a total gross worldwide under $5,000,000. Yet TDvE, over the last fifteen years, has become such a beloved piece of Horror and Horror Spoof history you’ll find it referenced as often as “smart” movies by, say; Wes Craven. Poltergibbst did a one hour production in 2025 detailing how TDvE fits into the Final Destination formula (citing Jeffiot’s exhaustive Final Destination evaluation). I even watched an essay explaining how Tucker and Dale vs. Evil illustrates the “nature vs. grace” apologist argument. I don’t agree with the conclusion, but it was well-argued. Today I’m going to look at Tucker and Dale vs. Evil to figure out what it even is, and what it did so well that the film has become an institution. This write-up is NOT spoiler free.

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Spooky Season offering: Tucker and Dale vs. Evil”

Paige Francis He/him

I made people mad repeatedly talking about the new Resident Evil movie. I’m not a humongous fan; I don’t know the lore inside and out. I know the first few games reasonably and I know the first few games have been remade. I’ve played the first few games. Not over and over, just some. I know the initial story more or less. I’ve seen the first few Mila Jovovich Resident Evil movies, and I knew from the start those movies (at least initially, anyway) take information FROM the games but aren’t actually live-action versions of the games. For the most part, not even remotely. I have been told there are some animated Resident Evil movies that are lore- and bridge- stories, not retellings. My point being I was kind-of hoping when I heard they were doing a Resident Evil “remake” or “reboot” the intention was to…just tell the story as depicted in the games.

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Resident Evil and Forgotten Island (spoiler free)”

Paige Francis He/him

I’ve been gone for the last couple of weeks driving my parents on vacation. And I apologize if this is a bit incoherent; as soon as I got home I came down with a severe head cold. I have been taking NyQuil and sleeping non-stop. Coughing is torture. I think I am actually feeling a bit better now than I was a few days ago, but time will tell.

I was driving my parents because my mother doesn’t trust my dad’s driving anymore, and she also has increasingly been stressed by taking care of his physical needs. He can’t walk very well anymore and refuses to use balance or stability aids like canes or walkers. He absolutely refuses to consider a mobility scooter. This has been a “neither here nor there” issue in the past but recently his endurance has decreased quite a bit. To clarify, looking back, I don’t mean it’s a sudden change. This has been building for a while. I think it’s more fair to say he quit pretending it was temporary or situational and finally started acknowledging he just can’t walk for more than a few minutes without rest. His refusal to use walking aids or substitutions is simple: he refuses to be seen with anything that makes it look like he *needs* help. Canes, walkers, scooters; they’re all blatant admissions that he isn’t as capable as he wants to be. I have no doubt there is a strong psychological trigger involved. After all, many people have no problem using a cane or something else if it allows them the mobility they need. But he is very guarded on this issue; so I may never know.

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Vacation, Fallout New Vegas IRL, and Sickness”

Paige Francis He/him