Every week, I imagine all of us sitting...thinking about what the next Weekend Playlist article has in store for us. Call me a narcissist, but it's surely what I'm doing all week long. It's exhausting, truly.
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FILM

Nobody Asked for Eminem's Surprise Oscars Performance

The rapper performed his hit "Lose Yourself," which won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 2003.

Photo by Madison McGaw/BFA/Shutterstock

Considering what many considered to be an overwhelmingly white and male nominee pool, the 92nd Annual Academy Awards ended up being...not that bad?

Korean thriller Parasite made history by becoming the first foreign language film to take home an Oscar for Best Picture, and its director Bong Joon Ho was adorable on numerous occasions. Joaquin Phoenix, after being named Best Lead Actor, continued his streak of spicy acceptance speeches with a condemnation of the animal agriculture industry. Janelle Monáe's opening number saluted snubbed films like Us and Midsommar. Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph were, well, just as funny as you'd expect.

But there was one appearance at the Oscars that had many attendees and viewers perplexed. At the end of a montage celebrating iconic songs made famous by movies, clips of 8 Mile were projected on the screen as the instantly recognizable chug of "Lose Yourself" played along. And then—for reasons widely unbeknownst to the audience—Eminem himself appeared onstage to perform the 2002 No. 1 hit.

While some audience members in the Dolby Theatre happily rapped along, many seemed dumbfounded by Eminem's seemingly random appearance.

"Lose Yourself" became the first rap number to win the Oscar for Best Original Song back in 2003, but Eminem didn't attend that year because he didn't think he had a chance of winning. Although the reason for his delayed appearance is unclear, it seems Eminem just figured he was better late than never: "Look, if you had another shot, another opportunity... Thanks for having me @TheAcademy," he tweeted. "Sorry it took me 18 years to get here."

We're glad Slim Shady finally got his second shot, but why 18 years late? At this point, it feels like a pathetic and haphazard promotion of his eleventh studio album, Music to Be Murdered By, which received backlash for its audacious reference to the bombing at Ariana Grande's 2017 Manchester concert. A clip of old audio also recently resurfaced in which Eminem claimed he'd "side with Chris Brown" on the issue of Brown's infamous assault of Rihanna. Why are we continuing to bait Eminem's constant hunger for relevancy?

These audience reactions say it best:


MUSIC

Petition for Lupita Nyong'o to Start a Rap Career

The star showed off her rapping capabilities on last night's episode of The Tonight Show.

Lupita Nyong'o has already given us so much.

She's performed incredible roles in a variety of films, from Us to Black Panther. She's stunned Oscars audiences and fueled awards show dreams. She's spoken out about social issues like sexual harassment and colorism, and is writing a children's book about the latter.

It seems that there's nothing she can't do. On last night's episode of Jimmy Fallon, she showed us that if she wanted, she could easily take over the music industry. Appearing as her alter ego "Troublemaker," she once again proved that she has a talent for rhythm and wordplay.

This isn't the first time she's shown off her rap capabilities. On the way to the Black Panther premier in 2018, she gave us a glimpse of her freestyling alongside Letitia White. She also rapped alongside the cast of Us in another YouTube video.

Us Movie Cast Rap Video Jordan Peeles Us(Lupita Nyongo,Winson Duke)www.youtube.com

In 2017, she appeared alongside Chrissy Teigen in Comedy Central's Lip Sync Battle and showed off her dancing abilities. The pieces are all there, and judging by the signs, it'll only be a matter of time before we get our first Troublemaker mixtape.

FILM

Best War Movies to Watch on Memorial Day

Celebrate Memorial Day with the power of cinema.

Memorial Day is a somber holiday dedicated to honoring the fallen members of our armed forces.

While movies are often a great medium for escapist entertainment, they can also serve to help us explore unfamiliar perspectives and experiences. So if you're looking for a good way to contemplate the trials and tribulations of war on your day off, look no further than these cinematic tales of war:

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Welcome back to "Now in Theaters: 5 New Movies for the Weekend."

This week we have Jordan Peele's highly anticipated movie, Us.

WIDE RELEASE:

Us

Director Jordan Peele's follow up to his 2017 hit, Get Out, Us, features a family of four who find themselves targeted by an evil group of strangers who look exactly like them. The trailer suggests a movie chock full of terrifying, borderline-surreal imagery alongside the genuinely hilarious comedic notes that made Get Out such a success. The movie currently boasts a 98% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, so if you can stomach the horror, this is my main recommendation for the weekend.

LIMITED RELEASE:

Ramen Shop

Ramen Shop Trailer #1 (2019) | Movieclips Indiewww.youtube.com

A Singaporean film, Ramen Teh or Ramen Shop, tells the story of a Japanese ramen chef who travels to Singapore after discovering his Singaporean mother's notebook amongst his recently deceased father's belongings. He travels with the purpose of learning more about his family history, ultimately finding romance and a greater connection to food. The trailer features some gorgeous shots of ramen, so if you're into stories about the power of great food, Ramen Shop may be worth your while.

Dragged Across Concrete

Dragged Across Concrete (2019 Movie) Official Trailer – Mel Gibson, Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Carpenterwww.youtube.com

Vince Vaughn and Mel Gibson star as two cops gone bad in director S. Craig Zahler's newest crime thriller. After Gibson's act of police brutality leads to his and his partner's suspension from the force, the disgraced cops use their underworld connections to secure financial support while they're off-duty. Zahler has a knack for depicting violence, as evidenced by his previous feature Bone Tomahawk, so it stands to reason Dragged Across Concrete will have a similar flair.

Hotel Mumbai

HOTEL MUMBAI Official Trailer (2019) Dev Patel, Armie Hammer Moviewww.youtube.com

A thriller based on the real 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in India, Hotel Mumbai stars Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire) as a hotel employee working his shift when the terrorists strike. Now, Dev, his fellow staff members, and a number of guests, including Armie Hammer, must band together to survive and escape the bloodshed. If you're a fan of thrillers and dramatizations of true events, Hotel Mumbai should be right up your alley.

Out of Blue

OUT OF BLUE Official Trailer (2019) Patricia Clarkson, Toby Jones Mystery Movie HDwww.youtube.com

In mystery/suspense drama Out of Blue, Academy Award-nominated actress Patricia Clarkson plays Mike Hoolihan, a cop investigating the murder of a renowned astrophysicist. The trailer is baffling. The dialogue seems really bad, so bad it might be a joke, although it's honestly hard to tell. For instance, when a man utters, "Jesus Christ," Clarkson responds, "I don't think Jesus had much to do with this." Could that line have possibly been written seriously? If you're brave enough, watch the movie and find out.


Dan Kahan is a writer & screenwriter from Brooklyn, usually rocking a man bun. Find more at dankahanwriter.com


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Album Review | T.I. on 10 with "Dime Trap"

Listen to Tip's tenth studio album now!

Press photo

"Just because it's trap music, don't mean it got to be one-dimensional"

- T.I. proves his point with his 10th, and possibly strongest studio album to date.
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