FILM

10 Movies Guaranteed to Make You Cry

Because tearjerkers are cheaper than therapy.

best tearjerker movies to make you cry

By Claudia-Wolff (Unsplash)

News of mass shootings, threats of nuclear war, and political and cultural unrest are inescapable these days.

The human brain isn't meant to take in such a constant stream of bad news. As a result, many Americans have become numb and pessimistic, hardly blinking an eye when we hear about the latest tragedy. It's not that we don't care—it's that letting every heartbreaking thing actually break our hearts is just too much to handle.

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CULTURE

My Hero Academia Backlash and the Art of the Bad Faith Take

#WeSupportYouHorikoshi is a nice sentiment, but the threat is mostly imaginary.

Shueisha

The My Hero Academia Twitter fandom is up in arms against the evil SJW portion of the My Hero Academia fandom over their brazen attempts to cancel the popular manga series' creator, Kohei Horikoshi...Or at least that's what some bad faith actors want you to believe.

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FILM

5 Holocaust Movies to Watch on International Holocaust Remembrance Day

"Never forget" isn't just about remembering. It's about taking action to prevent it from happening again.

Buchenwald

Photo by Wim Van T Einde Unsplash

January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a day to commemorate and reflect upon the horrors of the Holocaust.

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Eminem 'The Jonathan Ross Show' TV Programme, London, Britain - 15 Nov 2013

Photo by Brian J Ritchie/Hot Sauce/Shutterstock

Eminem's spats with other stars are a big part of Hip-Hop lore, but Nick Cannon is sick of his sh*t.

Since 1999, Marshall Mathers has had 14 extensive feuds with rappers and entertainers and insulted countless other figures in pop culture. A battle rapper at heart, he's an emcee who thrives amid conflict. He once rapped about how conflict "gets his dick harder than arithmetic." His surprise Kamikaze album was, in this sense, a return to form. Released in 2018, Kamikaze revitalized Eminem's waning career after the lukewarm reception of 2017'sRevival, 2010's Recovery, and 2009's Relapse. Fans had long demanded he return to his sh*t-talking ways. So on Kamikaze, his battle rapping roots were on full display as he attacked a multitude of other emcees, the Mumble Rap subgenre, radio host Charlamagne Tha God, and Donald Trump. Since Kamikaze's release, Eminem's beef has begun to stack up in an almost gimmicky way. Still, his latest feud with Nick Cannon feels particularly disquieting, mainly due to Eminem's fervent obsession with Cannon's ex-wife, Mariah Carey.

Fat Joe, Dre - Lord Above (Audio) ft. Eminem & Mary J. Bligewww.youtube.com

During a guest feature on Fat Joe's 2019 single, "Lord Above," Eminem took yet another shot at Nick Cannon and rekindled his claim that he and Mariah Carey had dated. While the two pop culture figures hash it out in what is the most tepid rap feud of the decade, it's worth noting that almost 20 years later, Eminem still wants Carey to be discredited and overall has not changed his chauvinist attitude towards women.

Throughout his entire career, Eminem has always stood by an alleged fling he had with Mariah Carey. His initial mention was a feat of braggadocio, referring to Carey as his "lover" and "wife" in 2002's "Superman." Carey was quick to deny the affair, saying that the pair had merely shared a few phone calls. Since her denial and subsequent diss track, Eminem has made discrediting Mariah Carey a side project, devaluing her at random instances in his music career and reaffirming his side of the narrative, calling Carey a "f*cking liar," among other things. Nick Cannon's marriage to the starlet in 2008 only ramped up Eminem's harassment. "Nick Cannon better back the f*ck up," he raps on "Bagpipes from Baghdad," "I'm not playing, I want her back, you punk." He divulges an everlasting lust for Carey, calling her both a "wh*re" and a "c*nt," while explaining how badly he still wants her. Carey responded with a song called "Obsessed," featuring the line, "Why you so obsessed with me? Boy, I wanna know."

Mariah Carey - Obsessed (Official Video)www.youtube.com

The hit song prompted an even more aggressive response from Eminem, whose track "The Warning" graphically describes sex with Carey. He continues to hurl insults at her for denying their romance, while subsequently threatening to release nude photos and intimate voice mails from the singer to prove his point (the latter of which, he actually did, although Carey denies the voicemails are hers.)

But Eminem's misogyny goes back years before he met Mariah Carey. Christina Aguilera first noted Eminem's violent views towards women in 1999, when Eminem married his longtime girlfriend Kim Mathers. The marriage was done in secret and came after years of Eminem "slinging violent lyrics about her in his earlier work," said Billboard. Aguilera put the rapper on blast, exposing Eminem's secret while warning women about domestic abusers. Eminem has since continued to bite back at Aguilera, most recently in 2018, when during a 10-minute freestyle called "Kick Off," he rapped: "F*ck Christina with a plastic spoon, while I bump some G-funk and blast some Snoop, cause her double-g cups are massive, huge! It's fun for me to just grab a boob, plus my penis got an attitude, my f*ckin Weiner is in a combative mood."

During a 2003 feud with Benzino, the former The Source Editor-and-Chief released "Foolish Pride," an unreleased Eminem song wherein the young emcee can be heard disparaging black women. "Black girls only want your money cause they're dumb chicks," Eminem raps. "Black girls are dumb, and white girls are good chicks." He proceeds to call black girls "wh*res" and "bitches." The blowback was immediate and diffused the beef almost immediately. Eminem apologized and said he made the track about an ex-girlfriend when he was young, "stupid," and angry.

Regardless of the apologies he's continued to shell out, Eminem has dedicated a countless amount of bars to disparaging women. A few years after the "Foolish Pride" blowback, Eminem was caught in a feud with rapper Canibus, and in his subsequent diss track he wrote, "So I stabbed him twice. Kept jabbin', Christ! He won't die! This guy's like a battered wife!"

Eminem - Foolish Pride (Racist song) (READ DESCRIPTION)www.youtube.com

After his initial spat with Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon, Eminem was embroiled in yet another feud with rapper Limp Bizkit, and released a diss track called "Girls," wherein he compared the rapper to a "p*ssy" girl. In November of 2019, an unreleased Eminem feature surfaced, wherein the rapper can be heard siding with Chris Brown over Rihanna following Brown's infamous assault of the pop star. "Let me give my two cents, of course, I support Chris Brown. I'd beat a b*tch down too if she gave my dick an itch now." A representative from Eminem issued a statement saying that he rewrote the lyric in question and that "obviously" he and Rihanna have a great relationship.

Eminem's entire discography is interwoven with lyrics of this nature, and his insensitivity has continuously landed him in hot water over the course of his entire career (the LGBTQ+ community also hates him. He most recently sparked outrage when called Tyler, The Creator a "f*ggot in 2018). So as the temper-tantrum between Nick Cannon and Eminem drags on, it's important to remember that nobody wins, especially not the fans.

The Dixie Chicks - Emily Robison Natalie Maines Martie Maguire earned five Grammy nominations at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards in LA

Photo by Matt Sayles AP Shutterstock

Dixie Chick fans rejoiced this morning when Natalie Maines revealed that the bluegrass icons will release their first album in 10 years.

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FILM

"Spider-Man: Far From Home" Is the Best Sequel of the Year

Also, Jake Gyllenhaal is super hot and that makes up for his character's cliché motivation.

Spiderman, Disney

After the dark ages of Sony's floundering Spider-Man reboot, there's one thing fans and critics can all agree on: We love the new Peter Parker.

Tom Holland has brought fresh life to a character seemingly long-abandoned, and director Jon Watts cemented Spider-Man's comeback with the highly praised Spider-Man: Homecoming. But sequels are notoriously hard to get right, so Spiderman: Far From Home had a very big suit to fill.

And it filled the suit well. The main glowing achievement in this film, as with the previous one, was the superb acting from the main and supporting cast. Every single character was a pure delight to watch, and returning director Watts managed to keep a youthful, light-hearted tone throughout the whole film.

Disney

It was a little disappointing that Far From Home wasn't as much a buddy-comedy with Peter and Ned as it was in Homecoming. But what was lost in bromance was made up for with actual romance. MJ (played by the exceptional Zendaya) comes into the fold as the coolest kid you never actually spoke to in high school. Her chemistry with Peter is charming and undeniable; they play off each other effortlessly. I honestly haven't been this invested in a teen romance since Freaks and Geeks was taken off the air (RIP Lindsay and Daniel's misplaced love).

Jake Gyllenhaal's presence in the film is very appreciated, even if it seems to come out of nowhere. His is a really interesting take on the Mysterio character, replacing the magical element of his illusions with science and future-tech. Without delving too deep into spoiler territory, Mysterio's motivation ends up being a bit hackneyed.

Disney

It could be argued that this was intentional, poking fun at the tired "bad-guy" trope that's permeated the Marvel universe since the first Iron Man. But being tongue-in-cheek doesn't make the premise any more compelling, even if it is playful. Not a huge sticking point, but compared to the spectacularly menacing performance from Micheal Keaton as Vulture in the last Spider-Man film, Mysterio leaves a bit to be desired.

The only real complaint I can see being made about this film is that Spider-Man doesn't really have a character arc. His main goal in the film is to relax and tell MJ how he feels. Maybe what Watt was trying to do was show Peter attempting to have a normal life, then deciding that he needs to step up and take responsibility for his powers.

Disney

But that doesn't really happen. Instead, Peter says he wants to have a normal vacation and tell MJ how he feels, but at the first sign of chaos he jumps straight into action. For the rest of the film, he's complaining about having to fight evil, but he doesn't actually make any decisions about it. He just kind of does what he's told.

No one really cares about character arcs, though, so odds are that you won't really be bothered by this. The movie gets so many things right: authentic romance, genuine laughs, touching character moments, and top-notch special effects. The battle scenes, in particular, were thrilling, maybe even making it worth an IMAX ticket. If you loved the first movie, you're going to love this one. And stick around for the post-credit scene, which has definitely been spoiled online at this point—I think we're all ready for the next Spider-Man installment.

Rating: ⚡⚡⚡⚡/5