One Instagram user @souljaboy claimed, “Happy bday Kandi much love and blessings!! Enjoy it 🔥 🎂 🎉 🎁”

This Instagram user @rasheeda said, “Serveeeeeeeee honey 50 where 👀👀!!! Happy Birthday 🎁🎈🎉🎂🎊”

And, Instagram user @yamashea added, “You better show them what 50 could look like!!🎂🎊🔥💯💪🏾🥵🥰 keep stepping on they necks 🖤💛💖”

Meanwhile, Instagram user @theyluvjaayy_ claimed, “25 AGAIN!!!!!!!!“

While Instagram user @tangelastone wrote, “Yessss Kandi!!! 🥳🎉50 and FABULOUS!!!“

Lastly, Instagram user @npbrowne_ shared, “Yeah black don’t crack! Beautiful 😍”

Aww, Roomies! Rocki Irish Mayers is quickly becoming one of the internet’s favorite celebrity kids. She recently popped out with Rihanna and A$AP Rocky, and her new fans have fans melting all over the timeline.

RELATED: Lil’ Fashion Killa! Rihanna’s Daughter Rocki Serves Next Level Cuteness During Pop Out In Paris (PHOTOS)

Baby Rocki’s Latest Appearance Has The Timeline Going “Awww!”

Rocki Irish Mayers is already giving “That Girl” energy and lil’ mama isn’t even one yet! A$AP Rocky and Rihanna recently took over New York City with all of their kiddos, including RZA and Riot. The couple previously celebrated their eldest son’s RZA’s fourth birthday and have been outside in the Big Apple ever since. Rocki tagged along with her big brothers too with new photos showing her getting some daddy-daughter time with A$AP. Even though A$AP popped out looking fly for the night, baby Rocki stole ALL the attention looking extra cute in her carrier wrapped in a pink blanket. See the adorable pics below.

The Internet Says Baby Rocki Is Giving Full Mini-Rihanna Vibes

Folks over in The Shade Room’s comment section couldn’t get enough of baby Rocki’s cuteness. Plenty of fans swore she’s Rihanna’s twin. Peep some of the reactions below.

Instagram user @missmoneybagg87 wrote, “She’s so cute 😍” 

Instagram user @khaliahjanea wrote, “look just like Riri as a baby 😍” 

While Instagram user @rihismygf wrote, “She looks like both of them 😍” 

Then Instagram user @bonitabillionaire wrote, “She gave birth to the same baby 3 times 😍😍” 

Another Instagram user @officialtonipayne wrote, “Did his genes even try? All 3 babies look like her. Sisterhood is so proud. 🥹” 

Instagram user @babydaddy_snatcher wrote, “Riri twinzyyyy 😍” 

Then another Instagram user @_therealmonroe1 wrote, “She’s beautiful ❤️ so happy they didn’t stop at two.” 

While another Instagram user @jstewww__ wrote, “Boyyyyy them GENES are perf 😭😭” 

Lastly, Instagram user @lb_gibbons411 wrote, “She is a doll baby ❤️” 

Baby Rocki Is Already A Lil’ Fashion Killa

Rocki Irish has been melting hearts ever since she made an appearance on the cover of W Magazine with her mom back in April. Since then, new photos of her have continued to hit the internet, and the cuteness stays on another level every single time. Photos from Paris showed her outside with Rihanna giving full fashion killa vibes in a vintage Dior green-and-black John Galliano beanie from 2002. She paired the look with a gray pleated Dior dress layered over jeans and sneakers.

Rihanna spotted out with her daughter Rocki. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/e1AeZbYdTM

— Rap Alert (@rapalert6) April 8, 2026

RELATED: Rihanna Or A$AP Rocky’s Twin? Baby Rocki’s First Magazine Cover With Mom Hypes Fans (PHOTOS) 

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 1 second ago

As a movie lover, there’s one phrase that always gets my blood pumping: “director’s cut.” We all know that studios often make changes that can absolutely ruin a movie, like when they added those awful voiceover narrations to Blade Runner. As soon as he could, Ridley Scott released a version without those voice-overs that is infinitely better.

While Scott might have gone a bit overboard in releasing so many different edits over the years, the point stands: a director’s cut is usually a way of improving a movie. Every now and then, though, a director comes along and does his best to ruin a classic. 

One such man is Richard Kelly, best known as the director of Donnie Darko. The original film stalled out at the box office, but it’s now considered a cult hit due to its heady mixture of violence, time travel, and coming-of-age teen hijinks, complete with the creepiest bunny ever put on film.

The most compelling thing about the movie is that it refuses to explain most of its craziest events, forcing you to think about what the heck you just watched long after the credits roll. Unfortunately, Donnie Darko: The Director’s Cut ruins everything cool and mysterious about the original by painfully explaining everything in excruciating detail.

Not All Director’s Cuts Are Created Equal

If you loved Donnie Darko in 2001, then the arrival of the Director’s Cut in 2004 probably seemed like a big deal. This new cut promised over 20 minutes of new footage, new special effects, and improved sound quality. Sounds great, right?

Unfortunately, the new footage mostly comes from deleted scenes awkwardly shoehorned back into the movie, without any concern for pacing or characterization. The result is an overly lengthy film; while the original Donnie Darko was a comparatively svelte 113 minutes, the Director’s Cut’s 134 minutes makes it feel like a bloated, plodding mess.

There are some other unnecessary changes here, including tweaks to the soundtrack. For another film, such changes might not be a big deal. However, Donnie Darko had an absolutely perfect soundtrack, one which used a series of quirky bangers to set the scene for the surreal events of the film.

The original needle drops made everything feel hazy and dreamlike, so any changes to them (even minor changes, like replacing “The Killing Moon” with “Never Tear Us Apart”) feel like cinematic blasphemy that is as offensive as it is completely unnecessary.

A Frank Examination

The main reason the Donnie Darko director’s cut sucks, though, is that director Richard Kelly forgot the quintessential rule of sci-fi storytelling: less is more. The original movie presented plenty of time-tripping mysteries, including how (spoilers, sweetie!) the title character traveled into his own past, ensuring that he’d die when a jet engine inexplicably fell into his bedroom.

Donnie laughs right before he dies, secure in the knowledge that he is fixing a doomed timeline and saving someone he loves. As the credits roll, first-time viewers are always struck by the same question: “What the heck just happened?”

Unfortunately, the Director’s Cut answers that question in the most literal and boring way. You see, in the original cut, Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal) takes an interest in time travel and receives a book, The Philosophy of Time Travel, written by a now-retired science teacher. But we don’t get much actual wisdom from the book and must figure out the timey-wimey narrative on our own.

In the Director’s Cut, we get pages from this book literally superimposed on the screen. Thanks to all this dreadfully boring exposition, we finally know what happened in the movie, and it’s pretty wild!

Ruining The Greatest Trip In Cinema

Apparently, the moment the jet engine landed in Donnie’s bedroom, it created a Tangent Universe. The young man is a Living Receiver who gains bizarre superpowers, including telekinesis and premonition, and has a seemingly impossible job: to return the jet engine to the Primary Universe, the only way to prevent the destruction of the entire universe.

By the end of the film, a traumatized Donnie creates a time portal and rips a jet engine off the plane that his mother and younger sister are in. He sends that engine and himself into the past, killing himself and closing the tangent universe while he laughs, knowing his sacrifice will save those he loved.

Is it a neat explanation? Maybe. But the one that you came up with in your head was probably way, way cooler. Unfortunately, this is the nature of science fiction: being handed the truth (like what the Smoke Monster is in Lost and what the Upside Down is in Stranger Things) is never as satisfying as trying to figure everything out on your own.

Donnie Darko: The Director’s Cut hands you every boring explanation on a plate, sapping the mystery from a movie it already ruined with new scenes and a botched soundtrack. If you want to watch the worst director’s cut ever made, though, it’s now streaming for free on Tubi.

Trust me, though: after seeing it, you’ll want to escape your new Tangent Universe and return to the timeline where you never watched this cinematic abomination!

Edit a lot of idiotic and stolen together into two hours of film, and you end up with a big, silly summer blockbuster in which legless men can be heroes, and the elderly can be useful.

By Joshua Tyler
| Updated 2 years ago

In theory, director Peter Berg’s Battleship is supposed to be based on the popular guessing game of the same name. In reality, there’s almost no connection between Battleship the movie and its Milton Bradley namesake at all, outside of a single thrilling ten-minute sequence involving buoys, missiles, and a big board. The rest of the movie is a puzzle made up of pieces cribbed from some of history’s most infamously ridiculous summer blockbusters.

Sometimes you want big, silly, and stupid on a random Friday night when you’re not going out.

Battleship is an alien invasion movie, I guess, but it’s also one of many Hollywood movies that only really uses aliens because killing them won’t offend anyone. Like any alien species imagined under such creatively corrupted circumstances, these extraterrestrials aren’t very good at their job.

They land in the middle of a naval exercise, which might not be tactically ridiculous if their ships had some sort of technological superiority that would enable them to crush their human opponents without a thought, but they don’t. Their ships can’t even fly.

Edit a lot of idiotic and stolen together into two hours of film, and you end up with a big, silly summer blockbuster in which legless men can be heroes, and the elderly can be useful.

Instead, they sort of flop about in the water and shoot at the Navy with weapons that, while weirder, aren’t all that much more effective than those used on the deck of a World War II-era battleship. Actually, they’re exactly that effective, as the movie later goes on to demonstrate.

Eventually, we find out they’ve arrived as some sort of pre-invasion force, we learn this via an out-of-place scene stolen from every alien invasion movie you’ve ever seen in which an ET mind-melds with one of the crew. So they’re here to wipe out humanity and take the planet for themselves, thus it makes sense when they set about blowing up our ships and attacking the Hawaii mainland. What doesn’t make sense is the alien attackers’ hesitance to shoot at anything that isn’t already shooting at them (later abandoned) or their refusal to kill little kids playing baseball (though they’re happy to murder the ones who use our highway system).

Taylor Kitsch is heroic, Rihanna steals scenes running around shooting guns, and Brooklyn Decker’s moves are so hypnotic it doesn’t matter what sort of dreck comes out of her mouth as dialogue.

So the aliens are ineffectual, ill-equipped, and their tactics don’t make a lot of sense. This leaves the film’s human component to carry the day and, well, they sort of do.

Taylor Kitsch is heroic, Rihanna steals scenes running around shooting guns, and Brooklyn Decker’s moves are so hypnotic it doesn’t matter what sort of dreck comes out of her mouth as dialogue. You won’t even mind that half the script seems like it was written as a PSA for the families of wounded soldiers.

Does it matter if you’re being manipulated if you know you’re being manipulated all along? I say it doesn’t.

Every moment of Battleship is either idiotic or stolen. Edit a lot of idiotic and stolen together into two hours of film, and you end up with a big, silly summer blockbuster in which legless men can be heroes, and the elderly can be useful.

Sometimes you want big, silly, and stupid on a random Friday night when you’re not going out. It’s unlikely anyone will make anything sillier or stupider than Battleship any time soon. Go ahead and watch it; just don’t tell anyone.

Battleship is now widely available on most streaming platforms, including Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Apple TV+, and Google Play.

The highly anticipated debut of Tailgate Beach Club at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas kicked off in unforgettable fashion, drawing in a star-studded crowd for a high-energy event. 

Headlined by Snoop Dogg, the event blended dayclub vibes with full-on Vegas spectacle, as celebrities, athletes, and influencers walked the red carpet and fans packed the venue. 

It was a hot day in Sin City, perfect for some pool fun and Tailgate Beach Club was packed with people enjoying the sun, water, drinks, and entertainment. The Blast was on hand for the red carpet arrivals and Snoop’s performance. 

In Vegas, everything is a party!

Tailgate Beach Club at Mandalay Bay welcomed guests on Saturday for the grand opening celebration in a big way – with red carpet arrivals and a performance by the one and only Snoop Dogg. 

Some of the celebs to walk across the carpet before entering the dayclub include professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, multiple San Francisco 49ers players, social media personality Jena Frumes, some of the cast of “Love Island” and “Love is Blind,” and many others. 

Snoop Dogg Performed For An Energetic Crowd Under The Vegas Sun

It’s summer in Vegas so of course, the temps are high and the sun is beating down, but that didn’t stop thousands from going to Tailgate Beach Club for a fun day poolside on Saturday. 

A few hours after the party started, Snoop showed up to perform some of his hit songs for the excited crowd who sang and danced along. 

Ahead of the grand opening celebration, The Blast received a press release that shared Snoop’s thoughts on performing at the new dayclub.

“Vegas knows how to throw a party, and Tailgate Beach Club sounds like it’s bringing a whole new vibe to the Strip,” Snoop said. “I’m excited to come out, rock with the crowd, and help get things started.”

And he did just that!

Tailgate Beach Club Has A Sports Theme

Tailgate Beach Club is a brand new dayclub from Clique Hospitality. While there are many dayclubs in Sin City, Tailgate is unique with a sports theme. It’s the perfect spot to catch a sporting event while soaking in some sun, relaxing in the pool, or chilling in one of 25 cabanas. 

With more than 125 feet of LED screens, heated pools and space for up to 2,000 people, Tailgate Beach Club delivers a 360-degree viewing experience. Beyond the sporting events, the venue also offers beer pong, foosball, and PlayStation lounges for some all-day fun. 

Open Thursday through Sunday, Tailgate Beach Club is the place to be for sports, pools, drinks, food, and fun games. 

BetMGM Partners With Tailgate Beach Club

BetMGM recently announced that they partnered with Tailgate Beach Club, just ahead of the grand opening celebration.

As part of the partnership, BetMGM will have a presence all around the dayclub, including an on-site activation team to introduce new players to the BetMGM app.

“Tailgate Beach Club’s mission of blending the energy of Las Vegas dayclubs and sports into a signature venue goes straight to the heart of BetMGM’s DNA — creating legendary moments players can’t get anywhere else,” said Matt Prevost, Chief Revenue Officer, BetMGM, according to a press release sent to The Blast. “This opportunity allows us to deliver incredible memories for fans, introduce our product to new audiences, and reinforce our Las Vegas roots.”

Coming Up…

The events calendar at Tailgate Beach Club is packed with upcoming events.

On May 17, catch the PGA Championship Final Round on the big screens. On May 21, watch NBA and NHL Playoffs. And for Memorial Day Weekend, Fat Joe will be performing on Saturday.

For more information, visit Tailgate Beach Club’s website.

Alex Cooper and her husband, Matt Kaplan, are expecting their first baby.

“Daddy Gang, there is something I’ve been waiting to share with you ….” Cooper, 31, wrote via her Instagram Story on Sunday, May 17.

Cooper went on to share a series of photos of her cradling her baby bump while looping at Kaplan, 42. She captioned the Instagram post, “Our family 🤍.”

The “Call Her Daddy” podcast host also shared a selfie of her sitting on Kaplan’s lap outside with mountains visible in the distance. His face was covered by her phone.

“Honestly happy I can finally stop trying to hide the bump lol,” Cooper wrote in a separate Instagram Story, alongside a photo of a bag of candy.

The news comes amid reports that the couple were experiencing tension in their marriage after the Unwell Network made headlines following allegations of Kaplan’s behavior. (Neither Cooper nor Kaplan have addressed the drama. Us Weekly reached out to representatives for Cooper, Kaplan and the Unwell Network at the time.)

However, sources close to the pair tell Us that the rumors are false. The insiders add that Cooper and Kaplan are so excited for this new chapter and have tried to hold out as long as they could before announcing.

Days prior to the announcement, Cooper and Kaplan attended the YouTube Brandcast event at Lincoln Center in New York City. During the Wednesday, May 13, event, YouTube revealed that they officially expanded their partnership with Cooper and her Unwell Network and announced four new shows.

Kaplan popped the question to Cooper in 2023. While recalling the engagement, Cooper told W Magazine at the time that her “entire house was covered in candles, lit all over, music playing, and a scavenger hunt leading to Matt proposing.”

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“There was a computer and the screen said ‘play me.’ I played the video, and it was Matt wearing the same exact outfit that he wore on our first Zoom meeting together,” she continued. “He talked about our relationship and his love for me, and then he asked me to open the card sitting there and to follow the scavenger hunt around the house.”

Cooper and Kaplan tied the knot in April 2024 in Riviera Maya, Mexico. The couple opted to keep their vows private from each other until their wedding.

“For our families and closest friends to hear us verbalize our feelings toward one another in the most intimate setting felt electric,” Cooper told Vogue at the time. “As you will see in almost every photo, there were no dry eyes in sight. We will never forget that moment.”

Health officials are once again sounding the alarm as a fast-moving outbreak linked to a rare Ebola variant spreads across parts of Central and East Africa. And let’s just say, it’s prompting urgent international concern. The situation has escalated enough for the head of the World Health Organization to step in. Now, they’ve formally classified the outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.