Entertainment
Every Steely Dan Album Released in the 70s, Ranked
Steely Dan carved out a unique place in music history, fueled by studio perfectionism, potent and ironic lyrics and a jazz-rock sensibility that scored mainstream success while creating a cult following. The duo of Donald Fagen on keyboards and vocals and the late Walter Becker on guitar, bass and vocals teamed up with a bevy of renowned studio musicians to create a lasting musical legacy that continues to find an audience years later.
The band took its name from a novelty toy mentioned in William S. Burroughs‘ 1959 novel Naked Lunch, if you know, you know. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame back in 2001 and have sold over 40 million albums globally. It’s quite a daunting task to rank such a prolific set of albums that define a genre with classic songs: “Do It Again,” “Reelin’ in the Years,” “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number,” “Deacon Blues,” “Black Cow,” “My Old School.” “Peg,” and that’s just scratching the surface. Focusing on the 70s, here are Steely Dan’s studio albums ranked by songwriting, musicianship, and overall production.
6
‘Pretzel Logic’ (1974)
Steely Dan’s third album, Pretzel Logic, begins a shift in how the band approached recording in the studio. It was also the last album the group went on tour to support until the 2000s. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker both decided to focus on creating music in the studio and quit performing live. Jeff Porcaro, who went on to form Toto, played drums on all songs except “Night by Night,” which features Jim Gordon, best known for his work with Derek and the Dominos. Studio legends Chuck Rainey and Wilton Felder were brought in to play bass and The Eagles bassist Timothy B. Schmit adds backing vocals to three songs, including “Barrytown” and the catchy blues shuffle “Pretzel Logic.”
“Rikki Don’t Lose That Number” peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the group’s most successful single. “Any Major Dude Will Tell You” is another classic peeled off the album, inspired by spending so much time recording in California. A cover of Duke Ellington’s “East St. Louis Toodle-Oo,” which gave the band some jazz cred, and the potent country music-inspired “With a Gun” both showcase the diversity of Pretzel Logic. It’s also the last album to feature the original members Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, who would later join The Doobie Brothers, and drummer/vocalist Jim Hodder.
5
‘Katy Lied’ (1975)
A new era of creativity and studio musicianship is evident on 1975’s Katy Lied. The album is an amalgamation of featured artists including a slew of guitarists, including Rick Derringer, Dean Parks, Elliott Randall and the first of many historic collaborations with jazz legend Larry Carlton, who adds signature licks on “Daddy Don’t Live in that New York City No More.” Outside of playing some bass and rhythm guitar, Walter Becker also contributed the guitar solos on “Black Friday” and “Bad Sneakers.” Rick Derringer laid down the memorable and fiery solo on “Chain Lightning.”
Jeff Porcaro handled all the drums minus “Any World (That I’m Welcome To),” played by studio guru Hal Blaine. Chuck Rainey and Wilton Felder were brought back into the fold to play bass on tracks along with Becker. Legendary vocalist Michael McDonald sings backing vocals on the album, clearly heard in “Bad Sneakers” and “Any World (That I’m Welcome To).” Donald Fagen and Walter Becker continued growth as lyricists shine in “Black Friday,” “Bad Sneakers,” and “Everyone’s Gone To The Movies,” an upbeat island-vibe song about pornography. The album has a clean sound that would only improve as the band continued to spend ample time in the recording studio. “Black Friday” still jumps out of the speakers.
4
‘Countdown to Ecstasy’ (1973)
Countdown to Ecstasy is Steely Dan’s second album, which spawned the quintessential tracks “Bodhisattva” and “My Old School,” for which guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter approached the solo like a saxophonist trying to make his guitar honk. The members of the band were the same from the debut, but Becker and Fagen began to bring in a few outside musicians to enhance the record, including guitarist Rick Derringer for the slide work in “Show Biz Kids.” Like the debut, Walter Becker played bass and added backing vocals and Jim Hodder played drums on every track.
At the time, Countdown to Ecstasy wasn’t as successful as their debut, but in time has earned appreciation with some fan-favorite deep cuts, including “The Boston Rag.” The tune shows off the group’s irreverent and playful lyric writing with the classic opening line: “Any news was good news / And the feeling was bad at home / I was out of my mind, and you were on the phone.” “My Old School” was inspired by a drug bust at Bard College, when Becker and Fagen were students: “It was still September when your daddy was quite surprised / To find you with the working girls in the county jail.” Countdown to Ecstasy feels and sounds like a band getting into a grove that would be short-lived by studio experimentation.
3
‘Can’t Buy a Thrill’ (1972)
Steely Dan’s debut album is an eclectic mix of rock, pop and jazz. The effort features three different lead vocalists: Donald Fagen, David Palmer and Jim Hodder, who also played drums on every track. Palmer lends his vocals on “Brooklyn (Owes the Charmer Under Me)” and the hit “Dirty Work.” Fagen leads the way on hits “Do It Again,” and “Reelin’ in the Years,” while Hodder sings lead on “Midnite Cruiser.” The album features the twin guitar attack of Denny Dias and Jeff “Skunk” Baxter. Denny Dias used a rented Danelectro electic sitar for the memorable guitar solo on the Latin-tinged track “Do It Again,” while Baxter plays the classic lead on “Reelin’ in the Years.” Guitarist Denny Dias on his approach to playing in Steely Dan:
“I play jazz guitar in a rock-and-roll band and that’s all I’ve ever done.”
Can’t Buy a Thrill showed that Becker and Fagen were a potent songwriting force on the verge of taking the decade by storm. It marked the beginning of a glorious relationship the band had with Gary Katz, who produced every Steely Dan album through the 1980 release Gaucho. The album made an immediate splash, selling over 500-thousand copies in its first year and achieving platinum status in 1993, selling over one million copies.
2
‘The Royal Scam’ (1976)
The Royal Scam is a tour de force that captures Becker and Fagen hitting their stride as songwriters and entering a creative peak. The album’s lead track, “Kid Charlemagne,” was inspired by the rise and fall of notorious San Francisco LSD chemist Owsley Stanley: “Clean this mess up else we’ll all end up in jail / Those test tubes and the scale / Just get it all out of here / Is there gas in the car? / Yes, there’s gas in the car? / I think the people down the hall know who you are.” Larry Carlton plays the incredible guitar solo on the track widely considered to be among the best solos of all time. The jazz legend also plays on the energetic classic “Don’t Take Me Alive,” and “Everything You Did.”
Bernard Purdie played drums on all but two tracks on the album. The legendary soul and R&B drummer blessed the group with his signature style called the “Purdie Shuffle,” clearly heard on “The Fez,” Haitian Divorce,” and “Kid Charlemagne.” The title track is a six-minute opus that infectiously snakes along, highlighting Chuck Findley on trumpet. The Royal Scam is a brilliant album that showcases the maturing minds of Becker and Fagen and their obsession with studio perfection. It’s a flawless album that leads the duo to Aja.
1
‘Aja’ (1977)
Aja is one of the best sounding albums of all time. In fact, it won Best Engineered Recording — Non-Classical at the 20th Annual Grammy Awards in 1978. To this day, audio engineers and sound guys love to play this album to test speakers or prepare for soundcheck. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker used about 40 different musicians (including five different drummers on just seven songs) and many hours logged in the studio to get the sound and performances they wanted for their sixth studio album. The combination of more sophisticated songs and arrangements along with virtuoso performances and a nerdy level of high production standards was a perfect storm.
Fagen and Becker have many great quotable lyrics culled from every song on the album. The opening lines of “Black Cow:” “In the corner of my eye / I saw you at Rudy’s / You were very high / You were high.” The clever line in the chorus of “Josie,” “She’s a raw flame / A live wire / She prays like a Roman with her eyes on fire.” At just over eight minutes, the album’s title track, “Aja,” is the band’s longest song. The airy classic features the historic collaboration of Steve Gaad with his powerfully articulate drums along with jazz legend Wayne Shorter on saxophone. “Peg” and “Josie” are upbeat sonic treasures, “Deacon Blues” is a brilliant seventh-minute atmospheric track with a quotable and catchy chorus, and even the album’s deepest cuts, “I Got The News,” and “Home At Last” are well regarded. Aja is a masterpiece of studio perfection where each song and every moment is beautifully crafted and obsessed over. Studio perfection exemplified.
Entertainment
Who Is Maggie Sajak’s Boyfriend? Meet Jackson Olson
Jackson Olson has been making a name for himself long before his romance with Pat Sajak’s daughter Maggie Sajak.
Olson is best known for his role as a social media personality and player for the Savannah Bananas. Amid the Bananas’ growing online popularity, Olson has become a standout player on the team. The athlete has gone viral multiple times thanks to his Taylor Swift-inspired lip syncs and shameless ability to poke fun at his (once) lack of a dating life.
Last year, Olson posted a TikTok video saying he was tired of being “single for over five years,” adding that he’s ready for someone to call him “boyfriend.” Olson’s December 2025 post went viral, as thousands of women attempted to shoot their shot in the comments section.
Four months later, Olson’s wish came true when he and Maggie hard-launched their relationship.
“Applications closed✅,” Olson wrote via Instagram in April 2026 alongside a photo of him and Maggie at Disney World.
Keep scrolling for everything to know about Olson amid his new romance:
Jackson Olson Played College Baseball
Olson was an infielder for the University of Hartford from 2017 to 2020. The following year, he attended Stetson University, where he played college baseball for one season. In his collegiate career, Olson earned a .288 batting average.
Upon graduation, Olson had dreams of joining the MLB but was not selected due to a shortened MLB draft caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jackson Olson Has a Big TikTok Following
After putting his MLB dreams on hold, Olson started making videos on TikTok. He launched his page by creating silly — yet relatable — videos about delivering groceries via Instacart. Olson also posted clips of him traveling to various baseball stadiums. While posting his baseball-related content, he discovered the Savannah Bananas and ultimately caught their attention.
Olson has more than 2 million followers on TikTok at the time of publication.
Jackson Olson Has Played for the Savannah Bananas Since 2022

The Savannah Bananas are not your typical baseball team — instead, they play their own version of the game aptly titled “banana ball.” While the elements of America’s favorite pastime are ever-present, banana ball features a lot more dancing and singing compared to a typical MLB game. Olson joined the Savannah Bananas in 2022 after he went viral as a baseball influencer.
“I thought I was going to be this guy coming in [as] the TikTok kid [and] no one would like me [or] everybody would think ‘He’s just here to get views on his videos’ Hopefully the minds have changed,” he said in a 2024 YouTube video.
Olson is the team’s third baseman and has been nicknamed “The Greatest Showman” due to his love of musical theater and epic trick plays.
Jackson Olson Is a Big Swiftie
Olson has made it very clear that he is the biggest Swiftie on the Savannah Bananas roster. He has walked up to several of the pop star’s songs including “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart,” “The Fate of Ophelia,” “The Life of a Showgirl” and more. In a February 2026 video, Olson and Party Animals player Dalton Ponce got together to do the “Opailite” dance challenge.
Jackson Olson Went Viral For His ‘The Bachelor’ Prank
Before finding love with Maggie, Olson went viral for pranking his mom telling her that he was chosen to be the next Bachelor.
“I’m proud of you but it’s kind of weird,” Olson’s mom told her son in the May 2025 Instagram clip.
After some more teasing, Olson ultimately fessed up to his mom and shared he was “kidding.”
“She was NOT a fan of the marriage part 😭,” he captioned the video.
Entertainment
Allison Kuch Gives Birth to Baby No. 2 With Husband Isaac Rochell
Allison Kuch and Isaac Rochell have officially expanded their family.
The TikTok star and the former NFL player announced the arrival of their new addition on Tuesday, April 21.
“Our sweet baby girl is here!! Pepper Jo 🎀✨, ” the couple wrote in a joint Instagram post. “One of the best days of our lives and the vbac of my dreams!”
Alongside the caption was a carousel of photos featuring the couple — and 2-year-old daughter Scottie — holding their newborn in the hospital.
Kuch and Rochell — who have been married since April 2021 — previously Scottie in December 2023. In November 2025, the couple announced they were expecting their second child, captioning a joint Instagram post, “We’re having a baby!!!! ✨👶🏼☁️.”
The accompanying maternity photos showed Kuch’s bare baby bump and ultrasound images.
Throughout her pregnancy, Kuch shared her journey with her social media followers.
“First trimester ✨🥹🩷💙,” she wrote via Instagram in November 2025. “This pregnancy is so different / no nausea, reallly tired, extremely hungry and can cry on demand we already love you so so much.”
The following month, Kuch and Rochell revealed the sex of their second baby. Although she predicted their future child to be a boy, while he guessed it was a girl, the couple ultimately discovered they were having another girl, sharing the emotional moment they read the results in an Instagram video.
“I knew we were having a little girl,” he exclaimed, while she said through tears, “I’m so excited.”
In a follow-up post, Kuch added, “IT’S A GIRL ✨🥹🩷 what a dream to be a mom to two little girls!!!”
Prior to announcing her pregnancy, Kuch and Rochell hinted at their plans to expand their family.
“It’s funny. A lot of people think that he wants a boy because, like, sports, which I’m like, ‘That’s toxic.’ Whatever. But he’s like, ‘Oh, if I didn’t have a boy, I wouldn’t be sad,’” Kuch said during a November 2025 episode of “Two Parents and a Podcast.”
Rochell added, “No. I’ve been around men my whole life. Like, it’s been straight men my whole life. Other than my wife. I have a brother. Football. It’s all men. So I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m cool with a girl.’”
Kuch and Rochell knew they wanted to have two children — and “maybe a third,” since Kuch thought the “idea of two sounds lonely.”
“Unless we get rocked by the second kid, I feel like we’re going to have easily three,” Rochell noted. “I mean, we love having a kid.”
After becoming a mom for the first time, Kuch spoke candidly about her “journey” of self-discovery, sharing that it’d “been tough” to find her identity as she navigated parenting and postpartum.
“There’s so many life changes [with] becoming a mom and also Isaac not playing football right now, I’m like, ‘Wait, whoa, what’s going on?’” she exclusively told Us Weekly in November 2024.
Amid her struggles, Kuch praised Rochell for being a “good partner.”
“I just try to give her space,” Rochell explained at the time. “I mean, my phrase is always like, ‘Whatever you need, we’ll do it.’ If she needs help with something, I’m like, ‘We’ll do it, it’s not a big deal.’”
Entertainment
Amazon’s 10/10 Horror Thriller Becomes a Global Streaming Sensation
Every network and streaming service has a project considered its most successful, and for Amazon’s smaller streaming service, MGM+, that show is From. The intense mystery thriller is the streamer’s most-watched program and has successfully crossed over to other streaming services. The series returned for a well-received Season 4 last Sunday, and as expected, it is seeing major streaming attention.
Data from FlixPatrol shows the series is not just the most-watched on its home platform; it has also captured attention globally on multiple other streaming services. From HBO Max to Paramount+ and Stan, the series is proving to be a global fan favorite. This attention extends beyond SVOD streaming services to PVOD ones like iTunes and Amazon’s own rental service. This success is not surprising, given the show’s cult following and strong word-of-mouth since its 2022 premiere.
From is a horror series that blends several other genres, including mystery, sci-fi, and thriller. The series takes place in an unnamed town in an undisclosed location. The residents found themselves here without any idea of how that happened, why, or if it’s possible to leave. The town keeps them busy with monsters who come out at night to tease, torture, and kill them. In Season 4, the show dives deeper into the mysteries surrounding the town and how the residents can escape it.
What To Expect in ‘From’ Season 4, Episode 2
The new season brings fresh mysteries and horrors. The Man in Yellow (Douglas E. Hughes) (or the teenage girl now) infiltrates the town and starts to destroy it from the inside. Remember, what happens next is his favorite part. No one is suspicious about her since they all remember what it was like when they first arrived. Meanwhile, the town has lost someone, with Jim (Eion Bailey) being murdered by the Man in Yellow. “A gruesome discovery sends shockwaves through the town as Jade (David Alpay) and Tabitha (Catalina Sandino Moreno) struggle with the weight of their revelation,” the logline for From Season 4, Episode 2, “Fray,” teases. It’s as cryptic as the show, but one can deduce that Jim’s body will be found, and questions regarding what happened to him will arise. Season 4 also stars Harold Perrineau (Boyd), Hannah Cheramy (Julie), Simon Webster (Ethan), Ricky He (Kenny), Corteon Moore (Ellis), Elizabeth Saunders (Donna), and more.
Catch new episodes of From Season 4 on Sundays on MGM+ and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
- Release Date
-
February 20, 2022
- Network
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Epix, MGM+
- Directors
-
Jack Bender, Brad Turner, Alexandra La Roche, Bruce McDonald, Jeff Renfroe
- Writers
-
Vivian Lee, Kristen Layden, Brigitte Hales, Jeff Pinkner, John Griffin
Entertainment
One of Marvel’s Best Heroes Finally Returns on ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ With a Major Twist
Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 Episode 6.When Netflix and Marvel Studios partnered to bring the comic giant’s vast array of street-level heroes to life in the MCU, the plan was always to expand beyond Daredevil. Matt Murdock’s (Charlie Cox) debut was just the beginning of a sort of miniature version of the MCU, one that solely focused on New York’s mightiest heroes in a grittier, TV-MA format, which was a big departure from the more family-friendly MCU movies at the time. After Daredevil‘s first season but long before Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and The Punisher, Marvel’s second Defender entered the fray with Krysten Ritter‘s Jessica Jones.
With a detective-mystery vibe, a likable anti-hero, and one of the scariest villains in MCU history in David Tennant‘s Kilgrave, Netflix’s Jessica Jones was quickly able to catch the same lightning in a bottle as Daredevil. Ritter’s snarky, foul-mouthed private investigator with a hidden heart of gold quickly became a fan-favorite, which is why it was surprising when it initially looked like Disney‘s approach to the previous Netflix continuity was going to be ignoring it at best and outright decanonizing it at worst, despite Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio reprising their beloved roles. Thankfully, that decision was reversed before Daredevil: Born Again Season 1, and now, fans have finally been reunited with the character they’ve been waiting to see back on their screens.
Jessica Jones Officially Returns in ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Season 2 Episode 6
Before Marvel’s greatest detective returns, there’s one pretty important thing that Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 needs to address first — the death of Vanessa Fisk (Ayelet Zurer). Yes, any hope that Wilson Fisk’s better half somehow pulled through after being caught in the crossfire between Fisk and Bullseye (Wilson Bethel) is quickly dashed when her doctor confirmsshe didn’t survive her injury. It’s a shocking development for the Kingpin, as Vanessa has been a part of Fisk’s journey since the very beginning of Daredevil Season 1. Fisk is responding about as well as one would expect, as shown when he crushes the doctor’s spine before attending Vanessa’s funeral, setting the groundwork for an unpredictable future for the grieving Marvel villain.
After the doom and gloom comes the moment fans have been eagerly anticipating since Ritter was announced to be joining Daredevil: Born Again‘s cast, as well as a pretty big surprise. In a quaint suburb outside the hustle and bustle of New York, a crew of armed thugs descends upon a particular home, only to be thrown around like ragdolls by an unseen force. Meanwhile, a young girl is inside, gleefully unaware of what’s going on until her mom, who is none other than our beloved Jessica, checks on her after dealing with the gang of thugs. If the reveal that Jessica Jones has left her life as a PI to raise a daughter wasn’t already huge enough, the young girl’s name, Danielle, also drops a major bombshell for comic fans. In the original Earth-616 comicsverse, Danielle is the daughter of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage (played in the Netflix shows by Mike Colter, already confirmed to reprise his fan-favorite role in Daredevil: Born Again Season 3), so her appearance here all but confirms that Jessica and Luke rekindled their romance at some point during the Defender saga’s hiatus.
The actress also reveals what she definitely won’t miss about playing Vanessa.
Mom or not, armed mercenaries showing up where Jessica and her daughter live isn’t ideal, and she dusts off her signature leather jacket to find out who’s responsible, reuniting with Daredevil for the first time in almost 10 years. Jessica doesn’t seem too surprised to see her one-time teammate, even though the last time she saw him (as far as we know), he sacrificed himself to stop a sinister plot from The Hand, but with Danielle’s safety at risk, she has bigger things on her mind. Thus, Daredevil and Jessica team up to track down and beat up some thugs while Fisk’s empire begins to fall apart at the seams. It’s a reunion that’s bound to please the fans, though right now Jessica’s return continues last episode’s problem of feeling more like a fun cameo than a necessary plot development.
Fisk’s Empire Starts To Crumble and Karen Almost Makes a Colossal Decision in ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Season 2 Episode 6
Things aren’t looking good for Fisk, who has been largely keeping himself out of the public eye since Vanessa’s funeral. He’s not the only one having a hard time, either, as Matt’s worst-ever love interest-turned-worst-ever therapist, Heather Glenn (Margarita Levieva), is devastated by the loss of the woman she grew to admire and respect. Fisk’s right-hand man, Buck (Arty Froushan), even goes to comfort Heather, only for her to start violently choking him in a moment that both furthers her progression toward becoming Muse’s (Hunter Doohan) successor and her weirdly charged tension with Buck. Speaking of will-they-won’t-they romances, Buck’s protégé, Daniel (Michael Gandolfini), is getting closer and closer to figuring out that BB Urich (Genneya Walton) is the one making those anti-Fisk propaganda videos, but still trusts her enough to drop a bombshell reveal — Fisk is not seeking re-election as mayor.
Back at Daredevil HQ, Bullseye is now in Matt and Karen’s (Deborah Ann Woll) custody after the boxing match massacre. It’s the first time Karen has been face-to-face with the serial killer known as Benjamin Poindexter, and the torment of looking Foggy Nelson’s (Elden Henson) murderer in the eye is almost too much to bear. Karen may be in love with Daredevil, but in some ways, she does have more in common with the Punisher (Jon Bernthal), since she knows what it’s like to take a life. She almost does that very thing again with Poindexter before Matt stops her, leading to a fierce confrontation between the couple.
Matt and Karen have to put their trouble in paradise on hold, as City Hall currently has hundreds of protesters dressed in Daredevil gear waiting outside. As the AVTF predictably prepares to violate the protesters’ civil rights, Daredevil has his first face-to-face confrontation with Fisk this season, the latter of whom was just given even more bad news in the form of the New York governor pulling her support for him. Even after everything Fisk has done, Matt still tries to give his archnemesis the chance to do the right thing and shut the protest down himself. Of course, Fisk chooses the hard way, leading to another impressive scuffle between the foes that even damages Fisk’s beloved blank white painting, which he bought from Vanessa many years ago. Daredevil survives the encounter in what seems to be another sign that Fisk is losing control, but there’s just one problem: Karen was at the protest at City Hall, and she’s now been taken into custody by the AVTF.
The first six episodes of Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 are streaming now on Disney+.
- Release Date
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March 4, 2025
- Network
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Disney+
- Showrunner
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Dario Scardapane
- Directors
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Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson, David Boyd, Jeffrey Nachmanoff
- Writers
-
Jesse Wigutow, Jill Blankenship, Thomas Wong, David Feige, Grainne Godfree
- Krysten Ritter makes it feel like she never left with a dynamite performance as Jessica Jones.
- Matt and Karen’s argument introduces an interesting dynamic to their relationship.
- Fisk’s unpredictable behavior after Vanessa’s death makes him even scarier.
- Jessica’s role in the plot doesn’t feel super relevant to Matt’s story (yet).
Entertainment
Forget ‘The Blair Witch Project,’ Prime Video Just Added a Forgotten Horror Nightmare to Its Library
Found-footage horror has always depended on one trick above all others: making the audience feel like they have stumbled onto something they were never meant to see. Grainy video, awkward interview fragments, dead air, and procedural details can make invented terror feel uncomfortably close to reality. That is why Prime Video reviving John Erick Dowdle’s 2007 found-footage horror film matters. Not to mention that there has been a genuine lack of horror films in this genre, so it perfectly fills a gap.
A handful of titles like this mockumentary carry a warning-label reputation years later. They do more than scare and create the queasy feeling of witnessing cruelty in a form that looks half-archival, half-documentary. And in this case, the film’s legacy has long been tied to how convincingly it stages torture, stalking, coercion, and psychological breakdown inside a faux-investigative framework. Its interviews with police and victims’ families give the material a procedural shape, while the recovered tapes push the experience into something harsher and more intimate. For horror fans, that combination turned it into one of the genre’s most infamous dare-to-watch movies, the kind people discuss almost as often as they actually finish.
The title Prime Video has added is The Poughkeepsie Tapes. John Erick Dowdle’s 2007 mockumentary that spent years being treated like a buried artifact of extreme horror, helped by the fact that MGM shelved it after its Tribeca premiere and its release history stayed messy for years afterward. Now that it is easier to stream again, the film gets a fresh chance to unsettle a new wave of viewers. Its reputation remains earned: this is a deeply unpleasant, hyper-realistic serial-killer nightmare built around humiliation, manipulation, and sustained dread.
‘The Poughkeepsie Tapes’ Features Extremely Detailed, Disturbing Scenes But It’s Fictional
The Poughkeepsie Tapes gets under people’s skin because it presents cruelty with an almost documentary plainness, but it is still a fictional mockumentary, not real recovered footage. Because of that distinction, the footage’s power comes from how carefully it imitates true-crime structure: interviews, police framing, degraded VHS textures, and long stretches of humiliating, psychological abuse that feel horribly plausible. The film is disturbing less because of gore alone and more because it studies control, stalking, and degradation in such an intimate way. Viewers should approach it as extreme horror built to simulate reality, which is exactly why so many people find it difficult to finish.
The Poughkeepsie Tapes is available to watch on Prime Video. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
- Release Date
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January 2, 2009
- Runtime
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86 minutes
- Director
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John Erick Dowdle
- Writers
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Drew Dowdle, John Erick Dowdle
Entertainment
7 Most Universally Beloved Musical Movies of All Time, Ranked
The films in this list all understand that music can make pain more intimate rather than less. Hope sounds brighter when it is under threat. Romance cuts deeper when the world outside the lovers is already tightening into something cruel. And musicals last when the songs are doing more than decorating the story.
That’s only when I’m unable to sit through a musical and this list here ensures that. The greatest ones turn emotion into movement at the exact point ordinary dialogue would fall short. Longing gets bigger, fear gets stranger, joy gets almost unbearable, and heartbreak finally has the scale it deserves. They kind of drag you into the feeling until your own nerves start moving with the rhythm. At least that’s how it is with me but I understand for some, musicals might be more immersive. Either way, the movies below will sit with you.
7
‘La La Land’ (2016)
La La Land lands hard on people who know what it is like to want two beautiful things that do not fit in the same life. It starts with that traffic-jam blast of color and motion, a city declaring itself as a place where fantasy might still break through routine, then narrows into two people carrying private disappointments like bruises. Mia Dolan (Emma Stone) keeps walking into rooms that measure her and dismiss her. Sebastian Wilder (Ryan Gosling) keeps clinging to an idea of artistic purity that sounds noble until you notice how much loneliness is hiding inside it. Their first meetings have spark, friction, ego, flirtation, all the things that make romance feel like it might actually rearrange a life.
Then the movie deepens. They become each other’s witness. Her one-woman play matters since he believes in it when nobody else does. His club dream stays alive since she treats it like a future instead of a fantasy. That is what hurts later. The film does not wreck them through betrayal and instead lets ambition, timing, compromise, and ordinary adult momentum push them onto different tracks. The final fantasy sequence devastates people since it lays out the whole emotional crime scene in one sweep: the tenderness, the missed version of the future, the knowledge that love can be real and still lose. That is why La La Land became so big after its release and keeps hitting long after the first watch. In fact, no musical since then has come close in fame.
6
‘Cabaret’ (1972)
Cabaret unsettles in a way few musicals even attempt. It pulls you in through seduction first. Berlin feels alive, permissive, nocturnal, full of flirtation and danger that still looks glamorous from across the room. Sally Bowles (Liza Minnelli) sweeps in as pure appetite and performance, someone turning instability into style with such force that people around her start mistaking self-invention for freedom. The Kit Kat Club makes that confusion feel intoxicating. Everything is a show, every desire has lighting, every fear gets dressed up before it walks onstage. That is exactly why the film lingers under the skin. The pleasure is part of the trap.
As the plot keeps moving, the air changes. Brian Roberts (Michael York) brings reserve, Sally brings reckless hunger, and Maximilian von Heune (Helmut Griem) carries the wealth and ease that make the whole arrangement feel more decadent and more doomed. It all starts to feel less like romantic complication and more like people dancing on ground that is quietly giving way beneath them. The songs stop functioning as cheerful release and start behaving like coded warnings, taunts, or mirrors held up to moral collapse. On a macro frame, the movie tears at a very human weakness: our talent for confusing charm with safety. The personal mess and the political nightmare have fused so completely in it that you feel sullied by the glamour you once enjoyed.
5
‘Fiddler on the Roof’ (1971)
Fiddler on the Roof goes straight into one of the deepest human fears there is: the fear that the world which shaped you will not survive the lives of your children. It’s so weird and discomforting to think about in real life and the movie makes you sit with it. It follows Tevye (Chaim Topol), who is a man anchored by rhythm, routine, prayer, poverty, family, and the fragile dignity of tradition. His opening reflections are warm and funny, though the humor already carries strain. He is trying to hold together a life where structure keeps chaos from swallowing everyone whole.
Then the daughters begin forcing change into the house one choice at a time. One marriage bends custom, another breaks it further, another tears into the deepest boundary of all. The film’s power comes from how carefully it walks Tevye through each emotional stage: pride, shock, bargaining, anger, hurt, helpless love. He keeps trying to negotiate with a world that is no longer interested in slow negotiation. That is why the ending cuts so deep. Exile is not presented as one dramatic blow. It feels like the final removal of whatever was left standing after history, modernity, and private heartbreak had already done their work. Fiddler on the Roof lasts since it understands that tradition can be both shelter and burden, and losing it can feel like losing the grammar of your own life.
4
‘The Sound of Music’ (1965)
The Sound of Music lives in people’s memory as comfort, and it absolutely is comfort, though that only explains half its hold. The other half comes from how expertly it lets warmth grow in a house that initially feels airless. Maria (Julie Andrews) enters the von Trapp full of energy, clumsiness, uncertainty, and instinctive tenderness. Captain von Trapp (Christopher Plummer), the titular character, on the other hand, has turned grief into order, the children have been disciplined into stiffness, and the whole household moves like a place trying very hard not to feel anything uncontrolled. Then the songs start reopening the windows.
That process is why the film grips generations. The curtain-clothes outing, the singing lessons, the boat scene, the gradual thaw between Maria and the children, then between Maria and the Captain, all of it is paced with enormous emotional intelligence. Joy returns first as play, then as connection, then as love, and finally as resistance. The second half darkens The Sound of Music beautifully. Fascism moves closer, innocence gets cornered, and the family’s music turns into an assertion of identity under threat.
3
‘Singin’ in the Rain’ (1952)
Singin’ in the Rain follows the story of Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly), a silent-film star whose entire image has been manufactured, right down to the fake romantic publicity around him and Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen). Then talking pictures arrive, and suddenly the whole illusion is in danger. Lina has a shrill, grating voice that does not match the glamorous persona audiences have been sold, and the studio’s prestige picture collapses in front of everyone once sound exposes the lie.
That is where Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds) matters. She is not just the love interest who softens Don but becomes the actual solution to the movie’s central crisis. She can sing, she can speak properly, and she has the professional ability Lina lacks. When Don falls for her, the romance works since it grows inside a plot where he is finally forced to value substance over image. Then Cosmo Brown (Donald O’Connor) steps in and helps turn disaster into invention by pushing the movie-within-the-movie toward a musical. Singin’ in the Rain is a musical fully locked onto its deepest pleasure: the talented person doing the real work in the shadows finally being revealed in front of the crowd. It’s a lovely film.
2
‘West Side Story’ (1961)
West Side Story gets people at a gut level since it does not treat the romance as some dreamy idea floating above the plot. Instead, Tony (Richard Beymer) and Maria (Natalie Wood) fall for each other inside an active street war between the Jets and the Sharks, and the film never lets you forget that every tender moment is surrounded by people ready to ruin it. Tony used to run with the Jets and is trying to step away from that life. Maria is Bernardo’s (George Chakiris) sister, which means the relationship is already explosive before it even has time to breathe. Their first connection at the dance is thrilling precisely since the room is full of bodies, noise, rivalry, and watchful hostility.
Then the plot starts tightening around every hope they build. Tony tries to stop the rumble instead of feeding it, but he arrives too late to prevent Bernardo from killing Riff. In panic and grief, Tony kills Bernardo, and from there the film never really lets the lovers recover. Maria still chooses Tony, which is part of why the movie hurts so much. The love remains real even after blood has entered it. There’s more to the story but the point is — West Side Story makes hatred feel like a system ordinary people keep helping to operate even while it destroys the only good thing in front of them.
1
‘The Wizard of Oz’ (1939)
The Wizard of Oz works so deeply since its fantasy never loses contact with Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) and her original emotional problem. Dorothy starts in Kansas feeling powerless. Miss Gulch (Margaret Hamilton) can take Toto (Terry), the adults around Dorothy are distracted, and every attempt she makes to explain how upset she is gets brushed aside. When she sings about somewhere over the rainbow, she is a scared girl imagining a place where trouble cannot reach into her life so easily. Then the tornado comes, and the film transforms that wish into a literal journey through a world where every fear and desire gets enlarged into storybook form. Once she lands in Oz, the plot keeps giving Dorothy a clear objective: follow the Yellow Brick Road and ask the Wizard (Frank Morgan) to send her home.
Along the way she meets the Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), the Tin Man (Jack Haley), and the Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr), each of them convinced they are missing the one thing that would make them complete. The Scarecrow thinks he lacks intelligence, the Tin Man thinks he lacks a heart, and the Lion thinks he lacks courage. The film’s emotional trick is simple and brilliant: every one of them keeps displaying the exact quality they believe they do not possess. Dorothy sees that before they do, which is why the friendship feels so comforting. The Wicked Witch (Margaret Hamilton) then gives the story real menace by turning the journey into something more than a cheerful quest. Dorothy, in the disguise of exploring a magical world, is being hunted through it. By the time the Wizard is exposed as a fraud and Glinda (Billie Burke) tells Dorothy she had the power to return home all along, The Wizard of Oz lands on a truth people never outgrow: we spend so much time chasing authority figures, distant places, or grand solutions, only to realize the thing we needed most was already tied to love, home, and the people who actually see us. That’s simply why this movie is amazing.
The Wizard of Oz
- Release Date
-
August 25, 1939
- Runtime
-
102 minutes
- Director
-
Victor Fleming
- Writers
-
Edgar Allan Woolf, Florence Ryerson, Noel Langley, L. Frank Baum
-
Judy Garland
Dorothy Gale
-
Ray Bolger
“Hunk” / Scarecrow
Entertainment
FBI’s Zeeko Zaki Will Be Absent Ahead of Season 8 Finale
FBI is about to lose a main cast member — temporarily — ahead of the highly anticipated season 8 finale.
CBS released a synopsis for the Monday, May 11, episode of the show, which read, “Following the assassination of a major corporate executive, the team races to find leaders of a dormant terrorist organization that has reemerged.” The sneak peek went on to tease how Zeeko Zaki’s fan-favorite character, OA, is “temporarily reassigned after refusing to follow orders but is paired up with a familiar face.”
Based on the first look images, Agent Zara Ushruf (Pardis Saremi) is the familiar face. The duo originally met in episode 17 while on a case before they went out to dinner. OA was then noticeably absent from the Monday, April 20, episode of FBI and is expected to go missing again in the penultimate episode.
It is still unclear how long OA could be separate from the FBI. This comes after the procedural faced another surprise shakeup when a March episode of the hit show had Maggie’s (Missy Peregrym) first arrest — serial slasher Ray DiStefano (Matthew Rauch) — kidnap her sister, Erin (Adrienne Rose Bengtsson). Maggie spent the episode trying to save her sibling, only to find her dead in the back of DiStefano’s truck.
While Peregrym, 43, was missing from one episode, she has denied plans to leave the show entirely.
“I’ll be honest. I’m on a procedural show, and I wonder what impact this is possibly making? And sometimes I get freaked out because I think we’re just highlighting some of the horrors of humanity every week,” Peregrym told Deadline. “And what is this? What are we doing this for? What am I investing a lot of my life in to do this for?”
The actress expressed gratitude for the show’s decision to address such a topic, adding, “I think it’s really important what we’re doing, because we’re highlighting how to move forward.”
“Everybody experiences loss. Everybody goes through the depths of emotions in life,” she continued. “You have an opportunity to show connection, relationship, intimacy and growth. And this is exactly why I do what I do. I hope this makes people feel seen and that they want to keep going after such a horrific experience, and that they don’t give up.”
At the time, Peregrym remained hopeful about the plans for the show.
“To go so far. I was like, ‘What are we doing after this?’ You know, I’ve been playing the same character for eight years, and we’re going so far,” she noted. “What’s the plan? How are we going to move through the next steps of getting back on your feet and being able to be in the world again? We’re not a drama where we sit around in our underwear and chat on the couch. We’ve got to get back to work.”
She concluded, “So at what point are we going to address the reality of this scenario, and we are, we are doing it in the best way that we can with our show, like the way we do it on a procedural. But you know, as much as it scared me, I was terrified to go into that space at the end. I’m finding it really interesting to play my character now and finding these beats of when I can insert this stuff and when to work. And it’s just a challenge. It just feels like we’re doing a new show again. Do you know what I mean? And maybe that’s a gift.”
FBI airs on CBS Mondays at 9 p.m. ET.
Entertainment
Kendall Jenner Secret Romance With Jacob Elordi Revealed
Kendall Jenner’s love life is once again making headlines, but this time, the story may have been unfolding quietly for longer than anyone realized.
What first appeared to be a spontaneous Coachella moment with Jacob Elordi is now being revealed as something much deeper, with insiders claiming their romance had been building behind the scenes for months before going public.
Kendall Jenner And Jacob Elordi Romance Was Already Underway

When Kendall Jenner and Jacob Elordi were spotted sharing a kiss at a Coachella after-party hosted by Justin Bieber, many assumed it marked the beginning of a new relationship. However, new details suggest otherwise.
According to a source who spoke to the Daily Mail, “They have been together for a couple of months already, and it’s going well.”
The insider added further context, explaining, “They were an item as far back as early February, so it’s been a while. It helps that they have both been in Los Angeles a lot for the past couple of months, it has really given them time to bond.”
These revelations paint a picture of a relationship that developed gradually, away from the spotlight, before finally surfacing in a very public way.
Kendall Jenner’s Inner Circle Played A Key Role

Behind the scenes, the romance may not have happened without a little nudge from someone close to Kendall Jenner.
Her younger sister, Kylie Jenner, is said to have been instrumental in bringing the pair together.
“Kylie was around Jacob a lot during Timothee [Chalamet’s] award season marathon because Jacob was nominated for Frankenstein and Timothee was nominated for Marty Supreme,” the source explained.
The insider continued, revealing just how direct Kylie was in encouraging the match: “Kylie liked him and thought he would be good for Kenny so she was like, girl, get on it, date this guy already.”
While Kendall Jenner and Elordi had been friends for years, the shift toward romance did not come immediately.
The source noted that she “was not sure if she wanted to keep him in the friend zone or not,” suggesting there was hesitation before things evolved.
Kendall Jenner Moves From Friendship To Something More

Despite initial uncertainty, the relationship eventually took a more serious turn, thanks in part to Kylie’s continued encouragement.
According to the insider, “Kylie is the alpha sister and pushed Kenny to start a romance with Jacob because she wanted to set up double dates with Timothee.”
The motivation behind the matchmaking effort was also revealed. The insider shared, “She thought it would be fun if she and Timothee and Kenny and Jacob all hung out together.”
The dynamic between the sisters also appears to have influenced the situation.
“Though Kylie is younger, she is really the leader between those two, she has dominant Leo energy for sure, while her sister is more casual,” the source added.
What began as a long-standing friendship between Kendall Jenner and Elordi gradually transformed into something more, with the support and persistence of those closest to her.
Private Moments And Early Dates Behind Closed Doors
While the public only recently caught on to the relationship, much of it appears to have unfolded in private settings.
Early dates reportedly took place at Kendall Jenner’s Beverly Hills home, providing a comfortable and low-key environment for the pair to connect.
“Kenny’s house is where all the parties happen, a lot of action there, so the four of them got close there,” the source revealed.
It was during these gatherings that things seemingly clicked between them.
The insider described the turning point simply: “And Kenny found out she just clicked with Jacob… there was chemistry.”
These quieter moments allowed their connection to grow naturally, away from the intense scrutiny that often surrounds high-profile relationships.
Public Sightings Fuel Growing Buzz Around Relationship
Although their romance was kept under wraps for some time, recent appearances have made it harder to ignore.
At Coachella, multiple sources reported seeing the pair together in a more intimate setting.
According to Deuxmoi insiders, they were “enjoying each other’s company at the Justin Bieber after party, making out and all over each other,” signaling a level of comfort that suggested their relationship was already established.
Their history, however, stretches back even further. Kendall Jenner and Jacob Elordi were first seen in the same circles years ago, including a 2022 outing in Paris alongside Dominic Fike and Luka Sabbat.
They also attended the same Bottega Veneta show in 2024, though they kept their distance at the time.
More recently, the two were spotted at the Vanity Fair Oscar party in March, where they were photographed in what appeared to be a close, one-on-one conversation.
As their relationship continues to unfold publicly, past connections and recent sightings are now being reexamined through a new lens.
Elordi’s previous relationships, including his long-running on-and-off romance with Olivia Jade, and Kendall Jenner’s history with high-profile figures like Bad Bunny, Devin Booker, and Ben Simmons, only add further intrigue to their new dynamic.
With their romance now reportedly out in the open, what was once a quiet connection is set to quickly become one of the most talked-about relationships in Hollywood.
Entertainment
Taylor Swift Fans Blast Influencer Over Wild Pregnancy Claim
Taylor Swift‘s recent appearances and outings have led to speculations that she’s pregnant ahead of her wedding to Travis Kelce.
The baby buzz intensified after a popular influencer shared an old video of the singer, claiming her “rapid weight gain” was proof of the pregnancy and a “rush” to get married.
However, fans of Taylor Swift have been quick to shut down the wild rumors, with many noting that none of the supposed signs in the video mean she is expecting a baby.
Viral Social Media Post Reignites Taylor Swift Pregnancy Rumors Ahead Of Wedding

The internet was sent into a frenzy this week as rumors suggesting Taylor Swift is pregnant and hiding her baby bump went viral online.
The “Blank Space” singer has reportedly been busy perfecting her summer wedding plans to NFL star Travis Kelce, but has rarely made any public sightings in recent times without some form of cover-up or baggy wears.
Back in February, she shared a behind-the-scenes video of the making of her song “Opalite” to celebrate it reaching number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. One clip sees a barefaced Swift recording the vocals of the song while in another, she’s seen listening to the track with producer Shellback.
The clip recently resurfaced on X, as influencer Matt Wallace shared it to his 2.3 million followers, while claiming that Swift is heavy and expecting.
“Taylor Swift is 100% pregnant! She experienced a rapid weight gain, then seemed to disappear off the map. That is also why they are rushing the wedding for June 13th,” Wallace boldly wrote alongside the clip.
Fans Slam The Influencer’s Claim About The Pop Star

Reaction to the claim seemed mostly negative, with some speculating there may be truth to what the influencer said, while others criticized him for commenting on Swift’s body.
“I’m getting pregnancy vibes also. Don’t have proof. Just vibes. I hope it turns out to be true!!!” an X user commented. “But the wedding rush could also be because her future husband is playing NFL again. Preseason is months.”
Someone else wrote, “Nah, she’s not pregnant. She just looks like every woman I’ve ever known that got bangs.”
One angry critic stated, “Stupid men always have something to say about a woman’s body. F-ck you.”
Another noted, “Why are y’all so freaking weird? It’s literally none of our business. The obsession over the life of someone you’ll never know personally is gross.”
“The math ain’t mathing, if the album came out in October last year, this would have been recorded months prior, a baby should’ve popped out by now if that was the case,” one more person added.
Taylor Swift Has Reportedly Sent Out Wedding Invitations With Strict NDAs

Plans are in full gear for the “Anti Hero” singer’s special day, with reports suggesting many celebs have already gotten save-the-dates invites.
However, specific details about the nuptials remain unclear as Swift has not only kept her cards very close to her chest, but reportedly made guests sign off on a Non-Disclosure Agreement to prevent them from speaking about it.
The “Bad Blood” singer has been actively involved in the plans, although she’s also using an event planner.
Some of the guests that have been invited to the high-profile nuptials include her fellow stars Selena Gomez and Sabrina Carpenter, model Gigi Hadid, and actress Emma Stone.
The Singer Has Been Left ‘On Edge’ By Wedding Leaks

Meanwhile, reports suggest the “Karma” singer is struggling with wedding nerves ahead of the July 3rd date, as alleged details of her plan continue to make their way to the public.
According to OK! Magazine, this has sparked fears that the long-awaited event could spiral into a public spectacle.
A source close to the couple expressed Swift’s excitement about getting married to the love of her life, but said planning such a massive event, especially when she’s under scrutiny, has left her “feeling increasingly on edge.”
“She is known for being incredibly detail-oriented and fiercely protective of her private life, so seeing carefully laid plans and personal decisions exposed before she is ready has been deeply unsettling for her,” the insider said.
“It has knocked her confidence in how everything is unfolding and prompted serious conversations about whether she should rethink the entire setup, change key elements, or even pivot to a completely different approach in order to regain control and prevent the day from becoming the kind of media frenzy she has always tried to avoid,” they added.
Taylor Swift And Travis Kelce’s Wedding Gift Request Has Guests Talking

Ahead of their nuptials, Swift and Kelce’s alleged wedding gift request has sparked buzz and is said to have left guests stunned.
A source shared that the couple’s friends and family were told not to get them gifts for their big day, as they have more than enough already.
“They don’t need anything,” the source told journalist Rob Shuter for his Substack. “Between them, they have more than enough. So they decided — why not use this moment to help others?”
According to the insider, Swift and Kelce have directed their guests to instead donate to charities for their wedding.
“They’ve chosen causes that truly matter to them,” the source said. “Guests are being asked to donate instead of buying gifts.”
Entertainment
FBI says DNA evidence recovered from Nancy Guthrie's home is 'not new'
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The investigation into the missing 84-year-old is ongoing following her disappearance on Feb. 1.
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