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‘Fightland’ Review: New Starz Series from 50 Cent Is All Jabs, No Hook

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In “Fightland’s” first scene, Calvin (Jurell Carter) tells his brother Maduka “Duke” Kilroy (Howard Charles), “The only round that matters is the next one.” It’s the heavyweight title fight and Calvin, a trainer, is just trying to motivate his fighter; he needs Duke to forget about the hits he took in the previous round and focus on what’s in front of him. The way he says it, too — forehead to forehead, eye to eye — implies a shared, deeper meaning between the two men. And it works. Duke delivers a crushing sequence of blows to claim the championship belt, and both brothers’ dreams come true at once.

When you’re against the ropes (literally in Duke’s case), words can take on a different meaning. What motivates a person to push past their limits doesn’t have to be poetic or even coherent. It just has to put them in the right state of mind to do what they have to do.

But the Kilroy brothers’ shared motto — invoked again later in the premiere, while also elevated as the episode’s title — comes to epitomize “Fightland’s” broader failings. Not only is the crime drama built around trite threats and goofy posturing that never pays off, but it embodies the literal interpretation of the brothers’ mantra instead of how they’ve come to understand it. “Fightland” is always hyping what’s next rather than finding meaning in what’s happening in the moment, which renders the action dull and its consequences empty.

It doesn’t help that Duke’s crowning achievement gets zero buildup and only lasts a few seconds. Shortly after his big win, he’s attacked by two thugs in a parking garage. They break Duke’s hand, and when Calvin shows up to help, they kill him. In a blind rage after watching his brother die, Duke catches up to one of their assailants and beats him to death — with a crowd watching.

Cut to: eight years later, and Duke is in prison. Presumably, his excessive use of violence left a sour taste in the public’s mouth, preventing a defense attorney from pleading self-defense and provocation, but it’s hard to say because the details of his fate are brushed aside to better support a revenge arc. All we know is that Duke was stripped of his title and he’s now trapped behind bars. He’s primed and ready to explode, so naturally an imprisoned cartel boss named Amado Rodriguez (Miguel Álvarez) soon points him at a shared target.

Turns out, Duke’s promotor, Kingsley Marshall (Nicholas Pinnock), set up the attack because he knew Duke was sleeping with his wife, Joy (Deborah Ayorinde). He wanted to take him down a peg, and — as the U.K.’s premier gambling and drug kingpin — he had the resources to do so. But now, Kingsley has disappeared. His impetuous son Zeek (Charles Babalola) and shrewd but overlooked daughter Cece (Anita-Joy Uwajeh) are running the business(es) in his absence, with the former focused on boxing promotion, the latter on the family casino, and both a bit lost in the drug trade.

'Fightland' stars Nicholas Pinnock and Charles Babalola in the new series on Starz from producer 50 Cent
Nicholas Pinnock and Charles Babalola in ‘Fightland’Courtesy of Christopher Raphael / Starz

Amado sees an opening amid the confusion. He wants to take control of the Marshall family’s illicit dealings, but he knows he can’t guarantee control unless Kingsley isn’t just gone, but dead. That’s where Duke comes in: If he draws Kingsley out of hiding and kills him, Amado gets an empire and Duke gets his revenge.

So Duke agrees, gets out of prison (again, who knows how), and returns to his old life. His father, Gazzer (Richard Pepple), is still bitter over Calvin’s death, but he lets his other son sleep in the spare room. His childhood best friend, Jay (Tyler Conti), remains fiercely loyal, but his comparatively sound morals keep him at arm’s length from Duke’s latest pursuits. And then there’s Kim Harper (Tahirah Sharif), a new ring girl who has her eye on Duke, even though his heart still belongs to Joy.

They all play their parts to stir up “Fightland’s” stock melodrama, complicating Duke’s mission by making him doubt its imperative. But creators Daniel Fajemisin-Duncan & Marlon Smith, as well as Damione Macedon & Raphael Jackson Jr. (“Power”), can only feign an ethical conflict, at best, since they cherry-pick which brutal killings Duke should regret (or even question).

The series uses Duke’s boxing background solely as an explanation for his superhuman ability to murder people. When he bludgeons his brother’s killer with his bare hands, or kills a convict held hostage in a cage, or shoots an innocent accomplice who’s in the wrong place at the wrong time, there’s no allusion to what started him down such a troubling, violent path, nor are we meant to question his heroic framing. He merely did what needed to be done — to get what he wants, and to fulfill “Fightland’s” quota for bloodshed.

It sure as shit isn’t going to get there with sanctioned fights.

For a series selling itself as a boxing drama, very little time is spent in the ring, and none of it honors the sport nicknamed “The Sweet Science.” (Boxers just land and absorb hits when the story needs them to, rather than win with a strategy or lose because they were outsmarted.) This is a crime drama, through and through, built around blunt-force action scenes and braindead emotional logic. If the former were anything better than brutal, over-edited montages (set to some of the dullest music to ever populate an action soundtrack — thanks, 50 Cent!), or the latter was enlivened by actors who could internalize menace instead of merely imitating it (although Charles proves to be a serviceable lead), “Fightland” might be a darkly satisfying drama.

As is, you’re stuck waiting for a next round — the only one that matters — that never comes.

Grade: D+

“Fightland” premieres Friday, July 31 on Starz and the Starz app. New episodes will be released weekly through the finale (Episode 8) on September 18.

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Sadie Sink’s Secret Role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day Revealed

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[This story contains spoilers for Spider-Man: Brand New Day.]

Sadie Sink‘s top-secret-ish role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day has finally been revealed.

The reason I say “ish” is because despite Marvel and Sink remaining tight-lipped, fan rumors have been swirling about her casting since even before the first trailer that dropped in March included a two-second clip of a mystery person in a green jacket. This led fans to speculate that Sink was playing powerful mutant Jean Grey, as the character is known to have fiery red hair (much like Sink) and wear the color green, at least in some of her classic comic book appearances.

Now that the Tom Holland-led film has hit theaters, I’m happy to congratulate those behind the rumors for being correct.

Throughout the Brand New Day press tour leading up to the film’s release on July 31, the Stranger Things actress seemingly dodged all questions surrounding any specifics of her role.

Earlier this month, during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, director Destin Daniel Cretton shared that all the secrecy with Sink’s character has to do with the moviegoing experience. “Keeping what Sadie’s doing under wraps, you’ll honestly understand when you see the movie. The movie is a better movie if you don’t know certain things,” he said. “I wish people didn’t know anything when they go in to watch this movie, but we’re not doing it for any other reason but to protect the experience of the fans. And whoever goes on opening weekend, you are going to have a much cooler experience if you go in not knowing certain things.”

Brand New Day has Holland back in the Spidey suit, with Zendaya and Jacob Batalon also reprising their roles as MJ and Ned, respectively. The fourth installment, coming off the box office success of 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, sees Peter Parker living entirely alone as Spider-Man in a world that doesn’t remember him. That’s until mounting pressure of seeing his old friends move on without him triggers a dangerous change, while a powerful new villain emerges.

Last year, while chatting with THR, Sink admitted she was looking forward to when she could finally talk about her Spider-Man role, as “There’s so much I want to share.”

“Spider-Man has always been my favorite,” she said at the time. “I love Spider-Man. I love Tom’s Spider-Man, especially. To be a fan of something and then join it is a familiar feeling for me, because I was a fan of Stranger Things before I joined the show, but I was super excited about what they had planned. I also worked with the director, Destin Daniel Cretton, in one of the first movies I ever did when I was 14, so it’s kind of a full-circle moment. I had an amazing time working on that film.”

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is currently playing in theaters.

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Kim Minha to Host 2026 Busan Film Festival’s Opening Ceremony

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Pachinko star Kim Minha will host the gala opening ceremony of this year’s Busan International Film Festival. Asia‘s leading cinema event customarily features two Korean stars at its kick-off event, but organizers revealed Friday that Kim will hold down the duties solo when BIFF raises its curtain on Oct. 6.

Busan launched its first-ever main competition section last year for its landmark 30th edition. This year’s event will continue to try to build momentum for the section, establishing the Busan Awards Grand Prize as Asia’s premier cinema honor.

Kim is best known worldwide as young Sunja in Pachinko, Apple TV’s sweeping adaptation of Min Jin Lee’s bestselling novel, in which she shared the saga’s central role across timelines with Oscar winner Youn Yuh-jung. The part, spanning the series’ two seasons in 2022 and 2024, turned the actress — who debuted in 2016 — into one of the most closely watched young talents in Korean film and television. She has stayed busy since, with credits including the Dinsney+ series Light Shop, TVING’s Way Back Love and Typhoon Family on Netflix, along with this year’s film Hana Korea. She won best actress in the international competition at the 2025 Seoul International Drama Awards and best new actress at the 2025 Blue Dragon Series Awards.

In announcing the appointment, BIFF credited the “depth and emotional precision she brings to every role” and her growing stature as a star of Korea’s new generation.

“Known for her poised yet spirited presence, she is expected to bring warmth and confidence to the opening ceremony and set the tone for this year’s festival,” organizers said in a statement.

BIFF’s 31st edition runs Oct. 6-15 at the Busan Cinema Center and other venues across the South Korean port city.

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Jordan Klepper Gawks at Anthony Fauci’s ‘Juicy’ Diary Entries

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Dr. Anthony Fauci’s diary was supposed to contain the goods. At least, that’s what “The Daily Show” host Jordan Klepper seemed to hope after Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) released the former White House chief medical adviser’s diary entries earlier this week.

Instead, Klepper found something considerably less scandalous: Fauci documenting what it was like to become one of the most recognizable people in America during the COVID pandemic, receiving compliments on Instagram and accidentally butt-dialing Barbra Streisand.

“Regardless, I know that Republicans remember COVID because ever since the pandemic, they’ve been calling for the arrest of Dr. Anthony Fauci, who spearheaded America’s COVID response,” Klepper said on Thursday night’s episode of “The Daily Show.” “And this week, one of his biggest haters escalated things.”

On Thursday, Fauci, a former top U.S. public health official, was questioned during a Republican-led Senate committee hearing into the origins of COVID and his handling of the pandemic. During the hearing, he repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment rights.

You can watch the full “The Daily Show” segment in the video above.

Klepper joked that if Paul had gone to the trouble of releasing Fauci’s diaries, surely they contained something incriminating. Instead, one entry had Fauci reflecting on his newfound celebrity status.

Fauci wrote, “It is not hyperbole to say that today I am the most famous and talked about person in the country and one of the most recognizable.”

“Yeah,” Klepper responded. “It’s not really a secret. Everyone knew– everyone knew that.”

The diary also apparently had some celebrity gossip, too. Fauci wrote about an Instagram post featuring supermodel Tyra Banks, noting that “One person said that Tyra was very sexy but that I was even more sexy than she was.”

Klepper was delighted by the revelation.

“Are we supposed to be surprised that Fauci wrote about being called sexier than Tyra Banks?” he asked. “If someone called me sexier than Tyra Banks, I’d write that in my diary.”

Klepper suggested that the diary’s celebrity entries were less evidence of wrongdoing than a glimpse at an older man discovering the unhinged nature of social media comments. He then turned to another entry, in which Fauci mentioned receiving an eggplant and water-splashing emoji from an Instagram commenter.

“Needless to say, a great honor,” Klepper quipped.

The diary also revealed Fauci’s brush with another legendary celebrity. In one entry, he wrote, “Had great call with Barbra Streisand. I told her that I work listening to her songs on ALEXA. She really did not know what ALEXA was. I accidentally butt called her later in the evening.”

Klepper was again amused.

“You butt dialed the Barbra Streisand, the funny girl, the Dolly Levi, the Yentl Mendel, the Esther Hoffman Howard?” he said, rattling off some of Streisand’s most famous roles.

For Klepper, the diary entries ultimately failed to deliver the explosive revelations that had been promised.

“So, basically, these diary entries didn’t reveal any shocking revelations about Fauci’s criminal negligence or intent,” he said.

Klepper then imagined Fauci’s tactic of pleading the Fifth being applied to increasingly mundane questions, joking that even a question about Fauci’s favorite Barbra Streisand song might receive the same response.

“I respectfully decline to answer,” Fauci said in Klepper’s imagined exchange.

“Damn it. He’s good,” Klepper responded. “He’s very good.”

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