Entertainment

‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ proves franchise is past extinction date

ELLY GRIMM

• Leader & Times

32 years ago, a tiny low-budget project from Steven Spielberg called “Jurassic Park” was released and captivated (and terrified) audiences all throughout the world.

Since then, there have been multiple sequels (not all of them as successful as the original hit), and the latest entry in the franchise, “Jurassic World Rebirth” has proven the franchise needs to go extinct before it becomes a complete parody of itself (*cough* “Fast and the Furious” franchise *cough*). While I was home for the holiday last weekend, my mom and brother and I trekked to the movie theater in Wellington to see it, and ultimately, I enjoyed the company more than the actual movie.

Sony strikes all the right chords with ‘KPop Demon Hunters’

ELLY GRIMM

• Leader & Times

The artists at Sony Animation have been knocking it out of the park with their releases and a couple weeks ago, those geniuses struck the perfect chord yet again with their most recent release, “KPop Demon Hunters” on Netflix. The movie follows a fictional K-pop girl group, Huntr/x, who lead double lives as demon hunters; they face off against a rival boy band, the Saja Boys, whose members are secretly demons bent on taking over the world.

I should know by now not to doubt the talent at Sony Animation because like with its 2019 offering “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse,” I saw some of the initial marketing and thought “Eh, I might enjoy it, let’s see how it is” and ended up really enjoying it, much more than I expected.

‘How to Train Your Dragon’ remake manages to achieve decent liftoff

ELLY GRIMM

• Leader & Times

Like many others in the earlier 2010s, I got caught up in the “How to Train Your Dragon” franchise craze (somewhat thanks to my younger sister) and was charmed by the story of leading man Hiccup and his dragon, Toothless.

DreamWorks recently decided to enter the live-action remake sphere by taking on the first film of the franchise, which I had the chance to take in as a birthday present to myself. For those who aren’t as familiar with the franchise, the first movie follows Hiccup Haddock III, an outcast and son of the village chief, who wishes to become a dragon slayer like the other Vikings, but instead helps and befriends a rare Night Fury dragon, ultimately discovering things are not exactly as they seem in the centuries-old conflict between Vikings and dragons.

Liberal Municipal Concert Band to make debut Friday

ELLY GRIMM

• Leader & Times

Earlier this year, members were being sought for a new Liberal Municipal Concert Band, and Friday, the band will be making its official debut.

The Liberal Municipal Concert Band will be making its debut Friday, with the music starting at 7 p.m., and the concert will take place at either the Light Park Pavilion or Maskus Auditorium at Liberal High School depending on the weather conditions. Admission is free, and people will also be able to visit area food trucks Big H Barbecue, C&A's Lemonade, Kozie's Kool Ice, Laura's Kitchen and The Hamburger Place.

Erivo stuns on sophomore album ‘I Forgive You’

ELLY GRIMM

• Leader & Times

Those who frequently read my column will probably remember near the beginning of December was when my review for “Wicked” came out, which was very complimentary to leading lady Cynthia Erivo and her performance.

A couple months ago, I came across an announcement online she would be releasing her second album, “I Forgive You,” and Friday, while working on some work here at the office, I finally got the chance to hear it, and I ended up being completely pleased by what I heard.