Dean-Thomas Chapman and George McKay in an early scene from 2020 Best Picture contender “1917.” Courtesy photoELLY GRIMM • Leader & Times
The 2020 Academy Awards are set to be telecast Sunday and this past weekend, I took the opportunity to go online and find Best Picture nominee “1917,” which is based in part on an account told to director Same Mendes by his paternal grandfather, Alfred Mendes and follows the story of two young British soldiers, Lance Corporal William Schofield (George McKay) and Lance Corporal Thomas Blake (Dean-Thomas Chapman) during World War I who must deliver a message (which is especially important to Blake as his brother is taking part in the pending attack) calling off an attack doomed to fail soon after the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line during Operation Alberich in 1917.
The first thing that captured my attention was the camera work and cinematography, because it is outstanding. As the result of movie magic, the movie uses long takes and very detailed, choreographed moving camera shots to make the movie appear as those it was shot in one continuous take and the end result of the movie is as a smooth, uninterrupted story, as stories should be. The cinematography is done in such a way that I somewhat felt like I was following the main characters and going with them on their mission, almost at an interactive level, and the overall effect is dazzling for viewers, and I can only imagine what this movie would have been like viewed in the IMAX or 3-D format.
The community is invited to take part in Liberal Memorial Library's Oscars Prediction Contest, which will feature some prizes for the top three winners. Courtesy photo/Shannon MooreELLY GRIMM • Leader & Times
The 2020 Academy Awards are right around the corner, with nominee luncheons and other similar events taking place in Los Angeles before the big night Feb. 9. Several predictions are being made about who will take home the statuette in each category and with the number of great performances seen throughout 2019, the speculation will likely continue until the big night.
Liberal Memorial Library is getting into the Oscars spirit by hosting a prediction contest of its own for the next several days. Ballots for the contest are available at the library’s front desk.
“If you predict the Oscar winners, you could win a prize. All people need to do is come in to the library to get a ballot, fill it out and return it by Saturday, Feb. 8, since the Oscars will be Feb. 9,” Liberal Memorial Library Assistant Director Shannon Moore said. “The three closest predictions will win a prize, and the winners of the contest will be announced Feb. 10.”
This is the second year the library has hosted such a contest and Moore said she is excited to see how everything turns out.
“We always look at the next upcoming month and think about what will be coming up during that month and what we could build some programs around. And with the Oscars being so big, we thought it would be great to do an Oscars prediction contest again. We did this last year and we had a great response to it, so we thought it would be fun to do it again this year,” Moore said. “it's something that's just really fun and I know a lot of people are interested in things like this, so it's cool how we get to have something like this at the library. We have a lot of programs that go on here, but this is something that's not really intense or time-consuming or anything like that – you fill out the ballot and go about your day and then ultimately you either have the right predictions or you don't, and there's no pressure with any part of this.”
The film adaptation of the hit musical “In The Heights” is one of the highly anticipated movies for 2020. Courtesy photoELLY GRIMM •Leader & Times
2020 is already a few weeks in, but there are already several upcoming movie releases creating buzz that people are anxiously awaiting as the year goes on. I was looking up what movies are looking to be released this year and there are several I’m already looking forward to possibly seeing this year.
Like my other lists, I’m not looking to actively exclude any films, these are just some of the films I’m personally excited for this year.
No Time to Die (April 10)
The next film in the James Bond franchise (also reported to be Daniel Craig’s last outing as 007) will see Bond recruited to rescue a kidnapped scientist and he finds himself hot on the trail of a mysterious villain (Oscar winner Rami Malek) armed with a dangerous technology. I saw the trailer for this movie the day it dropped several weeks ago and I was instantly psyched after watching it. I’ve enjoyed Daniel Craig’s portrayal of Bond since his fantastic debut in “Casino Royale” and I can’t wait to see how Craig’s swan song turns out. Malek (who I recently watched and was wowed by in “Bohemian Rhapsody”) should also make for a great villain and I can’t wait to see what he does with his role. I also can’t wait to hear the Bond song this time around, which will be sung by Billie Eillish, so it should be a hit. Overall, Bond’s next adventure should provide plenty of entertainment.
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The Leader & Times is published Tuesday through Friday and Sunday and reaches homes throughout the Liberal, Kansas retail trade zone. The Leader & Times is the official newspaper of Seward County, USD No. 480, USD No. 483 and the cities of Liberal and Kismet. The Leader & Times is a member of the Liberal Chamber of Commerce, the Kansas Press Association and the Associated Press.
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