After making a name for himself in the stop-motion animation world with films such as The Nightmare Before Christmas and last year’s Coraline, Henry Selick is leaving animation studio Laika for Disney/Pixar. Laika’s only previous film was Coraline, as they are still a young, developing company. Sources say he was frustrated having to wait for a project to come into development and that he wanted to get moving on some of his ideas right away. Unfortunately, the stop-motion process is rather time-consuming, and he simply wasn’t going to wait around. He will be working in Pixar’s Emeryville (Northern California) studio, developing films based on original and pre-conceived ideas. Read the full story

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of articles highlighting the major awards leading up to the 2010 Oscars. Check back for more each week!

The year 2010 is officially off and running/filming, which means a whole new award season is upon us (whether we like it or not). For this portion of the 2010 Oscar Preview, the nominees for Best Animated Feature will be blasted to your computer’s screen, your iPhone, your Android or that pathetic excuse for half-a-laptop “cleverly” titled the iPad. My loathing attitude for the iPad aside, let’s refocus the attention on the good, the better and the fantastic (Mr. Fox) that exist thanks to creative genius fused with countless hours of work on balloon designs, fox whiskers and making a princess smoochy-smooch with a frog worthy of the silver screen. Read the full story

In honor of the Dreamworks Animation Monsters Vs. Aliens hitting theaters this weekend here is a list of my 15 favorite animated films of the last 10 years:

15. Coraline 3-D (Selick, 2009)

Henry Selick uses 3-D technology to perfection in order to create a massively immersive fantasy. With a story based on a Neil Gaman book, we are led into a variety of environments with a world of intriguing characters.

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Last Sunday Slumdog Millionaire swept the Academy Awards concluding the culmination of 2008 cinema. 2009 film is now upon us. It’s been a bit of a mix with the horrendous Paul Blart: Mall Cop kicking off the year, but so far, it’s left us with a couple gems (Taken and Coraline 3-D). It’s not too early to take a look at the films that we will be seeing in next year’s Academy Awards. If you are looking for a more mainstream/blockbuster films, check out my 50 Must-See Movies of 2009. If you want a list of higher caliber films, here are my predictions for the major 2010 Oscars categories:

Best Picture/Director

I’ve decided to lump these two categories together since it’s too early to separate them out. Here are 10 films that I can see being in the running with some other contenders after:

Martin Scorsese – Shutter Island (a.k.a. Ashecliffe

Plot: Drama is set in 1954, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels is investigating the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane and is presumed to be hiding on the remote Shutter Island. Leo DiCaprio leads an all-star cast, including Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams and Max von Sydow

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LatinoReview was able to catch up Brad Bird at the premiere of Coraline, and got an update on his live-action debut, a big screen adaptation of James Dalessandro’s novel 1906.

“We’re looking at places to shoot it. The script I’m still working. It’s a really hard script to write. And mostly because there are so many interesting things going on in that place and that particular period of time that anytime you’re going towards something, you’re going away from 5 other cool things. So it’s been really hard for me to write. but I think it’s going to great. and we’ll see IF they have the courage to make.”

He also said there are actors involved but wouldn’t reveal any names.

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We now have the final Coraline trailer. The film is directed by Henry Selick, who brought us The Nightmare Before Christmas and features voice acting from Dakota Fanning and Teri Hatcher. Check out the trailer below or in HD on YouTube.

The film follows a young girl (Fanning) who walks through a secret door in her new home and discovers an alternate version of her life. On the surface, this parallel reality is eerily similar to her real life – only much better. But when her adventure turns dangerous, and her counterfeit parents (including Other Mother [Hatcher]) try to keep her forever, Coraline must count on her resourcefulness, determination, and bravery to get back home – and save her family.

This new trailer is fantastic and I can’t wait to see see the 3-D implementation. The film is released February 6th.

What do you think of Coraline?

UPDATE: The list below was written in January of 2009. I suggest checking out our new list, 65 Must See Movies of 2010. Click the image below to see:

So 2008 is over, come on, it’s time to move on. Here are 50 great reasons to go to the theater this year:

January

My Bloody Valentine 3-D (Jan 16^th)

Synopsis: After surviving a fatal accident that claimed the lives of five of men in a mine shaft, Harry Warden performed a horrific killing spree on Valentines night in the town of Harmony, killing 22 people before he was shot to death.

Why You Should See It: Early screening reports have said there is more sex, limbs, and buckets of blood than one can handle. The 3-D gimmick is the only reason this is on my list. If implemented right it should be a great time at the movies.

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