Wow. Have I got one cool eBay Prop-Watch for you today. Fans of James Cameron and "Aliens" will want to pay extra attention, as this concerns you specifically. It's rather expensive -- though not ridiculously so -- and available for local pick-up only in Indiana, but the right fan will jump on this rare offering regardless of expense or distance.

"Aliens" was recently named the number one greatest movie sequel by Empire Online. It was a potent follow-up to Ridley Scott's 1979 original, giving fans more in just about every way, especially when it came to the titular aliens. The item up for auction in today's Prop-Watch is actually a promotional item more than it is a prop... but what a promotional item it is for you alien lovers. Read more...

-- Empire Online isn't technically a blog, but they do put together some reaully fun features. Features like "The 50 Greatest Movie Sequels," which pretty much speaks for itself. "Shrek 2" closes out the list, but the number one pick? Beating out "Godfather Part II" at number two, "Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back" at number six (BLASPHEMY!!!!) is James Cameron's "Aliens." Cameron gets two in the top 5, with "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" coming in at number three. (Empire Online)

-- Cinematical launched a new regular feature, Shelf Life, which takes a look back at movies that are more than five years old to judge whether the good ones hold up and whether the bad ones got an unfair condemnation. Their first pick? Sensibly (what with "Avatar" on the way), James Cameron's "Titanic." The verdict? You'll have to read the writeup to find out. (Cinematical) Read more...

-- In the pantheon of classic action movies, there is "Aliens" and there is "Die Hard." They're not the only ones of course, and I'm not entirely sure why those two live together -- maybe because both deal with trapped protagonists? -- but which one is better? It's the sort of question that movie nerds like me can debate into the wee hours of the morning. And that's exactly what George "El Guapo" Roush does in this feature for Latino Review. (Latino Review)

-- Did you know that four of this summer's many movie offerings featured a miscarriage or stillbirth? And that 12 featured vomiting, or a direct reference to the same? How about that two ended with Flo Rida's "Right Round" and two others ended with the Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow"? Find out which ones and more fun summer movie facts in William Goss's feature on Cinematical. (Cinematical) Read more...

Many movie lovers struggle when asked what their favorite films of all time are, but not me. My answer has been and always will be "Aliens." I'm not saying that it's the very best movie ever created, but it's certainly the one that most inspired me as a fan of what the movie medium can achieve. It should therefore come as no shock that the "Alien" franchise at large is unquestionably my favorite franchise in cinema history.

I love Ellen Ripley. Sigourney Weaver holds a special place in my heart for bringing one of the most courageous, cunning and capable heroines out there to the big screen, owing no small thanks to both Ridley Scott ("Alien" director) and James Cameron ("Aliens" director). Indeed, while Scott's contributions to the "Alien" universe are enormous -- after all, he literally invented the wheel in this case -- it's the realization of Ripley that was the secret ingredient in both "Alien" and "Aliens." Read more...

Milla Jovovich and Steve Zahn are in for the honeymoon of a lifetime when their trip to Hawaii turns deadly in director David Twohy's "A Perfect Getaway." Their holiday escape is anything but when they find out there are psychopaths stalking and murdering tourists on the Pacific islands.

Honestly, what were they expecting? Didn’t they know that tropical locations are a known hot-spot for homicidal maniacs? We’ve put together the honeymoon planner’s kit detailing locations avoid if you’re not a fan of taking an axe to the face. Read more...

The franchise has admittedly flagged a bit in more recent outings, but the news that original "Alien" director Ridley Scott is stepping up to helm a prequel is nothing less than exciting. He left the series after that first movie. James Cameron's sequel was excellent, but the two subsequent entries from directors David Fincher and Jean-Pierre Jeunet went downhill fast. Let's not even talk about half-alien/half-human hybrids. Ever.

Still, Sigourney Weaver's turn as Ripley in those films, particularly the first two, represents a formative moment for female action heroes. So naturally, MTV's Josh Horowitz asked her about Scott's upcoming prequel when he spoke to her at San Diego Comic-Con. Ripley obviously won't be showing up in it, but she had some lovely things to say about her former director and about the franchise as a whole.

by John Constantine

I hear the same complaint every summer: why are there so many sequels!? Don’t these movie-maker people have any original ideas? How about some new movies already? Look, everyone. Sequels are awesome. We’ve known this about popular fiction since popular fiction was invented. Long before Optimus Prime rolled out in “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” creators and audiences have been itching to return to their favorite characters and stories.

Just look at Cervantes. The guy created the modern novel. His "Don Quixote" was the 17th century equivalent to the summer blockbuster. Know what the guy did ten years after writing it? He wrote part two! Continuing adventures are coded into the very DNA of modern entertainment. The only problem is that they rarely live up to their predecessors. Here are the five movie sequels that not only met expectations, but exceeded them. Read more...

Zoe Saldana is sci-fi’s newest leading lady, having scored herself the lead role in two of the most highly-anticipated, big-budget sci-fi flicks of 2009. After taking on the space frontier as Uhura in J.J. Abrams’s remake of “Star Trek,” and playing Neytiri in James Cameron’s ten-years-in-development vision “Avatar,” Saldana recently dished about what is was like to work with two of Hollywood’s most innovative filmmakers – as well as two upcoming movies that seem certain to be out of this world.

“It’s amazing for an actor to work with J.J. and Jim,” Saldana gushed. “They are similar in that they are exquisite at what they do, and they are young at heart.”

When comparing the two A-list directors, Saldana said: “J.J. has made a very important place for himself in Hollywood by being an exquisite writer. And Jim has done the same by being an amazing voyager and visionary, and a great filmmaker.” Read more...

Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator. Robert Patrick as the T-1000. Pretty iconic roles, right? But it was almost a robot from another android movie and a rock star as those unstoppable killing machines.

“They were thinking of Lance Henriksen for the Terminator, and they wanted Arnold for the Michael Biehn part of Kyle Reese,” revealed “Terminator” stunt coordinator Joel Kramer. “And Robert Patrick wasn’t James Cameron’s first pick – Billy Idol was.”

It’s more well known that Henricksen, who was the android Bishop in Cameron’s “Aliens” movies, was first choice for the Terminator – but Billy Idol? “That’s something most people don’t know,” said Kramer, who now works on the television spin-off, “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.” “I don’t think I even told them that here, to be honest with you.” Read more...

The other day, we asked Sigourney Weaver to comment on any similarities that might exist between Ellen Ripley, the butt-kicking heroin from "Alien" and its sequels, and Dr. Grace Augustine, her new character from "Avatar."

But while we're geared up for Sigourney's newest, we couldn't help but wonder more about her first big-screen role, especially given recent rumors that director Ridley Scott had an idea for another "Alien" film. So, will we ever see Ripley again?

"The last time [Ridley and I] saw each other we talked about it. The character is still interesting [and] I'd love to work with Ridley again," Weaver said, raising our hopes to their absolute apex before immediately dashing them against the rocks of reality. "But Fox has effectively killed it because of ‘Alien vs. Predator.' What else can you do with the creature? You can take the situation, you can go back to where they came from. Read more...