Believe it or not, Ellen Ripley – a.k.a. Sigourney Weaver – has been voted the No. 1 action hero of all time!

Yeah, I believe it. She rocked in the “Alien” movies, and that’s a pretty awesome achievement when you consider that she beat out Arnold Schwarzenegger (2nd place), and Sylvester Stallone and Chuck Norris (tied for third place) in a poll conducted by British cable channel Sky Movies.

Matt Damon, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis and Steven Seagal also made it into the top 10. Each star was judged on five categories: weapons, one-liners, kill count, creative ass kicking and sex appeal.

But Sigourney was the only female on the list, which is impressive. Seems like Angelina Jolie should have been in there somewhere for “Lara Croft,” “Wanted,” and the other action flicks she’s made.

Photo Credit: TM and © Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved

"American Violet" tells the story of a young African-American mother named Dee Roberts (Nicole Beharie) who’s wrongly accused and arrested for dealing drugs in a poverty-stricken town in Texas. It’s based on the real-life story of Regina Kelly. Read more about her at ReginaKelly.com.

The official site for "American Violet" is now online, and includes the trailer, storyline, and cast notes. Under "Get Involved," the site also talks about the real-life stories of others in her situation, and what you can do to help change it (starting with call or write your politician!).

I look forward to seeing this thoughtful movie about an amazing woman. Directed by Tim Disney and rated PG-13 for thematic material, violence, drug references and language, it hits theaters in limited release on April 17, 2009. The film also stars Alfre Woodard, Michael O’Keefe, and Tim Blake Nelson. It’s done really well on the film festival circuit, too.

After the jump, watch the trailer…

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“Can Rob Pattinson become a real movie star?” is the question being asked by The Hollywood Reporter’s Risky Biz Blog.

It does make you think. Pattinson has grown to fame and become a household name because of the “Twilight” movies and his role as sultry vampire Edward Cullen. But will he continue to get good roles that don’t appeal to the teen/tween crowd?

His first major role, as Cedric Diggory in the Harry Potter movies, appealed to kids and adults of all ages. Then came, at about the same time, “Twilight” and “Little Ashes,” an R-rated movie in which he played artist Salvador Dali.

Next up is “New Moon,” in which he again plays vampire Edward Cullen, but he’s also close to signing for “Memoirs,” a dramatic movie about family tragedy.

Let’s face it. Playing Edward Cullen made Pattinson a teen sensation, but did it make him a brilliant actor? Will he be able to play these grown-up roles and become a great actor? Or is he already a great actor?

Photo Credit: TM and © 2009 Summit Entertainment, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

A few days ago, I posted about the 16 movies I’m looking forward to in 2009, with "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and "Public Enemies" leading the pack.

Now it’s your turn! Tell me which movies you’re excited about. And if they’re not listed in the poll, feel free to add your own or tell me in the comments.

Image: © Paramount Pictures

There are some fantastic movies coming up in 2009, and while you never know how a movie will fare until you actually see it, I’ve picked out 16 movies that I think will knock us out with their awesomeness. See if you agree, and add your own in the comments!

1. Watchmen (March 6). “Who watches the Watchmen?” That’s the question in this graphic-novel-turned-movie directed by Zach Snyder. Vigilantes, murders, superheroes, and lots of good and bad karma populate this movie, along with stars Billy Crudup, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Jackie Earle Haley. [Trailer] [Film Gecko Links] [Official Site]

2. Sunshine Cleaning (March 13). This probably won’t hit all the mainstream theaters, but it looks like a quirky film that will hit all the right notes. Amy Adams is a single mom who, along with her slacker sister (Emily Blunt) starts a crime-scene cleanup biz as a way out of their dead-end lives. Alan Arkin plays the doting dad in this dramedy that scored big at Sundance last year. [Official Site]

3. Knowing (March 20). Nicolas Cage and Rose Byrne star in this latest movie about number puzzles. Cage plays an MIT professor investigating a mysterious sequence of digits unearthed in a time capsule. Oh, and the numbers foretell tragic events, like a jet crashing on a freeway. [Official Site]

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There’s a fun “Twilight” contest taking place at TwilightMania.com and other online Twilight communities. It’s a scavenger hunt!

What you do is search for items throughout the Twilight communities to find Edward Cullen. The contest runs from March 1st until the complete “correct” list is submitted. There are 44 items to find, and you’ll be given a clue to each one.

Once you reach the last item, click on that item and it will take you to Edward. Then fill out the form here and submit your entry.

To see the full contest and rules, visit TwilightMania.com. Have fun! I hope whoever wins will email me and let me know, so I can write up a post celebrating your victory!

Image: Summit Entertainment; TwilightMania.com

The directing aspect of the "Twilight" series has certainly taken a lot of twists and turns, hasn’t it? First, we had Catherine Hardwicke for "Twilight," and I think she did a great job.

A lot of us were surprised to learn that Hardwicke wouldn’t be directing the second movie, "New Moon." That task went to Chris Weitz, who promised fans that he’d do a good job. I believe him.

Now we’ve got several names swirling around for the third movie, "Eclipse." Drew Barrymore had been rumored, but now it looks like Chris Weitz‘ brother, Paul Weitz is the chosen one.

So if you were in charge of the world, who would YOU choose to direct "Eclipse"? Vote in the poll, and tell me your reasoning in the comments below!

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Image: Drew Barrymore, Lucky You, Warner Bros. Pictures, 2007

In honor of Valentine’s Day tomorrow, I’m doing a series on Top Romantic Movie Moments. Check out Part 1 and Part 2, and see if you agree with my choices in Part 3 below. And add your own favorites in the comments section!

1. An Officer and a Gentleman. Zack (Richard Gere) is a commitment-shy Naval trainee who’s afraid of love. Paula (Debra Winger) is a world-weary factory worker whose Naval officer father loved and left her mother 20 years earlier. It looks like this relationship is headed for NoWheresVille, too, but then…Zack strides through the factory in his white Navy uniform, swoops Paula up in his arms, and carries her out as all of her friends cheer. And we cheer, too, because, well…the guy usually doesn’t come back. Not in real life, anyway.

2. Sleepless in Seattle. As Annie (Meg Ryan) wanders sadly around the top of the Empire State Building, she’s afraid she blew her one chance at happiness. Then she sees a backpack and picks it up, just as Sam (Tom Hanks) and his son, Jonah, step off the elevator. Sam and Annie can’t stop looking at each other as they all get on the elevator and begin the rest of their lives together…sigh…

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Valentine’s Day is nearly here (two days away!), so I’m continuing my theme of Top Romantic Movie Moments. Read Part 1 of this series here, and feel free to add your own favorites in the comments section.

Notice how some people keep showing up on these lists? Like Patrick Swayze, Renee Zellweger, Julia Roberts, Richard Gere … I guess some people are just more romantic than others. I hope you’ll take some time to revisit some of these feel-good favorites!

1. Pretty Woman. As Vivian (Julia Roberts) gets ready to leave town and start a new life, we weep for the love she thought could never work. Then we see a limo pull up outside her apartment, and Edward (Richard Gere) is sticking his head out of the sunroof waving a bouquet of flowers. She comes to the fire escape in disbelief, as he climbs up to rescue her from a life of struggle (remember - he’s afraid of heights!). And she gets to "rescue him right back." Priceless. Two broken people, mended at last.

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In honor of Valentine’s Day (this Saturday – are you prepared?!), I’ve compiled a list of top romantic movie moments. Since there’s no way I can put them all into one post, I’ll probably do another post or two. Let’s start with…

1. Dirty Dancing. "Nobody puts Baby in a corner." You tell ‘em, Johnny! And then the street-wise dancer grab’s the young girl’s hand and pulls her on-stage for "their" dance. Could there be a better ending to this nostalgic movie about young love at a 50’s-era summer resort? I think not.

2. Bridget Jones’s Diary. Daniel (Hugh Grant) and Bridget (Renee Zellweger) have just emerged onto the street from an intimate, candle-lit dinner. She raises her arm to hail a taxi, and then he pulls her into his arms and gives her one of THE most romantic kisses in cinema history. And then, of course, they go back to her apartment, where she realizes she wore…the BIG underpants! Just like real life.

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