10 Times The Oscars Recognized 'Cool' Movies

Notable Nominations: Best Actress.

The first Alien film was a sci-fi horror masterpiece. It was tight, claustrophobic and remains as effective to this day. The film's sequel, Aliens, went for a much grander scale and made it a full-blown action film. The drastic change between the two films worked surprisingly well, as Aliens became an even bigger hit than the first film and is considered one of the best sequels of all-time.

One of the best aspects of Aliens is how the film allowed the character of Ripley to evolve from the first film. Sigourney Weaver as Ripley in the original Alien was a strong, rational survivor trying to escape this nightmarish situation.

In Aliens, she's a complete badass, no longer satisfied with running away but rather ready to take the fight to these deadly creatures. Weaver is awesome in the role, looking tougher than any of the macho marines she's onscreen with. She single-handedly helped usher in the concept of the female action hero.

As if that wasn't enough ground breaking, Weaver also became the first actor (let alone female actor) to receive an Oscar nomination for an action movie. Now, Aliens is a solid film through and through but it is unabashedly popcorn entertainment that you don't see get too many awards. But Weaver is so good in the movie and really elevates the whole thing, it made us believe she really was smacking around aliens.