Stan Winston

First Ollie Johnston, and now Stan Winston?!? 2008 is turning out to be a sad year in movie history.

My favorite Stan Winston film, by far, is Aliens. If you haven't seen it, please do so now.

Are you done?

Yes, I was being serious. Please watch Aliens, now. I don't want to spoil it for you.

Okay, so back to my point... Sure, James Cameron deserves a ton of the credit for his well-crafted story. All the characters in the film have clear, credible motivations (some of which are initially hidden), and the plot twists and turns and escalates in a very exciting way.

And a huge tip of the hat to the editors, who knew how to build suspense by showing exactly as much as they needed to, no more, no less.

That said... Those creatures seem so freakin' alive! The way they uncoil from the shadows during the "town meeting" scene is truly chilling. (Anyone who's confronted a poisonous snake will agree, Stan and his crew must have studied predatory reptiles for motion reference.) The way the alien warrior emerges behind Newt from the sewer water, tail first like a giant scorpion. The threatening tilt of the queen's head, and the flailing of her limbs as Ripley torches the hive.

Those creatures were so convincingly real on so many levels. How this was all achieved with puppets and rubber suits is utterly beyond comprehension.

Stan Winston, you will be missed.