He's resurrected Rocky. He brought back Rambo. And now Sylvester Stallone might be continuing the trend by reprising his role as rock climber Gabe Walker for another Cliffhanger film. Remember that one? Stallone plays a rock climber who accidentally drops his best friend's gal off a mountain, then returns to stop John Lithgow from stealing a bunch of money? It's a pretty good film -- and anytime you have Lithgow play the villain, you won't go wrong. According to PR Insider, "Sony executives are in negotiations with Stallone to revive the character for The Dam."

Uh oh, does that mean there will be lots of water involved this time? Stallone first played the character back in 1993, and the film did pretty well at the box office (I believe it came in at somewhere in the $85 million range). One imagines Stallone will be the only one returning for The Dam, and his Gabe Walker character will be up against a new enemy. Here's my question: How many characters is Stallone going to revive before enough is enough? It's an odd trend; one that's making him money, sure, but Gabe Walker is no John Rambo or Rocky Balboa. What do you think about another Cliffhanger flick? Good idea, or should Sly stick with something a tad more original his next time out?

While we may not be looking at another Rambo sequel, Sylvester Stallone has made it known that he's definitely not ready to give up the action roles. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Stallone has struck a deal, along with his Rambo producers over at Nu Image/Millennium Films, to star and produce two action films, neither of which appear to be sequels to Sly's very lucrative Rambo and Rocky franchises. So what are the films and what will they be about?

Well, we don't know right now -- HR says that several scripts are being considered, and that "the first script is expected to be locked and loaded by the fall, with production set to begin shortly thereafter." Seeing as the guy is fastly approaching his mid-60's, I imagine both films will revolve around an aging (something) who, in order to save (someone or something), must wage a private war against (these people) and save the day. I know Sly had previously talked about remaking Death Wish, so there's a chance one of the two projects will indeed turn out to be Death Wish. The other one, however, is completely up in the air. If it were up to you, what type of film would you like to see Stallone take on? (Perhaps he'll take notice of our list of seven characters Sly Stallone could sequel-ize.)

This particular Cinematical Seven took awhile to sort out. First, I needed to decide whether I would focus solely on women who play sports in film or if I should open it up to women who play sports and/or appear in sports films. As you can see from the photo above, I went with the latter. Then I needed to decide whether I would only select drop-dead gorgeous women, or if there was room for the girl next door in the list as well. I'm sure you sympathize with the tough choices I had to make this afternoon. Anyway, in honor of Superbowl Sunday (Go Giants!), here are my picks for the hottest sports girls on film (a title which took me all of about an hour to come up with -- after all, there are so many different ways to write it):

Kelly Preston as Avery Bishop in Jerry Maguire -- She's harsh, she's intimidating and she doesn't exactly use those legs to kick a long field goal. Before Jerry (Tom Cruise) had his moral epiphany and wound up wooing the adorable Dorothy (Renee Zellweger), he was attached at the hip to the cunning, yet super sexy Avery. She'd come a long way from Space Camp, and after watching Jerry Maguire, I was extremely jealous that John Travolta got to spend every boot camp with this gal.

• Tab Thacker (1962-2007) - Wrestler and actor (pictured) who played Officer "House" in Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol and Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach. He also appears in Wildcats, City Heat and Melvin Van Peebles' Identity Crisis. He died after a long illness complicated by diabetes December 28. (WRAL.com)
• Jeanne Carmen (1930-2007) - B-movie actress and pinup model who appears in The Monster of Piedras Blancas and Untamed Youth. She died of lymphoma December 20, in Irving, California. (Variety)
• Peter Handford (1919-2007) - Sound recordist and mixer who won a Best Sound Oscar for Out of Africa and was nominated for his work on Gorillas in the Mist. He also worked on Hope and Glory, Dangerous Liaisons, Julia, Tom Jones, Night and the City, Summertime, Murder on the Orient Express and Hitchcock's Frenzy and Under Capricorn. He died November 6 in Suffolk, England. (Times Online)
• Edward Hansen (c.1925-2007) - Assistant director of Disney's Robin Hood, The Aristocats and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and production manager of The Fox and the Hound, Mickey's Christmas Carol and The Black Cauldron. He died December 20. (The Big Cartoon Forum)
  
• Jerzy Kawalerowicz (1922-2007) - Polish filmmaker who co-wrote and directed the Cannes winners Joan of the Angels and Pharaoh, which was nominated for an Oscar, as well as 2001's Quo Vadis? He died December 27. (EUX.tv)
• Michael Kidd (1915-2007) - Choreographer who worked on Guys and Dolls, The Band Wagon, Li'l Abner, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Hello, Dolly!, Star!, and Merry Andrew, which he also directed. He acted in Stanley Donen's It's Always Fair Weather and Movie Movie, Michael Ritchie's Smile and Blake Edward's Skin Deep. He received an honorary Academy Award in 1997 for "his services in the art of the dance in the art of the screen." He died of cancer December 23, in Los Angeles. (Variety)
  
• Pat Kirkwood (1922-2007) - Actress and singer who portrayed music hall star Vesta Tilley in 1957's After the Ball. She died of Alzheimer's Disease December 25, in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, England. (Variety)

"Live for nothin' ... or die for somethin.' Your call ..." I'm sorry, and I really have nothing to gain by throwing love at this movie, but Rambo IV (or Rambo, as I think it's now being called) looks to be all kinds of awesome. I'm really impressed with Sylvestor Stallone and what he's managed to do with his Rocky and Rambo franchises. While you might view him as some big, dumb, fading action star, he's actually a really smart guy and a terrific writer. Unlike this past summer's Live Free or Die Hard, Stallone isn't bringing Rambo into the new century and asking him to stand on a jet and dodge flying cars. He's keeping the story simple, setting it in yet another exotic -- but tremendously violent -- location, and serving up plenty of realistic balls-to-the-wall action.

We've already witnessed some footage from the flick, but it appears an official trailer has just landed online. I guess it becomes official when you have that deep-voiced guy reading lines over the action. And the film definitely looks to be a throwback to the way action films used to look, back before folks tried to impress us with ridiculous, far-fetched special effects. This is Rambo in the jungle. It's bloody, it's powerful and it looks like so much fun to watch. I've included the trailer above (there will be some grey to start out with, but stay with it -- the trailer will kick in), so let us know what you think. Rambo arrives in theaters on January 25, 2008.

When it comes to sports movies, it's nearly impossible to compare, say, Caddyshack and Rocky. One's a comedy about a golf tournament featuring a demented groundskeeper who talks to gophers; the other's a stirring boxing drama about the triumph of the scrappy underdog. Apples and oranges, right? Golf balls and boxing gloves -- Bill Murray vs. Sylvester Stallone. (I'm pretty sure I know who would win that fight.)

But we at Moviefone are nothing if not courageous (or stupid), so we threw caution to the wind and picked -- and then ranked -- the 25 best sports movies of all time. This was not, I assure you, an easy task. Things were said. Gauntlets were thrown. Heartfelt arguments were offered up as to why Major League is an honest-to-God classic. At one point I thought my colleague Kevin was going to go all Russell Crowe on my ass if we didn't include Cinderella Man on our list ... and don't get me started on our Raging Bull vs. Rocky showdown.

When the dust had settled, we had a list of 25 sports movies we felt were truly great. Of course, there's many a terrific movie we had to leave off -- but that's where the fun begins. Take a look and then let us know: How do you feel about our No. 1 choice? Which of our picks do you agree with, and which ones are you outraged we didn't include? So let the games begin, and remember: Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and sometimes ... it rains.

Jakks has produced this line of 8-inch action figures based on beloved characters from all of the Rocky films. It's an amazingly extensive collection, though you'll note they're a little light on Rocky V. I guess nobody wanted to own "Badly Brain Damaged Rocky." And they've got this version of Adrian where she appears to be exploding, but where's my "Coma Adrian" from Rocky II? Where's the beef? Oh wait...we've got the beef. Yes, the movie merchandising world has hit a new low. You too can own...a plastic replica of the side of beef Rocky punched in the original. Oh, and it comes with a blood-covered smock. No, I'm serious. Go ahead. Click the link. I'll wait.

Imagine you're a kid waking up on Christmas morning. You eagerly tear open a beautifully wrapped gift to find an action figure labeled simply: "The Meat." Wouldn't you think your parents were pulling some sort of cruel joke? Who would buy this, you ask? Apparently a lot of people. Even at the outrageous price of $12.99, "The Meat" is currently sold out. Now, I made some stupid purchases in my youth. At one point, I owned six different Leonardo Ninja Turtles. They were all the same, except one could store swords in his shell, one had a mask and trenchcoat, etc. Admittedly, my money could have been better spent on Pixie Sticks, Fun Dips, and Pogs.

However, even as a dumb kid, I wouldn't have bought, say, a large rubber pizza for the Turtles to enjoy. I wouldn't have bought a plastic ham sandwich for Darth Vader to nosh on between executions. You've got to draw the line somewhere. I love the Rocky series with all my heart, and I suppose Rocky beating his meat (could have phrased that better) is an iconic film image. But "Meat" is not a character. "Meat" does not an action figure make. "Meat" is not...oh, who am I kidding, I want one of these right now.

Every year the Library of Congress announces that it will shelter 25 films for posterity and here's the list for this year, from Variety. Joining the 450 films currently in the vaults are a range of pictures from features to documentaries. This year's pack includes the 1913 protest film Traffic in Souls, a very early American feature film with a then-stunning budget of $25,000. A film "so fast-moving and so packed with direct and veiled references to the vice trade that it's a wonder audiences could keep pace with it," comments ace silent film historian Kevin Brownlow.

More familiar inductees include recent hits like Blazing Saddles, sex, lies and videotape, Rocky and Halloween. Then you have classics like Notorious, and key works like The Big Trail by Raoul Walsh, The Last Command by Josef von Sternberg, the debut of Rouben Mamoulian, and the first Garbo-Gilbert picture Flesh and the Devil. The rarities are perhaps even more interesting: the early Chinese-American film The Curse of Quon Gwon and long-time experimental filmmaker and critic Jonas Mekas' Reminiscence of a Journey to Lithuania. A couple of the entries are performance films: St. Louis Blues (1929), a two-reeler that is the only existing film of Bessie Smith, seen singling the W. C. Handy song. And for more current relevance, the documentary The T.A.M.I. Show. with the late lamented James Brown performing "Night Train" and the Supremes doing "Where Did Our Love Go?" for purpose of comparison with The Dreams in Dreamgirls.

So, the other day I finally saw Rocky Balboa. And, while I'm not allowed to tell you anything until the week the film is released, I will say that, personally, I felt the final installment fits somewhere between parts four and five, as far as awesomeness goes. Now, for those of you who hated part five, this should be fantastic news. For those of you expecting the best Rocky film of them all -- well, try not to get your hopes up too much.

With that said, Sylvester Stallone donated the classic red and yellow boxing robe from the original Rocky, as well as his vintage black hat, a pair of autographed boxing gloves worn in Rocky II and -- of course -- those famous red, white and blue boxing shorts from Rocky III to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. On how he feels having these items sit beside Dorothy's ruby red slippers from The Wizard of Oz and Abraham Lincoln's top hat, Stallone said, "I knew I was getting old, but I didn't think I would be with the dinosaurs so soon." Starting on December 21, folks will be able to see them on display at the National Air and Space Museum's Treasures of American History exhibition. So, as you gear up for Rocky Balboa while watching parts one through five on DVD, now you can add one more stop to your trip down memory lane. Balboa opens in US theaters on December 20.

• The Rocky Statue was created by A. Thomas Schomberg and paid for by MGM. The 9-foot, 1,500-pound behemoth was commissioned for use in Rocky 3, to be used as the centerpiece for a scene in which the City of Brotherly Love shows how much it loves Rocky Balboa. (Foreshadowing AND irony!)
  
• After Rocky 3, the statue was re-located to just outside the Spectrum sports arena, which caused a lot of confusion for tourists who, after sprinting all 72 of the Art Museum steps, realized that Bronze Rocky was nowhere to be found. (Let's just say The Art Museum and The Spectrum aren't exactly within walking distance.)
  
• The statue made a brief re-appearance atop the Art Museum steps when Rocky 5 showed up, but was quickly re-placed back at the sports park.
• The Rocky Statue was put into storage when Veterans Stadium was (intentionally) destroyed in 2002, and that's where it resides right now. (In storage, that is, not in the destruction.)
  
• The arrival of this December's Rocky Balboa has sparked a lot of new chit-chat here in Philly: Several local politicians would like to see Bronze Rocky returned to somewhere very close to the Art Museum, while some on the museum board are dead-set against it. They don't think it's artsy enough, I suppose.
• Recent reports indicate that a compromise has been reached, and that the statue will most likely earn a home -- at the bottom (?) of the Art Museum steps. And just in time, too! September 6th marks the beginning of "Philly Loves Rocky Week," and Sly is scheduled to show up and soak in the love.