This weekend, the 3-D computer-generated spectacle Monsters vs. Aliens comes out in theaters, and the concept seems exciting and new, despite the long film history of its component parts. After all, the "monsters" of the title are all tributes to 1950s horror and sci-fi movies -- the Blob, the Fly, the 50-Foot Woman and the Creature from the Black Lagoon -- and the alien, with his giant robot, is a fairly standard Mars Attacks type. But together, in a Dirty Dozen-style story, it's like a whole new idea! Hollywood seems to like this math, too, if the in-development Cowboys and Aliens is any indication. We came up with a few genre crossovers we'd like to see, using established character types, in the hopes that Hollywood will finally return our phone calls.

Tags: dinosaurs, Monsters vs. Aliens, vampires, zombies