I haven’t had a chance to see “The Watch,” the new comedy about a group of Neighborhood Watch volunteers who have to stop an alien invasion, but the combination of Jonah Hill, Vince Vaughn, and one of my favorite British actors, Richard Ayoade, has me eager to check it out. There’s also the small matter of my love for alien-invasion movies.

With that in mind, I put together a list of some of my favorite unlikely heroes from alien-invasion movies over the years, which includes an alcoholic crop-duster, a high-school drug dealer, and a bunch of sorority girls, among other unexpected defenders of humanity. The list also features a former professional wrestler who saved the world from a bunch of ugly aliens that were only visible when seen through special, awesomely ’80s sunglasses in John Carpenter’s “They Live” — which is one of the greatest movies of all time, in my humble opinion.

Here’s an excerpt from my list of “Hollywood’s most unlikely alien-invasion heroes” and a clip from the film:

A homeless Rowdy Roddy Piper wearing late-’80s sunglasses (“They Live”)

Okay, sure… he’s not exactly an unlikely alien fighter given his size and status as one of the most famous professional wrestlers of all time, but his memorable performance in this outstanding 1988 film was anything but predictable. In the film, which was directed by horror legend John Carpenter, Piper plays a homeless drifter who discovers a box of sunglasses that allow him to see the world for what it really is: a place under invasion by ugly, blue-skinned, skeleton-faced aliens who are subliminally forcing humans to buy, procreate, and live by their consumerist directives.

He soon decides that the only right thing to do is to chew bubblegum, kick ass, and save the world, of course.

You can read the full article at IFC.com, and make sure to watch the embedded clip from my “Honorable Mention” entry. It will change your life.