Today, the news broke that Disney has bought Marvel Entertainment, lock stock and barrel, for $4 billion. That includes Marvel Comics, with over 5,000 characters, and Marvel Studios, with the successful Iron Man and Hulk film franchises, plus the upcoming Thor, Captain America and The Avengers. It seems like it's a win-win scenario -- Disney gets a boys' brand to bookend the Disney Princesses, and Marvel gets some global multimedia clout -- but what does this really mean for our beloved Marvel superheroes? As fans, these are just a few things we're worried and/or excited about.

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With the sequel to Rob Zombie's remake of Halloween in theaters, the director has decided it's the perfect time to announce that he will next remake The Blob, the 1958 movie about a... well, a blob. From space. It's already been remade, in 1988 with Johnny Drama from Entourage, but we'll ignore that one if it means we'll get a grisly new sci-fi story from Mr. Zombie. Of course, Zombie doesn't have a monopoly on remaking old horror movies, and there are already a slew of re-imaginings in the works. We rounded up info on a few of the more high-profile ones, so you know which movies are currently getting hacked to bits in the editing room and which are just plain dead.

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There is a part of us that is vaguely interested in the movie Taking Woodstock, since we love Demitri Martin on his show Important Things, and the supporting cast (Emile Hirsch, Eugene Levy, Liev Schreiber cross-dressing again -- remember Mixed Nuts?) is impressive. But while the concert at Woodstock was certainly an exciting event, haven't there been enough movies about it? And is Ang Lee really the director to tackle the subject matter? Because when given exciting material, Lee has a tendency to turn it into a snooze-fest.

Case in point: The Incredible Hulk. When handed one of Marvel's flagship superheroes, Lee handed back a two-hour plus yawner about how Bruce Banner was present when his rage-aholic father killed his mother, and has inherited that rage along with his father's mutant DNA. The Hulk doesn't show up until at least 40 minutes into the movie, then he fights a mutant poodle in a dark forest, and when he finally fights another super-powered person at the end, it's his crazy dad Nick Nolte, who's a cloud, then a tree. A convoluted, backstoried mess, the movie spends as much time on feelings as plot, which isn't exactly the ratio you want when dealing with a superhero flick.

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The world lost a great filmmaker this week, as legendary screenwriter and director John Hughes passed away. Not only did the man write and direct many of the 1980s' greatest, funniest films -- Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off -- he wrote the screenplays for dozens more, including Pretty in Pink, Home Alone and the first three Vacation movies. We went through his body of work to pull out some of the funniest lines that we still quote to this day.

"I can't believe my grandmother actually felt me up." -- Samantha, Sixteen Candles

"Relax, would you? We have 70 dollars and a pair of girl's underpants. We're safe as kittens." -- The Geek, Sixteen Candles



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Julie & Julia is going to be great, not only because the effervescent Amy Adams is in it, but also because Meryl Streep somehow found a way to do a Julia Child impression that wasn't embarrassing. This is unprecedented. Which got me thinking about some of my favorite celebrity impersonations in film (not necessarily biopics, which are by and large the worst), and decided to put together a list of them. Which means it's ground-rules time.

First of all, they had to have had a theatrical release -- TV biopics about celebrities happen every five seconds, and there are just far too many of them to deal with here. (Though they do tend to be hilarious. Jennifer Love Hewitt's Audrey Hepburn, Willa Ford's Anna Nicole Smith, Meadow Soprano's Heidi Fleiss, that one where Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino both played Marilyn Monroe in the same movie, and don't even get me started on the hilarity of Victor Garber's Liberace.) Secondly, they had to have been about a celebrity, not a politician or historical figure, or an obscure artist. Basically, Basquiat was a great movie, but I don't have a clue how accurate the impression was, because it's not like the guy had sidewalk graffiti Christmas specials you can rent, you know? And so many people have been Richard Nixon that guy alone could have his own list. Maybe we will make that list some day! But that day is not today. Let's roll.

Fans of the classic children's book Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH were treated to animated version in 1982, retitled The Secret of NIMH. Except in the movie, there were some significant changes, like the addition of magic and mysticism, and a lot more deaths. Well, that may be rectified, since a new film adaptation of the book is in the works, one that will likely be a combination of live-action and computer-generated animation. If that had been an option back in 1982, they probably would have just done that the first time, as they would have with every other talking-animal movie made in that decade. We made a list of the animated classics that need an updated go-around, either because they didn't do the book justice or because a new version would make them that much cooler.

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What can we expect from Sacha Baron Cohen's latest film? Well, if you've seen Da Ali G Show, Ali G In Da House and Borat, then you know exactly what to expect: ridiculous accents, over-the-top risque humor and unsuspecting Americans caught on film doing and saying things that they probably should have thought twice about. Of course, Bruno has a lot to live up to, because Cohen has been shocking America (and Britain) for years, and he's done some things that are too shocking to top. Here are ten moments where Cohen knocked us for a loop.

Ali G is Pro-Choice (Da Ali G Show) B-boy Ali G has discussed the issues of the day with everyone from C. Everett Koop to Boutros Boutros Boutros Ghali, but never was he so close to a hot-button issue as when he attended a Pro-Choice rally and chatted up the Pro-Lifers who were protesting it. After asking a woman how she knew she didn't like abortion if she hadn't tried it, Ali then asked a priest if the reason he had never had an abortion was because he used condoms or fired blanks. Then he beat-boxed over an old lady singing "We Shall Overcome." Righteously funky!

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It's the Fourth of July weekend, and to many Americans that means cookouts and fireworks and sandy beaches. Unfortunately, it also means that it's as hot as balls. And so bright! It seems like we get closer and closer to the sun every year! This year, why not draw all the blinds, turn on the air conditioner, sit in the dark and watch movies that convey all the fun of the holiday, but without the annoying sunburns, sandy crevices and botulism risks? We've hand-picked the following movies for the complete 4th of July experience, or a reasonable facsimile.

The Fireworks! Independence Day (1996) This may seem a no-brainer, but this alien-invasion movie not only takes place on the 4th (Tagline: "On July 2nd, they arrive. On July 3rd, they strike. On July 4th, we fight back."), it also features enough explosions to vaporize Europe. Not only do the aliens create their own "fireworks" when they blow up Los Angeles, New York and Washington D.C., they also become fireworks when their charred remains burn up while entering the atmosphere.

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Zach Galifianakis has been everywhere promoting The Hangover this week, and with upcoming roles in a prominent HBO hipster series (that actually looks good), the already confirmed Hangover 2 and seemingly endless casting announcements popping up about him every day, it seems he's on the precipice of mainstream comedy fame. And for good reason. Aside from Louis CK, he's probably the best stand-up comedian working today, and in honor of Hangover Friday, I thought I'd do a little round-up of some of his most popular work for those out there who may not know much of his stuff yet. Get to know Mr. Zatch Gaspafanasky (as comedy club announcers frequently used to refer to him) before he makes soda come out your nose at the movies this weekend. (And for all you pre-existing Zach fans reading this, enjoy the memory lane strollin' after the jump!) Headphones are recommended, though -- these contain language of an adult, albeit ridiculously immature, nature.

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By now, even jaded, nit-picky Star Trek fans have decided to either like the new movie along with the rest of the world or dislike it just to be contrary. Whichever you've chosen for yourself, congratulations! You either are or are not, in the Vulcan parlance, a dickhead. Now we can set about the business of figuring out which actors we want to join this merry band in the next installment. There's only a few more crew members left to show, but there are plenty of rogues, aliens and monsters to cast! Here's who we wanna make a stardate with.

Blake Lively as Nurse Christine Chapel
Dr. McCoy's right-hand woman (originally played by Gene Roddenberry's future wife, Majel Barrett) needs to be tough and blonde, two traits Lively exhibits every week on Gossip Girl. In the original series, she crushed on Mr. Spock; maybe this time she and Uhura can have an Obsession-style catfight over him?

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Angels and Demons opens this weekend, and boy, does it look... exactly the same as The Da Vinci Code, except this time Tom Hanks has a decent haircut. And when the defining characteristic of your lead character is his haircut, you may be in trouble. (In other words, don't expect to beat Star Trek, Tom.) We're kinda disappointed, because usually Hanks delivers memorable, distinctive performances, whether good (Philadelphia) or bad (Bosom Buddies). Putting aside his famously Oscar-winning performance and his first steady cross-dressing job, we thought we'd run down the five roles that make Hanks a saint in our eyes, and the five that make him the devil.

BEST

Capt. John Miller, Saving Private Ryan This was not your ordinary war picture, and Miller was not your ordinary soldier. Hanks played him with a sly sense of humor, the appropriate amount of fear, and a quiet intelligence befitting his former life as a schoolteacher. And Hanks has that great barking-orders voice.

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Disney's live-action movies have been enchanting generations of kids with their wild fantasies since the 1950s, and they've recently undergone something of a renaissance. From The Shaggy Dog and Race to Witch Mountain to next year's Tron 2 and Swiss Famiy Robinson, Disney has been slowly updating all of their classics one by one. Now Terminator: Salvation director McG is preparing to make a new 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, about the submarine terrorist Captain Nemo, and while the rumor that Race star Dwayne Johnson would star was recently shot down, we're curious to see who McG will cast (he's aiming for Will Smith). It's gotten us thinking about other classic Disney films that are due for a remake (or a sequel, a la Tron), so we came up with ten that we could see Disney dusting off.

Bedknobs & Broomsticks (1971)
Quick, before Angela Lansbury gets too old for a cameo -- give us a sequel to this romp about a correspondence-course witch who protects Britain from Nazis. Maybe the kingdom of cartoon animals invades our world, and only Lansbury's witchy granddaughter Emma Watson (Harry Potter) can stop them?

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