Review: 'Trolls', Starring Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, And More

There is no reason that Trolls should work as well as it does.  George Lucas tried a similarly fantasy-tinged jukebox musical almost two years ago with Strange Magic, and it was among the worst movies of 2015.  Yes, Trolls is syrupy sweet, and I should be stumbling directly from the theater to a dentist's office to check for new cavities.  But rather than turning out insufferable, it manages to become adorable.

So how do you get an adorable children's story out of a bunch of intentionally ugly naked dolls with multi-colored hair and no discernible story?  First off, the folks at DreamWorks softened the features somewhat, while turning the hair into an appendage of its own.  For the story, they slapped on what seems at first to be a simple good-and-evil fairy tale, with the happy, brightly colored Trolls hiding from the drab, grey Bergens, whose only happiness comes from eating Trolls.

But when you dig into it, there's a really neat trick that Kung Fu Panda screenwriters Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger pull off here.  The Trolls are happy and colorful figures that kids will no doubt be attracted to, and they love nothing more than dancing and hugging without a trace of irony.  But the Bergens are, for lack of a better word, trolls.  There's no dancing or hugging or joy in Bergen Town, and the closest they come to happiness is in tearing down and destroying someone else's happiness.  Some of them like the Chef (Christine Baranski) are really dedicated to this happiness-through-unkindness project, and even work to indoctrinate younger Bergens -- the young Prince Gristle (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and scullery maid Bridget (Zooey Deschanel) in particular -- into the same worldview.

Which sort of sets would-be critics on their heels; it's easy to snark at a fluffy, candy-colored fantasy until someone asks you what's actually wrong with a fluffy, candy-colored fantasy.  Is the instinct to roll your eyes at Trolls just an attempt to tear down someone else's joy for the fun of it, or to somehow prove your own cool?  Are you criticizing actual faults, or just being a Bergen?

Of course there may actually be an argument against the happy party atmosphere, and that comes courtesy of the Troll survivalist, Branch (Justin Timberlake).  He warns that the world is not always safe and happy, and ignoring that fact could have unfortunate consequences.  The big party the Trolls are planning could well attract the attention of the Bergens, which of course it does.  A half-dozen Trolls get snatched up, and the eternally optimistic Princess Poppy (Anna Kendrick) enlists Branch's help in going to rescue them.

Kendrick and Timberlake's presence goes a long way towards making Trolls work.  Putting two well-established pop singers in the leading roles seems like a no-brainer, but again look back at Strange Magic to see that not everyone finds it obvious.  It also helps that the music is generally current pop, in dancey styles that kids today are likely to be fans of, rather than shoving '50s and '60s ballads at them.

Yes, it's cutesy, but at least it's more charmingly than cloyingly so.  There's not a lot in here for the adults accompanying kids to the theater, but it's generally pleasant and inoffensive enough to enjoy at a mere ninety-minute stretch.  Sometimes there's nothing wrong with just being cute and happy for a little while.

Rating: 3 out of 5

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Hair-Raising New Trailer For 'Trolls' Featuring Justin Timberlake, Anna Kendrick, And More

Dreamworks is hoping Mike Mitchell, animator on two Shrek films and director of Shrek Forever After, can do for trolls what he was able to do for green ogres. Mitchell is at the helm of Trolls, an animated comedy based on the little dolls populating office desks and car windows the world over.

Featuring the voices of  Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Russell Brand, Zooey Deschanel, Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Baranski, James Corden, Kunal Nayyar, Ron Funches, Icona Pop, Quvenzhané Wallis, with John Cleese and Gwen Stefani, the story sounds like a twist on the Smurfs' frequent run-ins with Gargamel. Here's the synopsis:

From the creators of Shrek comes the most smart, funny and irreverent animated comedy of the year, DreamWorks’ Trolls. This holiday season, enter a colorful, wondrous world populated by hilariously unforgettable characters and discover the story of the overly optimistic Trolls, with a constant song on their lips, and the comically pessimistic Bergens, who are only happy when they have trolls in their stomach.

Featuring music by Timberlake, Trolls hits theaters on November 4th.

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Anton Yelchin Falls For Zooey Deschanel In First Trailer For 'The Driftless Area'

There was a little bit of buzz surrounding Zachary Sluser's adaptation of Tom Drury's book, The Driftless Area, back when it was first announced in 2014. That was largely due to the strong cast he had put together for the surreal romance, including Anton Yelchin, Zooey Deschanel, Aubrey Plaza, and more. But the film played at Tribeca last year and quietly disappeared, suggesting it may not be so hot. However it's due to get a VOD release soon and the first trailer for it is here to convince you it's worth checking out.

Also starring  John Hawkes, Alia Shawkat, Ciarin Hinds, and Frank Langella, the film sounds like so many others, centering on a man who returns to his hometown and falls in love with a mysterious and possibly dangerous woman. Here's the synopsis:

“No one knows if Pierre fell for the wrong girl or was just unlucky in love.” Based on the novel of the same title by Tom Drury, Zachary Sluser’s neo-noir, metaphysical romance centers on a budding love affair that causes a ripple effect in a quiet town. After his parents’ death, an affable bartender, Pierre Hunter (Anton Yelchin), returns to his childhood home where he falls for the enigmatic Stella (Zooey Deschanel), a stunning woman with an elusive past. Pierre finds himself pulled into a cat-and-mouse game with an incompetent yet destructive criminal (John Hawkes). Braced with a duffel bag full of cash and unyielding optimism, an unveiling mystery sets Pierre down a path that will determine all of their fates. 

The Driftless Area hits VOD and DVD on April 26th.

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Review: 'Rock the Kasbah' Starring Bill Murray, Bruce Willis, Kate Hudson, and More

Bill Murray is a hugely entertaining guy who can do pretty much anything he wants. He can sing, dance a little, and if he needs to get dramatic he's not so bad at that, either. One thing he can't do is save the terribly outdated and unfunny Rock the Kasbah, a film about awful Americans and the horrid things they do in the Middle East. It's bad enough to offend audiences on multiple continents.

With direction by Barry Levinson one might think it would have the same cultural smarts as his Good Morning Vietnam, and maybe it would if Mitch Glazer wasn't the screenwriter. Glazer, a Murray confidante who most notably worked with him on Scrooged, must secretly hate his friend for putting him through this mess. Murray plays down 'n out rock music manager Richie Lanz, a guy with an inflated ego and sense of self (his favorite lie is that he discovered Madonna) whose practice has hit the skids. He's working out of a rundown hotel and his only client is the barely-talented Ronnie (Zooey Deschanel) who also works as his secretary. The film is basically a bunch of random encounters with characters you won't ever care about, and the plot kicks into gear when one such meeting leads to Richie taking Ronnie to Afghanistan to work a USO tour.

Of course it's a disastrous idea; Kabul turns out to be a complete war zone (shocker!!) which freaks out Ronnie. But she's totally cool with the weirdo gun-toting mercenary (Bruce Willis) who easily picks her up at the hotel lounge, and then whisks her away under the cover of night. Richie barely seems to care that she's gone except that he no longer has an act, no money, and no way home. That we never see her again is barely an issue, but such is the lackadaisical treatment of all the relationships in this film. Richie makes friends with a pair of loudmouth American gun dealers (Danny McBride and Scott Caan) who set him up for a gun smuggling run. Why does he do it? Who knows, and it doesn't really matter. Richie also becomes fast friends with a local prostitute (Kate Hudson) looking to retire, but not until she screws him so good that he makes her his partner-in-crime or something.

After a wildly inept and unfocused hour what marginally resembles a plot emerges when Richie hears Salima (Leem Lubany), a young Pashtun girl singing in a cave late one night. Women are forbidden from singing in her culture and to be caught doing so could mean death, but what the heck, it's a sign from God or something so Richie becomes her manager in hopes of having her appear on Afghan Star, an American Idol-style reality show. The film settles into a half-baked empowerment story about women in the Middle East breaking free of the shackles placed upon them. Maybe that would be a fine path for Glazer's story to take if he had started it about 45 minutes earlier, but the vast majority of the film consists of Richie bouncing around like a marble and getting into bizarre situations. While billed as a comedy there are practically no laughs and the mood is surprisingly grim. Are we supposed to find it funny when Richie's caravan gets bombed and everyone nearly dies? Or how about when he gets shot in the middle of a firefight? Or when Salima is threatened with death? Oh, what knee-slappers those moments were.

Rock the Kasbah establishes no lasting emotional connections between any of its characters. A scene between Richie and his estranged daughter might as well not exist, except that it sets up a baffling mid-credits sequence that will leave a bad taste in your mouth. By then you'll be willing to eat a handful of desert sand than endure another minute.  The film is loosely based on a true story about the real Afghan Star show and the women who literally risk their lives to get on the stage and sing. A documentary was made about it and is far better than anything Rock the Kasbah has to offer.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5

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Bill Murray goes to Afghanistan in the 'Rock the Kasbah' Trailer

Open Road Films surprised the Hall H crowd at Comic-Con with a mystery panel that turned out to be solely for their new comedy, Rock the Kasbah. While this was hardly reason for the blockbuster-pumped fans to get excited, that quickly turned around when Bill Murray hit the stage and began telling stories for an hour. That was pretty amazing and the people ate it up with a spoon. There was just one problem; nobody was asking about Rock the Kasbah. Maybe this new trailer will drum up a bit more interest.

Directed by Barry Levinson and written by Murray's pal Mitch Glazer, the film centers on a washed-up rock manager whose life and career are turned around when he discovers an incredible new talent in Kabul. Bruce Willis, Kate Hudson, Leem Lubany, Zooey Deschanel, Danny McBride, Scott Caan, and Arian Moayed co-star, but if people are going to pay for this it will be for Murray, and at least he looks to be having a good time.

Rock the Kasbah opens October 23rd.

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Bill Murray Rocks the Middle East in First Trailer for 'Rock the Kasbah'

Bill Murray and Mitch Glazer have been Hollywood buds for a long time, but their collaborations are decidedly mixed. Glazer wrote Scrooged, which is considered a holiday classic and rightly so. But he also directed Passion Play, which is pretty awful. Hopefully for their next team-up, the musical comedy Rock the Kasbah, things will turn out much better.

The first trailer for the film has been released, and at the very least it looks like something fans of Murray will love. Others may think it looks like a modern day Ishtar. Glazer wrote the screenplay with Barry Levinson (Rain Man) directing, and the story centers on a down-on-his-luck rock music manager in Afghanistan who is left behind by his sole remaining client. Things begin to look up when he discovers a young woman with an extraordinary voice and convinces her to enter in their version of American Idol.

Also starring Kate Hudson, Bruce Willis, Scott Caan, Zooey Deschanel, and Danny McBride, Rock the Kasbah opens October 23rd.

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Aubrey Plaza Joins 'The Driftless Area' as First Photo Debuts

On sale right now at Cannes is The Driftless Area, an adaptation of Tom Drury's acclaimed novel dealing with love, death, and fate. With a cast consisting of Anton Yelchin, Zooey Deschanel, Frank Langella, Alia Shawkat, and John Hawkes, drumming up a few buyers should be easy, especially now that production has begun and another big name has come aboard.

Aubrey Plaza is the final addition to the film, signing on just as the first official image has been released. Co-written by Drury and director Zachary Sluser, the story centers on Pierre (Yelchin), a young bartender who returns home after the death of his parents, only to fall in love with the mysterious Stella (Deschanel). He also gets wrapped up with a dangerous crook and some stolen cash.

Filming is underway now in Vancouver, and we can expect to see Plaza next opposite Chris Evans in A Many Splintered Thing. She'll also co-star in Mortdecai with Johnny Depp and will return for the final season of NBC's Parks and Recreation.  [THR]

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Amanda Seyfried Joins 'Pan'; 'Legend' Adds Emily Browning; Zooey Deschanel Boards 'Driftless Area'

* Filming on Joe Wright's Pan kicks off Monday, and so the cast has been firmed up. Amanda Seyfried will take on the role of Mary, joining Levi Miller as Peter Pan, Hugh Jackman as Blackbeard, Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily, Adeel Akhtar as Smee, and Garrett Hedlund as Captain Hook. Also coming aboard are Jack Charles, Kathy Burke, Taejoo Na, Nonso Anozie, Kurt Egyiawan, Lewis MacDougall, and newcomer Leni Zieglmeier as Wendy Darling.

* Emily Browning will get to star with not one but two Tom Hardys in the period crime thriller, Legend, in which he plays twin gangsters Ronny and Reginald Kray. Directed by Brian Helgeland, the film will chronicle the brothers' criminal exploits and celebrity hobsnobbing throughout the 1950s and '60s. Browning will play "a young woman who tragically falls for Reggie and marries him, hoping he will change his gangster ways." [THR]

* Zooey Deschanel, Anton Yelchin, Alia Shawkat, Ciaran Hinds, and John Hawkes will star in Zachary Sluser's directorial debut, Driftless Area. Adapted from Tom Drury's novel, the film has Deschanel as "an enigmatic woman while Yelchin portrays a bartender who returns to his hometown after the death of his parents. When he falls in love with her, he is unwittingly pitted against a volatile criminal played by Hawkes." [Variety]

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Shia LaBeouf, Danny McBride, and Zooey Deschanel will 'Rock the Kasbah'

 It's probably too much to hope that all of the plagiarism controversies swirling around Shia LaBeouf are totally in the rear view, but at least he seems to be backtracking on all of that talk of retirement. The Wrap reports LaBeouf will join the already-cast Bill Murray and Bruce Willis in Rock the Kasbah, the latest film from Rain Man director, Barry Levinson.

LaBeouf isn't alone in coming aboard, either, as he'll be joined by Zooey Deschanel, Danny McBride, and Kate Hudson in the story of a hard-luck rock manager (Murray) who goes on a USO tour to Afghanistan with his final client, only to get stuck in Kabul. There he discovers a remarkable talent and guides her through the competition program, Afghan Star, in hopes of rebuilding his career.

Mitch Glazer wrote the script, and hopefully it allows plenty of room for such a great comedic ensemble to do their thing.[TheWrap]

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Sure Shots: Rachel McAdams; Shawn Levy; Chloe Moretz

* A couple of big films for Rachel McAdams, as she continues to straddle the line between art house fare and mainstream romances. Coming off of The Vow, which earned nearly $200M earlier this year, she'll step into the sci-fi romance, About Time, a lower budgeted film written and directed by Richard Curtis(Love Actually). Zooey Deschanel was set for the female lead back in March, but now it appears McAdams will take on the role. Domhall Gleeson(Never Let Me Go) stars as man with the ability to travel back in time, where he meets the girl of his dreams. Bill Nighy and Tom Hollander make up a part of the supporting cast.

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Sure Shots: Stanley Tucci; Zooey Deschanel; 'The Master'

* Beating out big names like Tom Hanks and George Clooney, who are up for literally every role under the sun, Stanley Tucci has won the lead role opposite Emma Watson in Your Voice in My Head. The first post-Harry Potter film by director David Yates, the film is an adaptation of Emma Forrest's memoir about her relationship with the psychologist(Tucci) she credits with saving her life. There's a lot that happens between them, and the material is going to provide Watson her strongest chance to prove her dramatic chops. Forrest will adapt the script herself, with filming set to begin this summer. In the meantime, you need to get out and check out Tucci's pearly whites as Caesar Flickerman in The Hunger Games. [Variety]

* First revealed back in January, we're finally starting to learn more on Richard Curtis's upcoming sci-fi comedy, About Time, which he will direct and adapt based on his own original script.  Variety reports that Zooey Deschanel, currently knockin' them dead in the Fox sitcom, New Girl, is in talks to star in an unspecified role. Joining her may be Domnhall Gleeson, Brendan Gleeson's son who has forged his own career path by appearing in films like the Harry Potter series(as Bill Weasley), Never Let Me Go, and True Grit. Curtis is still best known for writing and directing Love Actually, but he's been relatively quiet since 2009. He recently co-wrote War Horse script for Steven Spielberg, and also directed an episode of Dr. Who. Curtis may have been getting his feet wet considering About Time is said to center on time travel.

* Five years since Paul Thomas Anderson brought us the epic There Will Be Blood, and the wait for his next film is finally coming to an end. Stamp October 12th as the official release date for The Master, Anderson's religiously themed film that started out as a story based on the origins of Scientology, but "evolved" as controversy started to build. Philip Seymour Hoffman stars as Lancaster Dodd, a charismatic man who begins a faith-based organization that starts to catch fire in the wake of WWII. Joaquin Phoenix is Freddie Sutton, Dodd's right hand man who begins to question his mentor's motives. Amy Adams, Laura Dern, Ambyr Childers, Jesse Plemons, Madisen Beaty, Lena Endre, and Rami Malek co-star.

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Punch Drunk DVDs

3. Captain America: The First Avenger
Other than Thor, there's no more difficult Marvel superhero to make "cool" than Captain America. A good start was by getting the buff Chris Evans to star as the WWII hero turned future leader of The Avengers. The second was in setting the film firmly in the middle of the 1940s, where Cap's jingoistic rhetoric would be right at home. My only beef is that there were so many characters that Hugo Weaving's scene chewing turn as the villainous Red Skull sorta got lost in the shuffle.

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Our Idiot Brother, starring Paul Rudd and Elizabeth Banks

Like, right on, man. Ned(Paul Rudd) is a lovable but dim-witted, all too trusting stoner with a mountain man beard and the wardrobe of a blind eight year old. He also has no filter between his brain and his mouth, which keeps getting him into trouble. But Ned's a genuinely good guy, and it's hard not to fall for his "aw shucks" routine. Unless you're his three, equally screwed up sisters, all afflicted with varying degrees of selfishness.

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Trailer Time: Our Idiot Brother, starring Paul Rudd and Elizabeth Banks

What would you call a guy who gets thrown in jail for intentionally offering a cop some weed? You'd probably call him an idiot at the very least. In the new comedy, My Idiot Brother, you'd also call that guy "Paul Rudd". Rudd stars in the film as Ned, a clueless guy who makes life miserable for his three straight laced sisters, played by Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, and Emily Mortimer. Jesse Peretz wrote and directed the film, his first since 2007's The Ex. If you didn't catch it, I wouldn't worry too much about it. You're not missing a thing.

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Trailer Time: Our Idiot Brother, starring Paul Rudd and Elizabeth Banks

If his body of work has proven anything, it's that Paul Rudd can spin even middling material into gold. Even in bad movies you can almost always expect his part to be solidly funny. That's kindof how I'm looking at Our Idiot Brother, the latest comedy from Jesse Peretz, which sees Rudd as a well-meaning moron with  three sisters who makes their lives a living Hell. The film also stars Zooey Deschanel, Elizabeth Banks, Rashida Jones, Emily Mortimer, Steve Coogan, Hugh Dancy, Adam Scott, and TJ Miller.

Hopefully this will be better than the Peretz's last comedy, 2007's The Ex, which featured a woefully miscast Zach Braff duking it out with Jason Bateman over Amanda Peet. It's best left forgotten.  The Weinstein Company scooped up the rights to Our Idiot Brother(formerly My Idiot Brother) after an impressive showing at Sundance, with an August 26th release date now set.  Check out the trailer below, followed by the plot...

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Your Highness, starring Danny McBride and James Franco

Here's hoping you still have a few friends who like to partake of the wacky tabacky, because it's probably the only way you're going to get more than a few chuckles out of Your Highness. Think Harold and Kumar with suits of armor and questionable chivalry, and you've got it in a nutshell. From the very moment the film was announced, it's been painfully obvious what the film was going to be. What set it apart as an complete oddity was the cast, which features an Oscar nominee, and Oscar winner, and a director with an indie streak a mile long. What the heck are they doing here, starring in a mindless comedy blip with the guy from Eastbound and Down???

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Red Band Trailer Time: Your Highness, starring James Franco and Danny McBride

I've long since gotten over the idea of how weird Your Highness is. Sure it's being directed by David Gordon Green, the (former) indie auteur behind one of my favorite modern romances, All The Real Girls(Snow Angels is pretty great, too). But Green cast his lot in the realm of stoner comedy before with Pineapple Express, and if anything Your Highness looks like that film set in the realm of knights, wizards, and chivalry as general rule. So while I'm not all that excited over the McBride stuff, seeing Natalie Portman nearly butterball naked kickin' ass and crackin' raunchy jokes is exactly what I'm looking for. 

A second red band trailer has been released for the comedy, which features more of what we saw in the last red band. Only I think there's a bit more emphasis on Portman's character, probably trying to cash in a bit on her recent Academy Award success.  Check out the trailer below, courtesy of MSN...

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Trailer Time: Your Highness, starring James Franco, Danny McBride, and Natalie Portman

Just last month we got the red band trailer for David Gordon Green's(Pineapple Express, George Washington) medievel scomedy, Your Highness. It stars James Franco and Danny McBride as a pair of princes, one a loser, the other not so much, sent on a glorious quest to save the kingdom. Zooey Deschanel stars as the kidnapped wife of Franco's character, while Natalie Portman plays a warrior-princess. Still looks like Pineapple Express set in the Dark Ages, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Your Highness is set to be released on April 8th, 2011. Check out the trailer below!

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Red Band trailer: Your Highness, starring James Franco and Danny McBride

I was confused when indie favorite director David Gordon Green helmed Pineapple Express, a stoner buddy comedy. I was even more confused when he jumped even deeper down the comedy rabbit hole with Your Highness, which again sees him paired up with James Franco and Danny McBride in a fantasy set in the Middle Ages. The duo play a pair of slacker princes who must complete a quest to save their father's troubled kingdom and rescue the elder brother's kidnapped wife(Zooey Deschanel). Natalie Portman is a warrior princess and possible love interest for McBride's character.  More fat guys with hot chicks syndrome.

Wow, this trailer makes this flick seem much more raunchy than I expected it to be. Lots of oral and anal sex humor, which is probably going to turn some people away. McBride is an actor I like in small doses, and already I found his jokes to be the most irritating of them all. However this trailer does give me some confidence that this'll be a movie worth looking forward to, if only because the humor is so adult, and we don't really get to see Natalie Portman do stuff like this very often.

Your Highness should arrive in theaters on April 8th, 2011. Check out the trailer below, followed by the synopsis.

More Your Highness Videos

Synopsis:

Throughout history, tales of chivalry have burnished the legends of brave, handsome knights who rescue fair damsels, slay dragons and conquer evil. But behind many a hero is a good-for-nothing younger brother trying just to stay out of the way of those dragons, evil and trouble in general. Danny McBride and James Franco team up for an epic comedy adventure set in a fantastical world—Your Highness. As two princes on a daring mission to save their land, they must rescue the heir apparent’s fiancée before their kingdom is destroyed.

Thadeous (McBride) has spent his life watching his perfect older brother Fabious (Franco) embark upon valiant journeys and win the hearts of his people. Tired of being passed over for adventure, adoration and the throne, he’s settled for a life of wizard’s weed, hard booze and easy maidens. But when Fabious’ bride-to-be, Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel), gets kidnapped by the evil wizard Leezar (Justin Theroux), the king gives his deadbeat son an ultimatum: Man up and help rescue her or get cut off.

Half-assedly embarking upon his first quest, Thadeous joins Fabious to trek across the perilous outlands and free the princess. Joined by Isabel (Natalie Portman)—an elusive warrior with a dangerous agenda of her own—the brothers must vanquish horrific creatures and traitorous knights before they can reach Belladonna. If Thadeous can find his inner hero, he can help his brother prevent the destruction of his land. Stay a slacker, and not only does he die a coward, he gets front row seats to the dawn of an all-new Dark Ages.

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Zooey Deschanel as Betty Brant in Spider-Man relaunch?

We pretty much already know that Mary Jane Watson either won't be in Marc Webb's Spider-Man flick or will be a greatly reduced presence in favor of Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy. That's all perfectly fine with me as one of the previous series' biggest flaws was too many characters vying for screentime. With that said, it does leave the door open for other Peter Parker love interests to move into the forefront. In this case, Petey's first girl, Betty Brant.

Showbiz Spy sights an "inside source" that says Webb intends to make Betty Brant a major player in the life of the wallcrawler, and already has an actress in mind for the role...

“Betty was a minor character in the previous Spidey movies but Marc has big plans for her,” reveals a movie insider. “He wants a strong performer to carry the role and Zooey fits the bill perfectly. The role is hers if she wants it.

That would be Zooey Deschanel, who Webb directed in last year's 500 Days of Summer, the film that launched him to stardom and basically got him this gig to begin with.

Betty Brant actually appeared in all three Sam Raimi directed Spider-Man flicks, but was mostly in the background as a secretary at the Daily Bugle. She was portrayed by Elizabeth Banks. 

Brant is considered to be Peter Parker's first love interest, having debuted in Amazing Spider-Man #4 back in 1963. She would go on to hate Spider-Man for a time after her brother was accidentally killed during a fight between Spidey and Doctor Octopus. Eventually she kicked Peter to the curb, but the two remained friends. She eventually faded into the background as Peter added more and more notches into his bedpost.

Andrew Garfield: luckiest man on the planet if he gets to have Emma Stone and Zooey Deschanel vying for his attention in the same flick. That's all I'm saying. Let's hope this news pans out.

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