New Movies to Crave: Pirates!, The Raven, The Five-Year Engagement & Safe Make Their Moves

By Chris Kavan - 04/26/12 at 09:52 AM CT

There's a lot of competition at the box office on this Friday April 27th, 2012. Not only that, but there's a little of everything thrown into the mix: comedy, romance, action, family and horror.

1) Looking to continue the success of recent romantic comedy Think Like a Man, Nicholas Stoller's The Five-Year Engagement has Jason Segel and Emily Blunt as the perpetual couple who just can't commit to marriage. This comedy looks to be in that same being as Judd Apatow and makes it a point to advertise its connection to the producer of Bridesmaids - so it's hoping to go after that same comedic market and lure men as well as women into its fold. The success of demise of this kind of film really comes down to how its leads perform together, and it though you would think a Segel/Blunt pairing would be awkward, somehow it works. Whether this will have enough appeal to make it to the top spot is though to gauge, but it certainly has a fighting chance.

2) Families have had more than their fair share of movies to watch, but if the kids are getting bored again, The Pirates! Band of Misfits is here to save the weekend. Aardman Animation brings this stop-motion piece of cinema to life. The British company, best known for the Wallace and Gromit series, also had a decent hit with the recent Arthur Christmas. While these films tend to do better internationally, I like the idea that not all animation has to be Pixar CGI or even traditional hand-drawn style. Stop-motion itself is an art form and I wish the best for this film.

3) If you want action, Jason Statham has your number. Has the man ever encountered a problem he couldn't shoot/punch/kick/drive his way out of? (A quick look at his filmography would suggest... no). In Safe, he plays a, what else? Ex cage-fighter who comes across a young girl who happens to be a mathematical genius who holds a priceless code and everyone is after her: Triads, Russian mob, corrupt cops - but don't worry your young, pretty head off, Statham will be there to save the day... and probably hurt a lot of people along the way. I admit, despite the fact that he pretty much plays the same character in every films he's in, they're often quite entertaining films. I just hope this does better than Lockout.

4) The most bizarre movie of the week has to be The Raven. A madman is on the loose killing people in the style of the stories by author Edgar Allen Poe and the only man who can stop him is... author Edgar Allen Poe. John Cusack tackles the role of the author and, if you know anything about the author, seems an odd choice to front a movie. Still, taking a page from the Sherlock Holmes franchise, apparently they're giving him an edgy makeover. I do have to admit that Poe has plenty of interesting ways for people to die, so if nothing else, the deaths should be memorable.

This year has, for the most part, been an exceptional year. This week we'll see if the new entries will continue that trend or if the holdovers will keep the spotlight. See you Sunday with the results.

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