Friday Flicks: Does The Raven Take Flight?

Grab some popcorn! Check out the movies you should see (or avoid) this weekend.

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The Five-Year Engagement

Tagline: A Comedy About The Journey Between Popping The Question And Tying The Knot

One’s instant reaction to hearing the title and tagline to the latest movie from the Judd Apatow stable is to fear that it won’t be any different from the numerous movies in his increasingly lengthy back catalog. And when you find out that the director and writer/star of Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Nicholas Stoller and Jason Segal) are both along for the ride, you might also be worried that all concerned will just be calling it in.

The story follows the travails of an engaged couple (Segel and Emily Blunt) who keep getting tripped up on what turns into an epically long walk down the aisle. Critics are mixed. On the positive side, the Hollywood Reporter remarks that it’s “much more successful than Stoller’s solo outing, Get Him to the Greek,” and “will please the team’s fans while — no penises here — appealing to a more conservative crowd as well.” Time Out New York is somewhat on the fence, noting that, “Like a mug of chamomile tea spiked with a dropper of cheap vodka, Nicholas Stoller’s relationship-roller-coaster comedy has hints that something stronger and slightly edgier might lie beneath its smooth surface” But Variety isn’t quite so sure: “While Segel and Blunt make likable enough leads, the strain is visible as the filmmakers try to make comedic hay out of disconnected segments, contrived situations and tangential characters.”

LIST: TIME’s Top 10 Films of 2011

NewsFeed’s Flicks Pick: Shiver me timbers, an easy choice! The Pirates! Band of Misfits sounds like the perfect pick for the weekend.

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