Vampire

Just when you think you know a president, you find out the guy was also crusader against legions of undead monsters. That's the premise behind "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," based on the mash-up novel by Seth Grahame-Smith (who also wrote the script) and directed by Timur Bekmambetov ("Wanted"). Alas, Honest Abe's newly revealed line of work isn't going over so well with movie critics, many of whom are panning the film. The Times' Kenneth Turan concedes that "Vampire Hunter" offers an intriguing idea but says it fails in execution: "... [A]

For decades, movie stars have used the talk-show circuit to drum up awareness of an upcoming film. Now, film studios are drafting a new group of celebrities to aid in the promotional pitch: YouTubers. Twentieth Century Fox commissioned the filmmakers behind the popular FreddieW channel on YouTube - Freddie Wong and Brandon Laatsch - to create a promotion for "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," a supernatural thriller in which the 16th president tackles slavery and battles the undead.

After the coffee. Before finding a new hiding place for my pine tar. The Skinny: I'm hoping Oklahoma City can extend the NBA Finals to at least six games. Thursday's headlines include a look at whether "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" will slay audiences this weekend, a shake-up is in the works at NBC's "Today" and TBS shells out big bucks for reruns of "2 Broke Girls. " Daily Dose: If you thought you might escape the hype for Charlie Sheen's new FX sitcom "Anger Management" by watching the Mets - Yankees games Saturday, think again.

History remembers him as Honest Abe, Father Abraham, the Great Emancipator, even the Illinois Rail Splitter. But"Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter"? Who knew? Now, the secret life of the 16th president of the United States and his passion for ridding the world of "immortal blood sucking demons" is revealed for all to see. In 3-D, no less. It turns out that it wasn't just the lack of air-conditioning that made Lincoln miserable in the fetid air of 1860sWashington, D.C., it was all the undead he had to eradicate before the slaves could be freed and the Union made whole.

The swoony, sparkly vampires in the "Twilight" saga have sold a bloody fortune at the box office, thanks largely to a devoted fan base of young women and teenage girls. But will young adult men respond in the same way to the vicious vein-drainers in the far more grown-up"Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter"? Opening in wide release Friday against Pixar's animated"Brave" and Focus Features' apocalyptic love story"Seeking a Friend for the End of the World," Fox's "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" presents an alternative biography of the 16th president in which the great orator is actually an ax-wielding monster slayer determined to avenge the death of his mother and rid the nation of an unseen, undead menace.

Bella "was born to be a vampire. " Stewart quite literally vamps it up in the new teaser, getting gussied up in that gorgeous-vampire sort of makeup of the "Saga" and that bloodthirsty-red contact lens treatment. And yes, she kind of dazzles us too. Lautner's Jacob Black is eating his words about Bella's transformation. "I didn't expect you to seem so -- you?" Those hoping that Bella would shed the T-shirt, thermals and tousled hairdo will have to keep hoping.

If there's a formula for the success of “True Blood,” it might lie in the alchemical properties of blood, sex and magic. But for his final turn as show runner, series creator Alan Ball has mentioned that he plans to emphasize religion and politics. Those subjects are hardly new to Bon Temps, but in Sunday's episode, “Authority Always Wins,” we begin to learn the details concerning the central conceit of the season. There is, it seems, a vampire bible, an original testament that describes how Lilith, Adam's “first wife,” was made in the image of God: a vampire.

It was a grandly dramatic cliffhanger that concluded Season 4 of “True Blood” -- would Tara Thornton survive a gunshot blast to the head? The prognosis didn't look good. Lying unconscious as Sookie cradled her body, Tara seemed pretty much dead already. But could the series' writers really play such a cruel trick on Rutina Wesley's unstoppable spitfire, having her die at the hands of Debbie Pelt of all people? Nope. Turns out, they had a much, much crueler fate in mind.

As a ruthless social climber in 19th century Paris, Robert Pattinson bares his incisors, and a few other things, without revealing the slightest suggestion of his character's inner life. "Bel Ami" is not the first screen adaptation of the Guy de Maupassant novel (a 1947 version starred George Sanders), and it's not Pattinson's first work in a period film (he played Salvador Dali in"Little Ashes"); in neither category will it stand as one for the ages. The book is subtitled "The History of a Scoundrel" and there's no question that Pattinson's Georges Duroy is an unlikable rogue.

James Franco has Kristen Stewart fever, y'all.  Franco sang the praises of the actress Thursday, saying her talent -- and not "Twilight" -- is responsible for her meteoric rise. In one of his frequent blog posts for the Huffington Post, Franco reviews Stewart's "Snow White and the Huntsman," telling readers that she's deserving of attention for her performance (and all those prior) rather than the voracious interest in her off-screen life.  "Stewart has braved more scrutiny of her private life than most presidents,” Franco writes . “She has taken big career risks by doing films like'Welcome to the Rileys,"The Runaways' and'On the Road' (nudity, I hear)