Movies: Put a stake in 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter'

ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER

Here is the worst thing to happen to Abe Lincoln in a theater since he attended "Our American Cousin." In the action-horror-history mashup "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," the action is frenzy without form, the history is cliché, and there's no horror unless you count some of the performances. Where "Inglourious Basterds" recombobulated World War II history into wild pop fantasy, director Timur Bekmambetov lacks the wit to make this work as thinking person's trash. (Rating: R.)

• View showtimes
• Why not see it in 3D?

SEEKING A FRIEND FOR THE END OF THE WORLD

Steve Carell's signature character is an earnest dork with a good heart and bad luck. In his latest, his misfortune is Armageddon itself. This doomsday comic romance has plenty of tonal problems -- given the concept, how could it not? -- but Carell's introspective, dryly funny performance is a consistent delight. Keira Knightley is unconvincing as a gee-gosh-golly 2010s flower child, Penny, and the movie suffers from narrative aimlessness. Writer/director Lorene Scafaria has done the almost impossible. She has made an apocalypse story dull. (Rating: R.)

• View showtimes