The same local dance company that takes audiences deep into vampire territory each autumn with its acclaimed "A Vampire Tale" is going into uncharted waters.

Zombies are terrible characters. That’s not to say there haven’t been plenty of good movies featuring zombies like “28 Days Later,” “Shaun of the Dead,” “Zombieland,” and the George A. Romero classics. In those films, however, it was the human characters and their pursuit to endure the zombie apocalypse that kept the audience invested. Unlike vampires or werewolves, zombies have never been blessed with interesting back-stories, individuality, or moral dilemmas. Last summer’s “Chernobyl Diaries” left me asking why couldn’t there be a movie about a mutant/zombie who’s intelligent with character traits and motivation. Jonathan Levine, who previously made the wonderful “50/50,” responds to my question in “Warm Bodies.”

Zombies are terrible characters. That’s not to say there haven’t been plenty of good movies featuring zombies like “28 Days Later,” “Shaun of the Dead,” “Zombieland,” and the George A. Romero classics.

In what’s been an otherwise tremendous year for movies, 2012 still brought us quite a few stinkers nevertheless. One general question film critics are asked is how they feel when ripping a movie apart. It may sound mean-spirited and arrogant to criticize a movie that a lot of people invested their time and money into. Anybody that has endured the 10 movies listed below however can understand that such criticisms are justified.

December will soon be descending upon us. For a lot of people this month will entail building snowmen, sledding down hills of snow, making snow angles and getting tongues stuck to icy poles. Of course those stuck in Ahwatukee won’t be able to appreciate any of these traditional winter activities. But who needs snow when you can spend your Christmas break in a cozy movie theater. Here are several films to look out for this holiday season.

‘Lincoln’

It’s a sad goodbye from “The Twilight Saga,” which sees its last installment, “Breaking Dawn — Part 2,” hit the big screen this week. The soundtrack reflects a chocked up melancholia that lingers over the sound like dust over old boxes of family photos.

This is it people, the long awaited day that Stephanie Meyer’s asinine chronicle of lame vampires, talking CGI werewolves, and the single worst female protagonist in all of fiction comes to a close. While the fandom may live on for decades, at least we’ll never have to suffer through one of these movies again. Of course Meyer’s could always write another novel and cash in. But maybe I’m speaking too soon. Perhaps “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2” will be the rare sequel that finally delivers on all the hype, at the very least working as a light guilty pleasure along the lines of “True Blood.”

A presidential election is almost upon us. But if you have young children or grandchildren, you know what’s really important this week is Butterfingers, not ballots, and Pop Rocks, not the popular vote. Yes, it’s Halloween time again, which means you’ll see plenty of witches and vampires scurrying around. You’ll no doubt find these characters more amusing than frightening, but you don’t have to look far to find things that are a bit more alarming — such as these scary investment moves:

“True Blood” fans can soon concoct their own blood-red beet bisque, crimson sweet tea and other Cajun delicacies inspired by the hit HBO vampire drama and compiled in a new cookbook.

The way Adam Chodorow sees it, there's a big gap in federal estate and income tax laws: They don't deal with zombies.

The 64th Annual Primetime Emmy nominees are to be announced on July 19. As a memo to Emmy voters, here are my personal selections for the 10 best drama and comedy series of the past television season.

The 64th Annual Primetime Emmy nominees are to be announced on July 19. As a memo to Emmy voters, here are my personal selections for the 10 best drama and comedy series of the past television season.

Eric McCormack likes the duality of the character he plays in his latest series, “Perception” (10 p.m. EDT Monday, TNT).

"I'm really digging it," says Ronnie Underwood, a buff, tattooed motorcycle enthusiast, auto racer and former football player who also happens to be a ballet dancer.

"Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” is not to be confused with the new Steven Spielberg film staring Daniel Day-Lewis as the 16th president. That biopic won’t be coming out until December. Where the upcoming Spielberg film is aiming to be a somber, historically accurate life story of our nation’s most celebrated leader, “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” tells an action-packed, fictionalized account of how Honest Abe once fought against vicious vampires. The end result makes “Inglourious Basterds” look like a documentary. As preposterous and silly as “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” is, the movie does deliver genuine thrills and solid fun nevertheless. That’s really all one can ask from a film like this.

"Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” is not to be confused with the new Steven Spielberg film staring Daniel Day-Lewis as the 16th president. That biopic won’t be coming out until December. Where the upcoming Spielberg film is aiming to be a somber, historically accurate life story of our nation’s most celebrated leader, “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” tells an action-packed, fictionalized account of how Honest Abe once fought against vicious vampires. The end result makes “Inglourious Basterds” look like a documentary. As preposterous and silly as “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” is, the movie does deliver genuine thrills and solid fun nevertheless. That’s really all one can ask from a film like this.

"Chernobyl Diaries” is like a PSA for what not to do if you’re a character in a horror picture. The characters in this movie commit just about every boneheaded decision a person can possibly make under their circumstances, reaching a whole new level of stupidity. There seems to be an assumption that for a horror movie to arrive at its second act, the characters need to be complete morons. That unwritten rule is a load of bull though. The characters in “The Exorcist” and the various films by Alfred Hitchcock weren’t idiots. Even in recent thrillers like “The Crazies” and “Insidious,” the characters were all modestly intelligent. In “Chernobyl Diaries,” the true villain isn’t the mutants, the radioactivity, or even the big bad government, but the sheer idiocy of the heroes.

Vampires and Tim Burton seem like such as natural fit. It’s curious that it has taken this long for him to direct a movie in which a bloodsucker is given center stage. Now’s as good a time as any though, since the current vampire craze is apparently here to stay. Burton derives his latest theatrical outing from “Dark Shadows,” the Gothic soap opera that aired on ABC from 1966 to 1971. Where that show was essentially a drama, Burton’s take on the material is in the comedic vein of “Beetlejuice.” How interesting that between “21 Jump Street” and now “Dark Shadows” there have been two humorous re-imaginings of old television dramas in just a couple months. The fact that Johnny Depp stars in both films is further coincidental.

Vampires and Tim Burton seem like such as natural fit. It’s curious that it has taken this long for him to direct a movie in which a bloodsucker is given center stage. Now’s as good a time as any though, since the current vampire craze is apparently here to stay. Burton derives his latest theatrical outing from “Dark Shadows,” the Gothic soap opera that aired on ABC from 1966 to 1971. Where that show was essentially a drama, Burton’s take on the material is in the comedic vein of “Beetlejuice.” How interesting that between “21 Jump Street” and now “Dark Shadows” there have been two humorous re-imaginings of old television dramas in just a couple months. The fact that Johnny Depp stars in both films is further coincidental.

As superhero summers go, this one is truly super.

As superhero summers go, this one is truly super.

Thirty years ago, it seemed ambitious just to see Superman or Batman in a feature-length, live-action film. Back then, people never could have anticipated that we would one day see six of the most iconic superheroes come together in a single movie. Over the course of five movies and several years, Marvel has been building up to “The Avengers,” their main event. If the film did not live up to expectations, there would be an outcry of hatred from fanboys across the nation. Imagine the tragic aftermath of “Star Wars: Episode One” times a thousand. Fortunately, “The Avengers” not only exceeds the overwhelming hype, but also emerges as one of the absolute best superhero pictures ever produced.

Thirty years ago, it seemed ambitious just to see Superman or Batman in a feature-length, live-action film. Back then, people never could have anticipated that we would one day see six of the most iconic superheroes come together in a single movie. Over the course of five movies and several years, Marvel has been building up to “The Avengers,” their main event. If the film did not live up to expectations, there would be an outcry of hatred from fanboys across the nation. Imagine the tragic aftermath of “Star Wars: Episode One” times a thousand. Fortunately, “The Avengers” not only exceeds the overwhelming hype, but also emerges as one of the absolute best superhero pictures ever produced.