"Stay Alive" -- If you die in the video game, you die in real life. This is a cool/potentially creepy idea if you're in high school and goofing around with your friends at the movie theater on a Friday (as many were during a recent matinee, which this critic had to attend because the film wasn't screened before opening). For everyone else, this isn't just a preposterous premise for a horror movie, it's a source of unintentional hilarity. Recycling ideas from "The Lawnmower Man," the "Final Destination" movies, the third "Spy Kids" and "Tron," "Stay Alive," features an underground video game that a bunch of teenagers feel compelled to play because it was the last thing one of their friends was doing before he died. The gamers (including Jon Foster, Sophia Bush, Samaire Armstrong and Adam Goldberg) eventually realize that the characters on screen look just like them, and that "Stay Alive" is making them see and hear things even after they've stopped playing. Then when they begin dropping one by one in exactly the manner they die on screen, they get even more freaked out. Dude! PG-13 for horror violence, disturbing images, language, and brief sexual and drug content. 85 min. One star out of four.

"Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector" -- Protracted flatulence jokes, graphic poop gags, exposed butt cracks and group projectile vomiting. Is it any wonder this wasn't shown to critics before opening day? The same people who double over laughing at such sophomoric humor don't read reviews -- and anyway, in a movie like this, we all know what to expect so there's really no point in offering any insight. What is surprising and worth noting, though, is the quality of talent that's sadly squandered in comedian Larry the Cable Guy's feature film debut: Joe Pantoliano, Tony Hale (Buster Bluth from "Arrested Development"), David Koechner ("Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy"), Kid Rock and comedian Lisa Lampanelli. Then, of course, there is Larry himself (real name: Dan Whitney) who has turned himself into a sort of redneck superstar. The Nebraska native has proven himself a likable everyman, but those expecting a Larry-the-Cable-Guy show in film form, sort of like the "Blue Collar Comedy Tour" documentary from a few years back, will be disappointed. PG-13 for crude and sexual content, and for language. 89 min. One star out of four.

"Lonesome Jim" -- During an unusually insightful moment, the film's titular character asks his sort-of girlfriend why she bothers hanging out with him. She's a fun, cheery person. She should be hanging out with other fun, cheery people. Why would she want to waste her time with him? Excellent question. Why would anyone want to spend an hour and a half with "Lonesome Jim"? He is depressive and depressing. If there is anything of note going on inside that brain of his, he rarely shares it. Worse than that, he never changes -- and neither does anyone else. To his credit, Casey Affleck is believably morose in the title role as a twentysomething who returns to his rural Indiana hometown after struggling as a writer in New York. But there's little nuance in this first screenplay from James C. Strouse, directed by Steve Buscemi in varying shades of oatmeal. Liv Tyler, Mary Kay Place and Kevin Corrigan co-star. Not rated but contains language and sexual humor. 91 min. One and a half stars out of four.

-- Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic

"Stay Alive" -- If you die in the video game, you die in real life. This is a cool/potentially creepy idea if you're in high school and goofing around with your friends at the movie theater on a Friday (as many were during a recent matinee, which this critic had to attend because the film wasn't screened before opening). For everyone else, this isn't just a preposterous premise for a horror movie, it's a source of unintentional hilarity. Recycling ideas from "The Lawnmower Man," the "Final Destination" movies, the third "Spy Kids" and "Tron," "Stay Alive," features an underground video game that a bunch of teenagers feel compelled to play because it was the last thing one of their friends was doing before he died. The gamers (including Jon Foster, Sophia Bush, Samaire Armstrong and Adam Goldberg) eventually realize that the characters on screen look just like them, and that "Stay Alive" is making them see and hear things even after they've stopped playing. Then when they begin dropping one by one in exactly the manner they die on screen, they get even more freaked out. Dude! PG-13 for horror violence, disturbing images, language, and brief sexual and drug content. 85 min. One star out of four.

-- Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic