Some guys just aren't my kind of guys.

For the past decade, I've been told, numerous times, how I should be watching "Family Guy" and anything made by Seth MacFarlane.

My answer is always the same: I don't like his stuff, and I've tried to like it too many times now.

My latest attempt was "A Million Ways to Die in the West," this year's live-action Western spoof written, directed and starring MacFarlane as a cowardly sheep farmer trying to survive the many perils of the American Frontier circa 1882.

The premise is funny, and I laughed pretty hard at a few of MacFarlane's rants in the first 30 minutes. The problem with the film, like all MacFarlane projects, is consistency. Clocking in around two hours, the movie has long stretches without much comedy, and the varied poop and urine jokes never land.

I'm not a prude about dirty jokes. I like quite a few of Seth Rogen's filthiest movies because the humor tends to spring from character development and interaction. The actors in "This is the End" are technically playing themselves, but the movie takes time to establish their characters and their relationships, which differ from their real-life personas.

MacFarlane's work rarely hinges comedy on the typical characteristics of quality storytelling. The jokes often arrive out of nowhere, most notably on "Family Guy," where half an episode can be comprised of gags that don't actually happen within the reality of the story.

"A Million Ways to Die in the West" thankfully doesn't stray too far into MacFarlane's typical reliance on modern pop culture references (the notable exceptions are a pair of pretty funny cameos). Still, the movie is haphazardly stitched together, and a talented supporting cast, including Charlize Theron and Liam Neeson, is wasted.

In the end, you can pile "A Million Ways to Die in the West" alongside "Family Guy," "Ted" and other MacFarlane properties that just don't do anything for me.

I'm not against MacFarlane's success. People obviously like something about his brand of humor. Just stop telling me about it.

• A trailer of things to come

Sometimes you can tell how much you're going to like a movie based on the previews playing at the start of the DVD. I knew there would be trouble for "A Million Ways to Die in the West" after the first three previews were direct-to-video sequels of movies that weren't very good in the first place. After the 1-2-3 punch of "Jarhead 2," "The Man with the Iron Fists 2" and "The Scorpion King 56," my evening of movie watching was ruined before it even began.

• 'Batman' vs. 'Batman Returns'

It took me a couple decades to realize it, but 1992's "Batman Returns" is way, way better than 1989's "Batman." Both are newly available on Netflix Instant streaming. One has a good Jack Nicholson performance, and the other is a good Batman movie. Hey, Alfred! Stop letting pretty reporters into the Batcave!

Tyler Wilson can be reached at [email protected].