No good deed goes undone. It's a phrase that has stuck with me for several years.  There is a benefit to helping out people in need, but if you find yourself doing it too often, it becomes expected and if you do not watch out, someone could take advantage of you.  I will never say not to help somebody in need, but I will say to keep your eyes open and if something does not feel right about the situation, it may be more beneficial to walk away than to be the hero. 

Clay and his team of Losers are a highly trained operations force that only take on the high end priority missions.  Doing what they are told without questions is what these soldiers are trained to do, but when their latest mission falls into a questionable area, they are tested on what their moral values really are.  When taking out a drug dealer in Central America, the group find themselves not only targeting the bad man, but many children that he is using as mules to carry his product.  The group is not able to call off the strike when the mysterious Max comes on the radio and calls off the abort.

The group comes together and save all of the children before the dealers home is destroyed, but it is all for not as their escape helicopter is not large enough to carry the group and the children.  Doing the right thing, the children are loaded on to be evacuated, but the word comes over the radio from Max once again to shoot them down.  Standing in front of the crashed helicopter, the group decides it is time to disappear into the world and try to find out who has taken their lives away.  With no way to make it back into the United States, they are given an offer from Aisha who has kept tabs on Max and will trade her knowledge for his death.

Having kept their lives on hold for several months, the group is ready to go hunting for the man that ordered them dead.  Not willing to give up and digging into every clue presented, the group finds that the infamous Max works for the CIA and has a plan to start wars wherever possible with the weapons he is paying to have designed.  With the next generation SNOOK being built, Max has a weapon that can erase locations off of the map without a trace, along with everyone who may be occupying the area.  The group has their target and will come together once again to prove their innocence along with trying to get their lives back from the only man that can clear them.

The Losers is a story about a group of highly trained soldiers that were at the top of their game for any questionable mission put in front of them.  When their last mission went awry with the loss of many children in their place, the group decided to go underground and try to get some money together to get any type of information they could find on Max, the CIA agent that ordered them killed.  Trying to put an end to Max’s terror plans, the group is able to get control of all of his financials, but that is not what will stop Max from completing his task and the Losers need to find a way to keep him away from his new weapons. 

A fine action movie that has more of storyline than most bring to the screen.  I liked how the dynamic of the group coming together and then falling apart as the situation starts to get more dangerous.  With plenty of action and a ton of laughs, this is a movie that for the most part will keep you smiling, even when it ends.  With plenty of levity to keep the situations from getting to serious, this movie gives you the insight of what might actually happen if an agent went rogue and wanted to start his/her own little war, and what, if anything will be done if nobody is watching.  Happy viewing.

Being able to read people is a trait that everyone would like to have.  Some people are born with the ability and are able to tell certain aspects of a person’s life who they have just met, while other people such as profilers are trained to do the same thing.  Although not everyone can be an expert at this, it is fun to give it a chance and see how close you can really get.

A group of FBI psychological profilers are being pushed to their limits by their trainer Jake Harris.  Although Harris has been known to use training tactics that may seem abusive to his students, he is only trying to make sure that they really understand the field that they are entering.  Taking his team members off of the grid for their final lesson, Harris’ team is joined by another member that he was not expecting, a profiler from the local police.  Not giving it a second thought, Harris starts his lesson at a CIA training port that is cut off from civilization, with no way to contact the main land, Harris is ready to see what his students are truly prepared for.

As the training starts, the group is told that they have to provide a profile on the killer after his first strike, but find out that there is something off about the training exercise that is in front of them.  With a trap being sprung that takes out their leader, the group has to assume that there is someone else on the island that will be targeting them one by one.  As hours of the day pass on, clues are given to the team in the form of watches that tell what time the next murder will occur, but not knowing who the target or targets are, they need to find the killer before they are all killed.  However, when searching the island, they are not able to find anyone that should not be there and have to turn their suspicions towards each other. 

Profiling each other many times, the group is not able to pinpoint who the killer really is.  With each member having their own talents and vices, they are all smart and precise enough to have come up with the perfect crime, but no one is willing to say that they did it.  Finding clues and trying to match them up with each other’s talents, the group has no trust for each other, but need to find a way to survive until the chopper comes back to the island to return them home.  With fights ensuing and trust being at a minimum, the group is looking to kill each other off before the killer can claim his/her next victim, but that could also be what the killer wants as the stopped watches appear where ever the group has hunkered down and time is not on anyone’s side.

Mind Hunters follows a group of FBI profilers as they are being pushed to the max by their instructor.  Although his methods can be seen as extreme and otherwise unorthodox, he only strives to make his students the best at what they do.  With every student having their own strengths, it is shown early that some will not be able to pass the course, but with their final test, anything could happen.  As the group embarks on their final exam, they have to find a killer, profile them and come up with a way a capture the killer without any help from the outside world.  When the killer starts to target the team members however, the rules have changed and the group must do anything within their power to survive his methodical attacks.  Without knowing who to trust, the team turns on each other and tries to figure out who the killer is before he/she strikes again.  With every trap being triggered at a predetermined time as signified by stopped watches, the group is forced to work together before their time runs out.

Another "who done it?"  film that will make you want to watch it again and again to catch any tips that the film makers are willing to give you.  Without knowing who you should and should not side with, this makes for a fun movie as you come to your own conclusions and might risk the chance of being disappointed in the end that you made the wrong choice.  Keeping your eyes peeled for the clues and ears open for the remorse in someone’s voice may be able to prove someone’s willingness to give up what they are really hiding, but can also through you off of their track as they will make sure that you hear what they want you to hear.  It can be an untrusting world out there, just make sure that you are ready for any and all surprises.  Happy viewing.

The best part about working for a movie theater is I get to see movies for free. So, when A Million Ways to Die in the West came out, I was dying to go (pun intended). I grabbed Mattie and we hit the theater for this exciting new film by one of my favorite actors, Seth McFarlane. Set in 1882 in the western frontier, this movie is a time piece, complete with the authentic western-film style opening. Albert is our main character and he's in a heap of trouble. Just a humble sheep farmer, he's struggling to deal with life in the west.

His best friend doesn't seem to get how awful life out there is. Albert even explains the many things wrong with the west. To get the full ambiance of the time, Edward, the best friend, is dating Ruth, who just happens to work at the saloon as a whore. Literally a whore. One that is unwilling to sleep with Edward, at least until they're married. With disease rampant, you'd think that would be the big problem, but that's oddly not the case. Death on the frontier can come on many forms, as Albert explains. One of which is by the hand of bandits; Clinch is the most ruthless killer out there.

It's here we meet Anna, Clinch's wife. In an effort to keep her safe while he deals with some business. With a recent heartbreak, Albert is open to Anna and the two form a quick friendship over a mutual hatred for the west. Of course, there are gun fights, touches of racism, some sheep, and a couple of love stories.

With a great story, a new take on love, and an excellent message; A Million Ways to Die in the West is a fantastic movie that blew me away. I wasn't expecting to go and enjoy this as much as I did. I knew this would be a good movie, but I'm already planning to see it a second time. If you're looking for a great way to kick off your summer, this is a must see movie.

I do have a soft spot for westerns as my parents were both huge fans of John Wayne and made me watch his movies with them at least once a week.  As I got older however, I found that I preferred comedies to anything else and to appease the folks, I turned to my western classics City Slickers and Blazing Saddles.  Although my tastes have changed over the years, these movies have kept me laughing and every once in a while I get the hope that another western comedy will hit the screen. 

A Million Ways to Die in the West is just that movie to take you back to how our comedy classics were made with a completely different focus.  As everyone should know, the west was not a safe place to live back in the late 1800’s as settlers migrated.  With so many things against them, it is amazing that anyone ever survived.  That is the focus of this movie and for the most part, it was explained very well, even if it did not make sense. 

Poor Albert is a sheep farmer and not a very good one at that.  The only thing he has going for him in his awful life in the west is his love Louise.  But nothing lasts forever and when Albert talks his way out of a duel, Louise decides that he is not the man she wants to live with for the rest of her life and dumps him.  Not knowing how to handle his recent rejection, Albert turns to his best friend for support, Edward who is in a great relationship with the town whore Rose. 

Drinking and letting loose why the west is the worst place to live, Albert cannot figure out why Louise has given up on him and decides to confront her when finding out she is now dating the mustached wonder, Foy.  Foy will give Louise everything she has ever wanted and with his money and mustache, he has no fear of her ever going back to her past love.  Albert tries to change, but is so afraid of everything around him that something massive will have to happen in his life before he will ever truly change his ways.

Riding into town, Anna is waiting for her gunslinger husband to arrive after his latest robbery to cool down.  Not knowing anyone, she is taken back by Albert as he saved her from a brawl in the saloon and offers her services to help get Louise back.  Not knowing what to expect from the relationship, Albert tries to follow everything that Anna teaches him, but being afraid of everything, he learns that he has to let his fear go.  Riding and training with the outlaw's wife, Albert and Anna develop a strong relationship in a weeks’ time, and it could turn into so much more before it is rudely interrupted by her husband’s return. 

Now, the main story is what the focus is on, but this is a comedy right, so let’s get to what you will be laughing at.  There are many ways to die in the west and several have been highlighted in the trailers that will leave you shaking your head, but there are a few more in the movie that are just off the reservation.  Falling ice, gun shots, a renegade bull, massive farts, you are not allowed to feel comfortable with any single way to die in the west, as there are just too many.  I do have two scenes in the movie that are the most memorable for me without someone dying.  First is a touching moment between Albert and Anna when a diamond back snake comes to their feet and they carry on a motionless conversation that should make you smile as they get to know each other.  The second is the training montage of Albert learning to shoot and become the man Anna sees him as being.

Don’t go into this movie expecting to see Family Guy or American Dad or be riddled with references to both of them.  This is a standalone movie that focuses on the humor, not the overlaps.  I am not going to lie, I walked out with some doubts about what I saw, but the more I think about it, it did its own thing and with some fantastic cameos and one that will make any kid from the eighties applaud, it served its purpose for me in making me laugh.  Movie talk: This was shot very well and the background music took me back to the days when orchestras were used more than songs you hear on the radio every day.  Also a musical number plays in the film and if you have any facial hair, you will leave with a big smile on your face.  On a special note, it is nice to see that someone else has the same fear about prairie dogs as I do.  Watch the movie and you will understand.  Happy Viewing.