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The 2007 Toronto International Film Festival ended recently and the 2008 Sundance Film Festival is just around the corner, and these have gotten me thinking (uh oh!).

I’ve been thinking about why it is that some movies that are so mediocre go on to earn hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office while other films that are just as good (and quite often far better) end up unseen not talked about. While I enjoy a good popcorn movie as much as the next guy, I do tend to hold even action and sci-fi movies to a higher standard than the average 14 year old.

So I find it extremely frustrating when movies that seem to be mediocre or worse make incredible amounts of money and give some directors credibility and the opportunity to pump out more schlock, while other movies that are better go on to make almost nothing and those directors continue to have to fight to get movies made.

Let’s look at some examples from the last 10 years or so…

By Vic Holtreman

Short version: A wild, crazy ride that knows what it is and doesn’t pretend to be anything other than an insane, yes - shoot ‘em up.

Shoot ‘em Up is an unabashed action-fantasy movie from director Michael Davis. His goal was to make something that was action unleashed on the screen, and as far as I’m concerned he accomplished it. In spades.

Clive Owen plays “Mr. Smith”, a carrot-chewing bystander of an attempted murder of a pregnant woman, who turns out to be, well… formidable would be too subtle a word to describe him as the hero of the film. From the first scene it’s obvious that this will be a highly stylized movie, with an extreme close up of Owen that pulls back to reveal him chomping on a carrot. It seems that carrots are his snack of choice (with blatant Bugs Bunny references later on) as well as an impromptu weapon. Something I must admit I hadn’t seen before. Not just once, Owen uses a carrot as a lethal weapon in the film, to the effect of much humor.

There’s a new clip from the movie Shoot ‘em Up over at JoBlo.com which I encourage you to check out if you’re an action movie fan.

It’s the first shoot-out sequence in the film and is completely representative of the type of over the top action that permeates the entire movie.