New York is a mecca for those seeking to draw a clear line between so-called high and low culture. More accurately, there is so much on offer here that those lines are so blurred, it ceases to matter.

In the film world, even the snobbiest snobs cannot hide from the overpowering success of mega-films such as Avatar, and nor should they. Historically, the so-called popcorn movies have had as much good and bad amongst them as the oddly titled "arthouse" fare - odd because nearly all exhibitors now have to reconsider what they show to keep alive.

But sometimes snobbery is needed - the snobbery of bare minimum standards. And having recently, oddly, decided to watch Gamer, that line of minimum decency has to be redrawn. It is uniquely bad in every criteria imaginable.

As ever, I'm more interested in the general than the specific. And the general lesson here seems that, coming from the creative geniuses behind Crank, a sure fire way to succeed in action films these days is purely to innovate. Shoot on new cameras, shoot on rollerblades, shoot with the camera attached to a hyperactive child on a sugar high - just be "fresh". Sadly, new is not innovative. Gamer is a mindless waste of time, and has elevated its clear predecessor Running Man to almost auteur status.

Ultimately, if the dichotomy between huge films and tiny films grows, with little in-between, then we all need to demand far more of the big guns. Gamer seems to think story is an ancient concept. It is eternal.