The cast for Shoot 'Em Up, "an action movie of jet fuel octane proportions, of which certain sequences have already been dubbed "John Woo's wet dream" by its creators" is looking just fantastic. Already it has the formidable Clive Owen as the lead, and now it's added Monica Bellucci and Paul Giamatti as well.

Are you kidding me? An action film filled with a cast who can all actually act? Shoot 'Em Up is looking like it COULD be something really special. The good folks over at Empire seem to agree:

(Monica Bellucci plays) a pregnant woman who gives birth - you guessed it - during a bullet ballet. She entrusts the wellbeing of the child to Clive Owen's character, who must fend off an army of very bad dudes and keep the kid alive.

The man calling the shots for the team wearing black will be Paul Giamatti. Yep, the nuggety little bloke who blew us away yet again with his work in Sideways is set to be the master villain, who would like to snuff out the infant.

Now, when you think people with enormous acting chops as villains in action movies, the first thing you think of is Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber in Die Hard - at least you should do. If the character’s right and it works on the day, this is going to be special. Could this be Hollywood’s Hard Boiled?