Just Watched Promised Land

[Bob Loblaw]

Promised Land (2012) - IMDb

Written by Matt Damon and John Krasinski, this is a small-town American tale centered on an earnest protagonist who is forced to take a hard look in the mirror when his ideals are shattered and the tables are turned against him. The script doesn't paint things as black-and-white as they seem at first, with shifting motivations and some unexpected turns later in the game that really tilt things on their axis. Promised Land is the kind of simple picture that filmmakers such as Frank Capra and Billy Wilder excelled at in their better days and while this one doesn't quite exist on the higher levels of those great artists, it's certainly hitting in the same ballpark. Unfortunately, the film industry doesn't have much room for these kind of mid-level pictures anymore and it's not a surprise that this one was met with no major acclaim or box- office receipts. Missing it would be a mistake though, as it's a superbly written and acted morality tale that presents a welcome contrast to the kind of larger pictures that dominate most of the year these days.

That new Matt Damon/Gus Van Sant movie was really good. Not gonna lie I mainly watched it off the strength of Good Will Hunting. I'm not big on Jim from The Office but he was really good in this one. Frances McDormand did her thing as did dude from Gone Baby Gone, The Town, and Argo.

Spoiler

I started rooting for Matt Damon's character until I saw that he was just your run of the mill heartless salesman, then Jim comes in and crushes the buildings until Damon gets the letter. Dude turned the townspeople against him AND took his bytch Wasn't expecting for Jim to be working for Global but I knew he wasn't what he appread to be.

Movie was draining, I gotta watch Drive and get some soundtrack and action in me to calm down.

It was a lot better than I thought it was going to be, what'd you think?

 

[One4Deuce]

I was disappointed. I enjoyed it but Good Will Hunting is one of my favorites, it didn't match it in anyway. Decent movie, just not great.

 

[re'up]

I liked it, I was hesitant to see it in theaters, but I enjoyed it...very well directed, loved the setting, some nice shots of the land, liked all the characters, which were all very well acted, esp. the store owner from 'SOA', and 'Gone Baby Gone', Damons speech to those drunks the bar...yeah, cliches abound in the conclusion, esp. but it was a well done little movie. Sometimes I need one like that, it doesn't go to far into the romance to get my worked up, no violence, or drugs, or killing or lengthy prison sentences, but still has enough substance and heart to get and retain your interest.