Promised Land (2012)

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

Promised Land starring Matt Damon (Steve Butler) isn't the bad guy. Howver as the son of a grower himself, he's personable, and—for good measure—he makes sure to say, "I'm not a bad guy" to many of the people he meets. Gus Van Sant's didactic drama, by contrast, is quite a bad movie, though it takes a little while for that to become evident. When Steve and his business partner, Frances McDormand (Sue), arrive in the rural Pennsylvania community that is their company's latest target, the film revels in atmosphere more than plot. There's a real feel for small-town dynamics: The local watering holes seem populated by genuinely weathered homesteaders as opposed to central-casting extras. And you get a vivid sense of who's running the show. Running at only 106 minutes, Promised Land ultimately becomes and feels more of a run time over of 120 minutes.

I thought this was an interesting story about a salesman who basically goes door to door selling fracking (god that word makes me miss Battlestar Galactica). During the movie I thought the plot was good but afterwords I had a few issues with it. I did like that it didn't politicize the subject a lot. It was more about the story then about fracking itself. I also liked that it showed multiple sides of the story.Matt Damon's acting is good, but not his best performance though. You don't see this kind of character development in movies much, that was refreshing. Always lovely to see Rosemarie DeWitt, +1 for her <3

This film had so much promise but it was so full of predictable, one dimensional characters and story lines that I just couldn't get into it. I was so disappointed at the ending. It was unrealistic and very typical of Hollywood, feel good endings. "The conflicted bad guy ends up doing the right thing in the end". blah, blah, blah. A much better ending would have been for the writer and director to trust the viewer to resolve the underlying conflicts personally. Would a Rep from a global energy company really do the right thing? HELL NO! Yet we were cheated of realism because we are too fragile to come to grips with that fact and we will be much happier if we are lied to and led to believe there is good in the world. Even worse, how many more times can screenwriters get away with filling 20 minutes of a film with a cliché "guy from out of town meets a cute, honorable girl in the local bar and she becomes an integral part of his life" story??? The entire creative team missed a huge opportunity on this one. What a disappointment. I am glad I didn't pay to watch this film.

Thank you UAE for backing a delightful comedy about the competition for your wonderful export. As a former general partner in an Oil & Gas Exploration venture based in Dallas, I was intrigued to uncover the great debate over fracing. Looks like I was more than blessed in the many rewards in viewing this film by educating the masses in the rural dumb folk mentality, how to build an entire town fair with your own two hands, and how young entrepreneurs hate tips!! Once Damon gets promoted to the big kids table all hell breaks loose when he gets a conscience and this after getting the VP of Land Management position in the city! It was a lurid white knuckler until the great reveal and all I wanted to know is did he get the girl. So much for fiction, fantasy and fracing.I was not on site for the filming of Gasland but it kinda looked grim and the fact that Putin is pushing for world domination....again....all this survival nonsense is actually working to keep that petro dollar live n kickin. So you figure all the casualties of war greatly overshadow a few farm animals and we do not slide into oblivion like other nations.I, for one, am a tree hugger to the max, however, not at the price of freedom and a semblance of democracy. So, hats off to UAE for letting us know you are very, very afraid of us. Love it!PS-The corporate plant was obvious after Open Mic Night! DUH!