Promised Land, Hope Springs and Men in Black 3

In theaters: Broken promise

Promised Land - Gus Van Sant, the gay filmmaker who directed Milk, Good Will Hunting and My Own Private Idaho, is a victim of his own good intentions with his latest movie Promised Land (Focus). Based on a story by uber-hipster author Dave Eggers, with a screenplay by Matt Damon and John Krasinksi (both of whom star in the film), Promised Land wants to be a powerful Erin Brockovich-style movie about making a difference and changing things for the better. The film's hot button topic, fracking (a method of natural gas mining) and the potential for a necessary homegrown energy source as well as the possible devastation that might occur, is an issue of great debate these days. But when it comes to making a meaningful statement on the subject, Promised Land simply doesn't live up to its promise.

Hired by insidious, "nine-billion dollar company" Global to be the all-American-boy face who goes into dying farm towns to convince the hopeless (and perhaps hapless?) residents to sign over their property for a fraction of its worth, Steve (Damon) is a former Iowa farm boy with a story. That's what makes him so appealing, in his grandfather's boots and his newly purchased flannel.

Arriving in McKinley with company hack Sue (Frances McDormand), Steve wastes little time in trying to win over the townspeople with his iPad, sale pitch and Midwestern aw-shucks appeal. At popular town tavern Buddy's Place, Steve is even duped into making a drunken fool of himself by schoolteacher/birthday girl Alice (Rosemarie DeWitt) in an effort to make himself seem more like one of them (instead of the six-figure huckster he is).

The good feeling, however, is short-lived. Beloved, retired schoolteacher (and all-around know-it-all) Frank (Hal Holbrook) challenges Steve at a Town Hall meeting. Speaking out against fracking, raising serious concerns about contamination of water sources and the high potential for error in the process, Frank suggests putting it to a vote. With $150 million dollars at stake, McKinley becomes an all or nothing situation for Steve and Sue.

To add insult to injury, an "environmental presence" arrives in town. Dustin (Krasinksi), looking the part of the scruffy 21st century activist, comes armed with evidence against Global and joins Frank's team. With the town divided, team Steve and Sue versus team Frank and Dustin, the conflict escalates.

Side stories, involving Steve and Dustin competing for Alice's affections and Sue's flirtation with guns and guitars store proprietor Rob (Titus Welliver), do little to advance the story. After the big twist is revealed (it's one of the only things that makes Promised Land worth seeing), the movie seems to deflate. To his credit, Krasinski practically walks away with the film, outshining both Damon and McDormand. As for director Van Sant, we expect more from him. A disappointing detour such as Promised Land should do little to tarnish his reputation.

At home: Tommy Lee Jonesing

If you didn't already know it, Meryl Streep has the talent to turn around almost any old mess of a movie. Just watch Mamma Mia! and The Iron Lady as proof. But it seems that for every Julie & Julia or It's Complicated, you get a Hope Springs (SPHE/Columbia). Directed by David Frankel, who did such a brilliant with Streep in The Devil Wears Prada, Hope Springs isn't hopeless, but it's close.

Long before they reached their 31st wedding anniversary, the marriage of domestic Kay (Meryl Streep) and CPA Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones) had run out of steam. Sleeping in separate bedrooms for years, attempts at intimacy are all but forgotten. Arnold is happy with the arrangement, but Kay is definitely not. When Kay makes an effort at seduction and is rejected by Arnold yet again, she decides to take matters into her own hands.

Booking them a series of sessions with marriage specialist Dr. Feld (Steve Carell) in Great Hope Springs, Maine, Kay is giving Arnold an unspoken ultimatum. Stubborn and initially resistant to the idea, Arnold realizes that he has no choice, and over the course of the time they spend under the doctor's care, the couple confronts and begins to overcome the multitude of obstacles that have cropped up in their marriage. The serious and manipulative movie's lone laugh-out-loud moment occurs after Kay purchases a book suggested to her by the doctor – Anderson and Berman's Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man.

But after doing extensive work on their relationship, once they return home they go back to the same routine and rut. The result is that Kay is not only out the $4,000 she paid to see the doc, but is also fed up with Arnold. But wait, there's a reason that the word "hope" appears in the title.

Streep is, of course, a marvel to behold, while Jones is unexpectedly out of his league. If anything good can be said about Hope Springs it's that it proves that straight people have bungled marriage and it's up to us LGBT folks to show them how to do it right. DVD special features include a featurette, gag reel, alternate takes gallery and commentary by Frankel.

Men in Black 3 (SPHE/Columbia) was precisely what a summer blockbuster was meant to be and it's just as good in every season. First and foremost, it's entertaining with equal doses of comedic and touching moments. It's got enough special effects to keep the audience engaged without going overboard.

In terms of being the third installment of a series, Men in Black 3 not only stands up to its predecessors, but it improves on them by answering previously unanswered questions in ways that are both satisfying and sensible. Director Barry Sonnenfeld returns to direct Agents J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) for the third Men In Black.

This time out, Boris (Jemaine Clement), a vicious Boglodite space thug locked up in a maximum security lunar prison, escapes to enact revenge on K and enslave and slaughter the inhabitants of earth. In order to prevent such events from happening, J must travel back in time to Cape Canaveral in 1969 on the day of the Apollo 11 launch to ensure that the younger K (Josh Brolin doing a bang-up job of channeling Jones) kills Boris once and for all.

In addition to the marvelous and mind-blowing special effects, MIB3 features terrific supporting performances by Michael Stuhlbarg (as gentle alien Griffin) and Emma Thompson (as Agent O), among others. MIB3 also admirably ties up some loose ends, including explaining what happened to J's absentee dad. Make sure to make Men In Black 3 number one on your movie viewing list.

The double-disc Blu-ray+DVD+Ultraviolet set features out of this world exclusive special features including a "Spot the Alien" game, a bunch of featurettes, gag reel, music video and more.