Though movie fans are certainly happy that Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street will indeed be opening in 2013 after rumors circulated that the pic might not be ready in time, Paramount’s decision to push Wolf to Christmas Day means that the Tom Clancy thriller Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit is getting the short end of the stick.  Initially slated for a prime holiday release, director Kenneth Branagh’s film now opens in the midst of the cinematic dead zone known as January, but hopefully the film will be a breath of fresh air amongst the other studio stinkers.  The reboot of sorts stars Chris Pine as Ryan, a Moscow-based financial analyst who faces off against his employer when he discovers a plot to finance a terrorist attack designed to collapse the U.S. economy.

Paramount has released a few new images from the pic, teasing the hand-to-hand combat and giving a first look at Keira Knightley’s character.  Check out the images after the jump.  The film also stars Branagh and Kevin Costner.  Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit opens on January 17, 2014 in traditional theaters and IMAX. 

A few new posters have been released online.  Briefly:

• Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues – The first in what will surely be an amusing set of character posters from the comedy sequel sees Steve Carell’s Brick Tamland uncomfortably sitting on top of a building.  The film opens on December 20th.
• Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit – A new international poster for director Kenneth Branagh’s spy thriller highlight’s the film’s ensemble cast, which includes Chris Pine, Keira Knightley, Kevin Costner, and Branagh himself.  The film opens on January 17, 2014.
• Divergent – A new series of character posters from the highly anticipated futuristic thriller YA adaptation kicks off with Maggie Q’s Tori, sporting her tattoo.  The film also stars Shailene Woodley, Theo James, and Kate Winslet and opens on March 21, 2014.  If you missed any of my set visit coverage, click here.
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – Following this morning’s release of seven character posters from the second installment of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy, a new theatrical poster boasts all of the main characters on a single one-sheet–plus a smoky dragon.  The film opens in 2D, 3D, and HFR 3D on December 13th.

Hit the jump to check out all of the aforementioned posters.

Paramount Pictures is finally making the moves that many have been humming about for weeks.  With Martin Scorsese unable to make the November release date for The Wolf of Wall Street, word started to break that Paramount was mulling over the idea of pushing the film to Christmas Day, which would in turn push Paramount’s Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit—also scheduled for release on December 25th—to 2014.  The studio has now made one change official, as director Kenneth Branagh’s Jack Ryan will indeed open in traditional theaters and IMAX on January 17, 2014, leaving Christmas Day open for a Wolf of Wall Street move (which has yet to be officially announced).

Based on the Tom Clancy character, Jack Ryan stars Chris Pine in the titular role and involves financial terrorism.  A January release for the international thriller was probably not what Branagh had in mind, but the pic should stand head and shoulders above its competition on the January 17th date, where it squares off against the comedy Ride Along, the animated pic The Nut Job, and the small-scale horror film Devil’s Due.

In the span of less than a month, Martin Scorsese‘s The Wolf of Wall Street has gone from “a possible delay to 2014” to “Merry Christmas!”  The L.A. Times is reporting that three sources close to the movie say it will be ready in time for December 25th.  Scorsese and longtime editor Thelma Schoonmaker were determined to finish editing the movie before November 25th when Scorsese would have to leave to be a judge at the Marrakesh Film Festival.  The Wolf of Wall Street is based on the memoir by Jordan Belfort (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) and chronicles the rise and fall of the avaricious Wall Street trader.  The movie co-stars Jonah Hill and Matthew McConaughey.

However, this means that Paramount will probably move Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit to early 2014 so that the studio doesn’t release two of their films at the same time.  Paramount is expected to soon make an official announcement regarding their release dates.

Paramount has released a new trailer for the action-thriller Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.  Based on the Tom Clancy character, the film stars Chris Pine as the titular Ryan, a Moscow-based financial analyst who faces off against his employer when he discovers a plot to finance a terrorist attack designed to collapse the U.S. economy.  This international trailer contains some new footage, but so far, what I’m seeing from this movie isn’t doing anything for me.  Perhaps it’s because I’ve never found Jack Ryan to be a particularly interesting character, but even the action on display doesn’t really grab me.  Hopefully, it’s just the way the trailer is cut together and the final product will be more exhilarating.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Keira Knightley, Kenneth Branagh, and Kevin Costner.  Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit opens December 25th.

As someone who has never considered 3D films to be more than a gimmick, here is something I never thought I would write: Alfonso Cuarón‘s Gravity in IMAX 3D is a stunning achievement that is not to be missed. You’ve probably read this advice over and over already, but seriously, do whatever you can to watch the film in this format. I honestly can’t imagine seeing it any other way and, while I understand not everyone has access to an IMAX theater, I have to believe that any other presentation type will do the pic a disservice. It’s the most awe-inspiring, immersive moviegoing experience I’ve ever had; the type of thing I’ll tell my kids about one day. I can heap praise its way all day, but speaking as concisely as possible, Gravity is science-fiction perfection.

Any guesses what our lead topic is this week? This installment of Top 5 features even more Gravity love, a recap of Steve’s Thor: The Dark World set visit coverage, a new trailer for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, more science fact-checking of Breaking Bad as well as a breakdown of our favorite series moments, and the first trailer for Chris Pine‘s Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. As protocol states, a brief recap and link to each of the above is waiting after the jump.

Paramount Pictures has released the first trailer for director Kenneth Branagh’s upcoming thriller Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.  Based on the Tom Clancy character, the film stars Chris Pine as the titular Ryan, a Moscow-based financial analyst who faces off against his employer when he discovers a plot to finance a terrorist attack designed to collapse the U.S. economy.  There’s plenty of action to be found in this first look, and it’s complemented nicely by snippets of intrigue, espionage and a complicated web of character relationships.  My only knock on this first trailer is that there doesn’t appear to be a jaw-dropping action centerpiece, opting instead for a number of glances at a series of action scenes around the world.  As a teaser, it works great and I’m sure we’ll see much more between now and it’s theatrical release in a few months.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Branagh, Keira Knightley, Kevin Costner, David Paymer, and Peter Andersson.  Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit opens in theaters on Christmas Day.

Somewhat crassly given author Tom Clancy’s passing earlier today, Paramount Pictures has decided to unveil the first poster for director Kenneth Branagh’s upcoming thriller Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.  The film stars Chris Pine as the classic Clancy character that was previously portrayed onscreen by Alec Baldwin (The Hunt for Red October), Harrison Ford (Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger), and Ben Affleck(The Sum of All Fears).  This time around, Ryan is a Moscow-based financial analyst who faces off against his employer when he discovers a plot to finance a terrorist attack designed to collapse the U.S. economy.  There has been word that Paramount might be considering moving Jack Ryan to next year and giving The Wolf of Wall Street its current December 25th release date, and fittingly this poster simply says “Coming Soon.”

Hit the jump to check out the poster and stay tuned for the debut trailer, which should be heading our way soon.  The film also stars Branagh, Keira Knightley, Peter Andersson, and Kevin Costner.  Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit is currently set to open in theaters on Christmas Day.

Author Tom Clancy has passed away at the age of 66.  Clancy’s novels took place in a world of high-stakes political espionage, but usually seen through the lens of unlikely hero Jack Ryan.  Although Clancy wrote novels without the character, Ryan is the author’s most enduring creation.  The character was adapted to the big screen in The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, The Sum of All Fears, and the upcoming reboot, Jack Ryan.  Over the course of Clancy’s novels, Ryan went from being a CIA analyst all the way to the President of the United States.  Clancy also left a mark with gamers as he co-founded the video game developer Red Storm Entertainment, which led to the lucrative franchises for Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon, and Splinter Cell.

Our condolences go out to Mr. Clancy’s family and friends.

Jon M. Chu’s G.I. Joe: Retaliation is now playing in theaters.  The sequel’s story finds the Joes disbanded and outnumbered as they must square off against not only the Cobras, but also threats within their own government.  G.I. Joe: Retaliation stars Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, Channing Tatum,  D.J. Cotrona, Elodie Yung, Ray Park, Byung-hun Lee, Ray Stevenson, Walton Goggins, RZA and Adrianne Palicki.  For more on the film, here’s clips, images, on set interviews, and all our previous coverage.

Last weekend, I sat down with producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura for an extended interview.  Over the past few days we’ve posted what he said about Jack Ryan and Red 2, an adaptation of the Vince Flynn novel American Assassin and the true story Deepwater Horizon.  But that was just the tip of the iceberg, because we also talked about making G.I. Joe, the nine-minute dialogue-free action sequence featuring Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes, the 3D post conversion, changes from the first film, the rumored reshoots, what it was like to film at NASA, how involved Hasbro is with the project, and what he’d like to see in G.I. Joe 3 if they make it.  In addition, we also talked about how the collapsing home video market has changed the way movies are made, the lack of risk-taking with regards to the material that studios are choosing to make, the difficulty of selling sci-fi and the key to landing audience interest, whether he’s read any great scripts recently, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Lorenzo di Bonaventura is certainly one of the more prolific producers working today.  The man is juggling a few different franchises at the moment, including Transformers and G.I. Joe, and he has two other highly anticipated films opening later this year.  Steve recently sat down with the producer to talk about G.I. Joe: Retaliation, but di Bonaventura also spoke a bit about the action-comedy sequel Red 2 and Kenneth Branagh’s thriller Jack Ryan.  Di Bonaventura talked about the new cast additions for Red 2 and his reaction to seeing the film, and he had nothing but praise for Chris Pine’s work as the titular character in Jack Ryan, also talking about the connection between this new film and the previous iterations of the Jack Ryan character.  Hit the jump to read on.

New images have been released from the appropriately titled Jack Ryan reboot, Jack Ryan.  Pine stars as the famous Tom Clancy character that was previously portrayed onscreen by Alec Baldwin (The Hunt for Red October), Harrison Ford (Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger), and Ben Affleck (The Sum of All Fears). This time around, Ryan is a Moscow-based financial analyst who faces off against his employer when he discovers a plot to finance a terrorist attack designed to collapse the U.S. economy.  Kenneth Branagh directs and plays the film’s villain, Keira Knightley is on board as Ryan’s fiancée, and Kevin Costner plays a CIA liaison.  Even though Branagh’s character is Russian oligarch and a bit of a throwback to the protagonist’s Cold War origins, the film takes place in the present day.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  Jack Ryan opens December 25th.

In late October, somewhere in central London, I got to visit the set of director Kenneth Branagh’s Jack Ryan franchise reboot, aptly named “Jack Ryan” along with a few other online reporters.  The film relaunches the famous Tom Clancy character that has previously been portrayed onscreen by Alec Baldwin (The Hunt for Red October), Harrison Ford (Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger), and Ben Affleck (The Sum of All Fears).  This film finds Chris Pine’s ex-Marine Jack Ryan working as a Moscow-based financial analyst who uncovers a plot by his employer to finance a terrorist attack designed to collapse the U.S. economy.  Branagh also plays the film’s villain, Keira Knightley is on board as the female lead, and Kevin Costner plays a CIA liaison.

While on set, I got to participate in some great interviews with the cast and filmmakers (the one with Costner was one of the best on set interviews I’ve ever done), and I learned a ton about the movie.  Hit the jump for more.

Keira Knightley plays the title character in Anna Karenina, director Joe Wright’s bold, new romantic drama adaptation of the epic Tolstoy story of forbidden love set in 1874 Imperial Russia.  The film, which opens in theaters on November 16^th, marks the acclaimed director’s third collaboration with the Academy Award-nominated actress and also stars Jude Law and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

At the film’s Los Angeles press day, Knightley talked about what drew her to the project, what about Wright’s vision made it stand out for her, why she saw Anna Karenina as a terrifying character, how she worked with the other actresses to create the impressive on-screen chemistry for the film’s female relationships, how her costumes played a pivotal role in telling her character’s story, why her film choices are all about story rather than where or when it’s set, and how she likes period, sci-fi and fantasy films as a dramatic tool.  She also explained why she decided to move away from darker period pieces and do more contemporary films that are pure entertainment including the recently completed music drama, Can a Song Save Your Life?, and the large scale Tom Clancy thriller, Jack Ryan, directed by Kenneth Branagh, in which she stars opposite Chris Pine.  Hit the jump to read the full interview.