One wonders why, if Paramount were so keen to reboot the Jack Ryan franchise — and in fact developed a pretty good movie to do it with — that they would suddenly treat the whole endeavor like an embarrassment.  How else could they explain such a high-end production given the feckless title of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, followed by a January release and the kind of ad campaign normally reserved for direct-to-video Russian imports?  Jack Ryan died an unsurprising death at the box office, a lamentable state of affairs obscuring a film that deserved better.  Hit the jump for my Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit Blu-ray review.

Now playing in theaters and IMAX is director Kenneth Branagh’s Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.  Based on the Tom Clancy character, the original story follows Jack Ryan (played by Chris Pine) as he uncovers a financial terrorist plot.  Starring alongside Pine is Kevin Costner and Keira Knightley with Branagh as the film’s antagonist.

A few days ago I landed an exclusive interview with producers Lorenzo di Bonaventure and Mace Neufeld.  They talked about how making movies has changed over the past few years, the Jack Ryan test screening and how it possibly influenced the final release, who they invite to friends and family screenings, the title Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit and if they had any alternate titles that were almost used, filming in London, the casting process, and future projects like The Equalizer, G.I. Joe 3 and Red 3.  Hit the jump for what he had to say.

Every so often a film comes along that plays pitch perfect to your sensibilities and hits you with such pinpoint accuracy that it reaffirms your love of the medium. That’s what Spike Jonze‘s Her did for me last weekend. It’s the type of movie I wish I had the talent to make and, at the same time, one that I’m thankful anyone had the talent and passion to make. It’s a film that says so much about our desire to connect, to love and to feel loved, that evaluating it piece by piece (acting, editing, sound, cinematography, mise-en-scène, etc.) almost cheapens its value as a whole. Above all, though, it refuses to be just one thing and therein lies its greatest achievement. It’s comedy soaked in melancholy, drama with hints of playfulness, quirk wrapped in genuine romance, and heartbreaking sincerity set within the most plastic of relationships. Her is an instant classic.

In case my subtlety has left you uncertain about my feelings on Her, feel free to e-mail me at colliderjason@gmail.com and I’ll try to be more on the nose about how damn great it is. In the meantime, this week’s Top 5 features the newly announced 2014 Oscar nominations, Marvel casting news/rumors regarding Ant-Man and Doctor Strange, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit interviews with Chris Pine and more, the trailer for the seemingly interesting doc DOOMED! The Untold Story of Roger Corman’s “The Fantastic Four”, and all of our Sundance 2014 coverage to date. Click on to find a brief recap and link to each of the above.

Now playing in theaters is Kenneth Branagh’s Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.  The latest installment in the line of Tom Clancy adaptations features Chris Pine (Star Trek) in the title role, with Kevin Costner playing his CIA mentor and handler.  The film is the first to earn the  “Movies for Grownups” seal from the AARP, an extension of the organization’s critical film review program launched in 2002.

Also starring Keira Knightley, Nonso Anozie, and Colm Feore, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit is in theaters now.  Hit the jump for the full press release.

Opening this weekend in theaters and IMAX is director Kenneth Branagh’s Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.  Based on the Tom Clancy character, the original story follows Jack Ryan (played by Chris Pine) as he uncovers a financial terrorist plot.  Starring alongside Pine is Kevin Costner and Keira Knightley with Branagh as the film’s antagonist. 

A few days ago I landed an exclusive phone interview with Branagh.  Since I recently did a video interview with him, I tried to ask all new questions.  We talked about acting while being the director, whether there was anything cut for budgetary reasons, why he always works with composer Patrick Doyle, if he has seen Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing since he also directed a feature based on the material, whether he’s thinking about doing another Shakespeare movie, which Shakespeare work he would recommend someone to start with, his next film, Cinderella, and more.  Hit the jump for what he had to say.

Opening this weekend in theaters and IMAX is director Kenneth Branagh’s Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.  Based on the Tom Clancy character, the original story follows Jack Ryan (played by Chris Pine) as he uncovers a financial terrorist plot.  Starring alongside Pine is Kevin Costner and Keira Knightley with Branagh as the film’s antagonist. 

A few days ago I got to talk to Chris Pine at the Los Angeles press day.  He talked about the film’s long development process, whether there was any dramatic shift in the story during that time, if he collects anything, and more.  In addition, Pine talked about making Horrible Bosses 2 and Joe Carnahan‘s action-comedy Stretch, saying the opening scene of the latter “may end my career.”  Hit the jump to watch.

Tom Clancy’s iconic spy returns to the big screen in Jack Ryan:  Shadow Recruit, a briskly-paced, smart and suspenseful action-thriller directed by Kenneth Branagh who invents a fresh story for the 21^st century while staying true to the mythology.  When a Russian oligarch (Branagh) attempts to trigger a sophisticated act of financial-based terrorism, Ryan (Chris Pine) must turn his counter-terrorism theories into action.  In a world where all motives are suspect and no one can be trusted, every perilous move he makes has world-altering consequences.  Opening January 17^th, the film also stars Kevin Costner and Keira Knightley.

At a recent press conference,  Pine, Costner, Branagh, and producers Mace Neufeld and Lorenzo di Bonaventura talked about contemporizing Clancy’s character, what Pine brought to the role, the film’s franchise potential, how Costner’s mentor role differed from its typical portrayal in the spy genre, and the pleasures and challenges for Branagh of directing a tale on global espionage with great actors and exploring the complex threats of a new world order while also respecting the traditional values of its everyday hero.  Branagh and Costner also revealed the real-life mentors like Sean Connery who influenced their careers, and Costner discussed his career longevity and upcoming films, 3 Days to Kill and Black and White.  Hit the jump to read the interview.

Opening this weekend in theaters and IMAX is director Kenneth Branagh’s Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.  Based on the Tom Clancy character, the original story follows Jack Ryan (played by Chris Pine) as he uncovers a financial terrorist plot.  Starring alongside Pine is Kevin Costner and Keira Knightley with Branagh as the film’s antagonist. 

A few days ago I got to talk to Branagh at the Los Angeles press day.  He talked about how the script changed during production, whether he can get away with doing anything he wants in London given his celebrity status, the first cut of the film, deleted scenes, his editing process, what he collects, and more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Paramount Pictures has released a batch of new high-resolution images from director Kenneth Branagh’s upcoming thriller Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.  Based on the Tom Clancy character, 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.  Branagh pulls double duty as the film’s director and villain, and these new images also give us a look at Keira Knightley as Ryan’s girlfriend and Kevin Costner as his mentor.  Paramount no doubt is hoping to launch a new Jack Ryan franchise with Shadow Recruit, so here’s hoping this first film delivers the goods.

Hit the jump to check out the images, and if you missed any of Steve’s recent set visit coverage be sure to peruse his full report and interviews with Pine, Branagh, Costner, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, and producers David Barron and Mace Neufeld.  Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit opens January 17th.

Fresh off of Steve’s set visit reports for Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, we have a new clip and five character posters from the upcoming thriller.  The Kenneth Branagh picture features Chris Pine (Star Trek) in the title role.  You can check out a set visit interview with Pine here, as well as interviews with co-star Kevin Costner, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, and Branagh himself.

Also starring Keira Knightley, Nonso Anozie, and Colm Feore, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit opens January 17th.  Hit the jump to watch a new clip and check out five new cast posters.

Director Kenneth Branagh’s Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit opens January 17th.  Based on the Tom Clancy character, the original story follows Jack Ryan (played by Chris Pine) as he uncovers a financial terrorist plot.  Starring alongside Pine is Kevin Costner and Keira Knightley with Branagh as the film’s antagonist. 

When the production was filming in London in October of 2012, I got to visit the set along with a few other reporters.  While there, we spoke to the cast, Branagh, and producers David Barron, Mace Neufeld, and Lorenzo di Bonaventura.  While everyone was careful not to reveal the twists and turns, I was still able to learn a lot about the movie and how the project came together.  Hit the jump for my five major takeaways from the set visit, forty things to know, and a video blog recap.

During a group interview on the set of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit in October of 2012, we asked Chris Pine the challenges of playing Jack Ryan, the everyman hero, “the Gary Cooper role”.  He told us:

“I think the challenge with Jack is how do you make his smarts dynamic? His weapon is his brain. He thinks and moves with his mind faster than other people. I think with the kind of Clancy world and the Clancy plots, oftentimes the lead of the story is the story itself. I think with this film we tried to give him a substantive enough background and backstory so that we understand why he moves and thinks the way that he does and why that is appealing to him and why perhaps in this particular circumstance, he maybe is hesitant to jump right into the story.”

Pine also talked to us about the genre of the film, working with Kenneth Branagh and Kevin Costner, how the film is rooted in Jack Ryan’s post-war stress and the United States in a post-9/11 era, if he used any of the previous films or the books as reference, how he might be bouncing back and forth between two different franchises over the next few years, and so much more.  Hit the jump for what he had to say.

Over the past eight years, I’ve participated in hundreds of interviews on movie sets.  I don’t say this to brag.  I mention this because when I say the interview you’re about to read with Kevin Costner is one of my all time favorite on-set interviews, you’ll understand what that means.

In October of 2012, I got to visit the set of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit with a few other reporters when the production was filming in London.  While on set, we landed an extended interview with Kevin Costner.  During the wide ranging conversation, Costner talked about how he got involved in the project, how he almost did The Hunt for Red October, what its been like working with Chris Pine and Kenneth Branagh, if he had creative input on his character, future projects, how Hatfields and McCoys came together, the way he likes to work, why he never made a sequel to The Bodyguard, if he’s producing anything for TV, and so much more.  As I said, this is a fantastic interview that’s really worth your time.  Hit the jump to check it out.

After the worldwide success of Marvel’s Thor, Kenneth Branagh must have been offered a number of high profile projects as a follow up.  So when I got to participate in a group interview on the London set in October of 2012, the first thing we asked him was why Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit?  He told us:

“The script arrived and it was unputdownable.  It came out of the blue.  I was going to be making another movie, it went away, and this one came to me, and I read it and responded very strongly as a kind of film I go to see. The script engaged me because it was a page-turner but this big personal story that you’re invested in at the heart of it.”

During the rest of the interview, Branagh talked about what sets this apart from other action-thrillers, playing the villain, balancing the action and drama, why they filmed in London, how Jack Ryan is not like Jason Bourne, James Bond, or Ethan Hunt, and much more.  Hit the jump for what he had to say.

As I’ve said many times, while it’s always great to talk to actors, if you really want to find out why certain decisions were made on a film, you always want to talk to the director and the producers.  In the case of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, the set of which I visited in 2012, the one who provided a ton of information was Lorenzo di Bonaventura (who also produced the Transformers franchise, Red, Red 2, Salt, The Last Stand, Side Effects, G.I. Joe, and many more).

During an extended group interview on set, di Bonaventura talked about the challenge of rebooting the franchise, why they chose Kenneth Branagh and Chris Pine, how Jack Ryan is a contemporary film that addresses the economic uncertainty and fears in a post-9/11 world, why the film takes place in Moscow and the reasons for filming in London, the action sequences, the kind of villain Branagh plays, and so much more.  Hit the jump to check it out.