Have you see the trailer for the movie Jack Ryan – Shadow Recruit yet? As a HUGE Tom Clancy, Jack Ryan fan, I just about fell out of my chair when I saw they were making another movie about Jack Ryan. For those of you who live under a rock are not familiar with Jack Ryan, he is a character created by Tom Clancy, portrayed in four of my all time favorite movies, Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger and Sum of All Fears. Tom Clancy wrote several other books featuring the CIA agent Jack Ryan who eventually becomes the President of the United States as the book series progresses.
In the movies mentioned above Jack was played by three separate actors, Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford two times and Ben Affleck. I loved these movies so much I probably could not even tell you which actor I enjoyed the most. In Shadow Recruit, Jack Ryan will be played by Chris Pine who I really enjoyed in the latest two Star Trek movies as Captain Picard. The movie opens January 17 and you can bet I will be seeing it soon after!
The second movie I am excited about is Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl. scheduled to be released in theaters in October starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike. This page-turning, sometimes dark suspense thriller is set in Carthage, Missouri which is not surprising since the author is from Kansas City and a KU graduate. Flynn adapted the novel to the screen play herself so hopefully the movie will stay somewhat true to the book. Flynn has written two other books, both dark suspense novels, Sharp Objects and Dark Places. I can remember someone asking me when I was reading one of those if I liked it and me saying, “I am not sure, it is so dark!” I must have like it though, because I could not put any of the three down until I was finished. I just saw where Dark Places is also being made into a movie to be released in Sept 2014. I read an article once that quoted Flynn’s uncle as saying how surprised he was that his sweet, normal niece could come up with such dark stories. The books are good, I hope the movies are as well.
And the final movie I am eagerly anticipating in 2014 is The Giver, a novel by Lois Lowery. This was a favorite book of my daughters when they were young. Although it starts as a children’s story about a perfect world with no violence, prejudice or injustice, it quickly becomes a contemporary statement on society, applicable still twenty years after it was written, illustrating how taking risks and diversifying will enrich this life we live. Apparently there was much controversy when it was first published about the subject material not being appropriate for children, however it went on to win the 1994 Newberry Medal which is awarded to the most distinguished contribution to American Literature for Children. I recently read Lois Lowery’s acceptance speech for the Newberry award and was fascinated by her inspiration for the book and also the revelation of who the picture is of on the front cover. This speech is worth reading even if you have not read the book. Click here to read it. The release date for the movie is Aug 15. I can’t wait.
