I want to hook the method System.out.print in Java and have the ability to read/change the variables used in the method before the part of the method is called that actually adds the string to whatever the output stream is.
In C++ I would just detour the function, or set an int3 instruction so I could access the registers but in java I have no idea how to accomplish something similar.
You can rewrite the byte code of the methods, and in the process capture/change the local variables. It is not trivial. See some notes here.
Maybe what you really want is a java debugger? You can connect a debugger to a remote process, add a breakpoint, and capture/change the local variables pretty easily using eclipse.
What is the real problem you are trying to solve?