Total Recall (2012 film)

plot... At the end of 21st Century, the Earth is divided into two territories — the United Federation of Britain (UFB) and the Colony (formerly Australia) — after chemical warfare devastates the remainder of the planet. Many residents of the Colony travel to the UFB to work in their factories via "the Fall", a gravity elevator, which travels through the Earth. Habitable space is at a minimum in both the UFB and the Colony. A factory worker named Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell) decides to visit Rekall, a company that implants artificial memories. Rekall employee McClane (John Cho) convinces Quaid to be implanted with memories of a secret agent. Quaid is tested to avoid having implanted memories conflicting with real memories, and McClane discovers that Quaid has real memories being a spy. McClane and his co-workers are suddenly gunned down by a SWAT team. While Quaid is being arrested, he instinctively reacts and kills the officers before escaping. Quaid returns home to his wife Lori (Kate Beckinsale) and confesses what has transpired. Lori attempts to kill Quaid, revealing that she is not his wife of seven years, but an undercover UFB agent who has been monitoring him for the past six weeks. Quaid manages to escape, and Hammond (Dylan Scott Smith), a man claiming to be a former associate, contacts Quaid via a cell phone embedded in Quaid's hand, disclosing the location of a nearby safe-deposit box. Quaid cuts the cell phone out of his hand to avoid being traced. In the safe-deposit box, Quaid discovers a recorded message from his former self, leading him to an apartment in UFB.

On the way, Quaid meets Melina (Jessica Biel), the woman from his dreams. At the apartment, Quaid uses a piano to trigger a second recorded message. The recording reveals that Quaid was formerly Carl Hauser, a highly skilled agent working for Chancellor Vilos Cohaagen (Bryan Cranston). After joining the resistance movement, Hauser was captured and implanted with false memories of life as a factory worker. The recording reveals a plot by Cohaagen's administration to use its synthetic police force to invade the Colony to provide more living space for UFB, but that Hauser had seen a code that could stop the robotic forces; it is still in Quaid's memory, and can be recovered with the aid of resistance leader Matthias (Bill Nighy). Melina reveals that she was Hauser's lover, but the two were separated when Hauser was captured. Tracked to the apartment by the police, Quaid and Melina find themselves surrounded. Quaid's friend and colleague from the Colony, named Harry (Bokeem Woodbine), arrives and tries to convince Quaid that he is in a Rekall-induced dream and that killing Melina is the only way to wake up. Quaid is conflicted, but seeing a tear in Melina's eye, he concludes that he is not dreaming and kills Harry.

Quaid flees with Melina to the Resistance headquarters, where Matthias attempts to recover the code from Quaid's mind. Accessing Quaid's memories reveals that the code was a plot to allow Cohaagen to locate Matthias. Cohaagen and his forces arrive, kill Matthias, and capture Quaid and Melina. Cohaagen plans to erase Quaid's personality and restore the memories of his loyal agent Hauser. Quaid is able to escape with the aid of Hammond, who has infiltrated Cohaagen's forces, but Hammond dies in the process. Quaid infiltrates the Fall where Quaid finds Cohaagen's robotic forces in stasis. He plants time-detonation bombs aboard the Fall before rescuing Melina. He and Melina are pursued by Cohaagen's forces and ultimately end up on top of the Fall as it lands in the Colony. Quaid and Melina fight Cohaagen and his forces, and manage to escape the Fall when the bombs detonate. The Fall is destroyed, incinerating Cohaagen in the process. Quaid wakes up in an ambulance and is greeted by Melina, but he notices the absence of an old gunshot wound on her hand and realizes it is Lori in disguise. Quaid manages to disarm and kill Lori. Quaid and Melina are reunited and embrace as a Rekall billboard advertisement plays in the background.

The Bourne Legacy 2012

plot... Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner) is a member of Operation Outcome, a Department of Defense black ops program which enhances the physical and mental abilities of field operatives through pills called "chems". Cross is deployed to Alaska for a training assignment, where he must survive certain activities and traverse terrain to arrive at a remote cabin. The cabin is operated by an exiled Outcome operative, Number Three (Oscar Isaac), who, upon arrival, informs Cross that he broke the previous mission record by two days. Meanwhile, Operation Blackbriar and the Treadstone Project have been exposed (through the actions of Jason Bourne as seen in The Bourne Ultimatum), leading the FBI to investigate CIA Deputy Director Pamela Landy (Joan Allen), Blackbriar supervisor Noah Vosen (David Strathairn), and CIA Director Ezra Kramer (Scott Glenn). Kramer requests help from Eric Byer (Edward Norton), a retired Air Force colonel responsible for overseeing the CIA's clandestine operations.

Byer decides to eliminate all Outcome assets and deploys a Predator drone, a remotely piloted aircraft, to destroy Number Three's cabin and kill both Outcome operatives. Cross hears the drone's approach and leaves the cabin moments before a missile destroys it with Number Three inside. The drone detects Cross' presence, but Cross destroys it with a sniper rifle. Realizing that his superiors have ordered his assassination, Cross removes a tracking device in his thigh and force feeds it to a wolf. A second Predator drone deployed to eliminate Cross strikes the wolf, and Byer assumes that Cross has been terminated. Byer engineers the death of other assets through poisoned yellow chems and chemically brainwashes an Outcome scientist, Dr. Donald Foite (Željko Ivanek), into killing his colleagues and committing suicide. The only survivor is Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz). Shearing is later attacked in her house by a "D-Track" team of undercover CIA assassins, but is rescued by Cross, who convinces her to help him. Shearing reveals that Cross was genetically modified to retain the physical benefits offered by the 'green chems' without continuous consumption, a process called "viralling off", but that the blue, psychologically-enhancing, chems still required repeated consumption. Cross and Shearing travel to Manila, where the chems are manufactured, to help him viral off of the blue pills. On the way there, Cross confides to Shearing that he is Kenneth J. Kitsom, a U.S. Army soldier who was "killed" by a roadside bomb in the Iraq War. He admits that he had below-average intelligence that the chems enhanced. Meanwhile, Byer tracks Cross and Shearing and learns of their plans. He orders Larx-03 (Louis Ozawa Changchien), a chemically-brainwashed supersoldier, to eliminate Cross. In Manila, Cross and Shearing arrive at the factory that produces the pills, and proceed with the viral-off process. Byer contacts the factory's security staff, but Cross and Shearing escape. They take shelter in a local room, where Shearing helps Cross recover from the process, during which he hallucinates of his initiation in Outcome under Byer's supervision. The following morning, the police surround Cross' location while Shearing is away buying medicine. She warns Cross, who escapes and rescues Shearing from the police who have chased her. They steal a motorcycle and are pursued by Larx-03. After a chase through the streets and marketplaces of Manila, Larx-03 crashes into a warehouse pillar. Shearing and Cross come off their damaged motorcycle, and are rescued by a Filipino boatman. They pay him a gold watch, which Cross stole earlier from the supervisor of the chem factory, to take them aboard and depart to places unknown, content that they are together.

The Dark Knight Rises 2012

PLOT... Eight years after the events of The Dark Knight, Gotham City is in a state of peace. Under powers granted by the Dent Act—legislation inspired by the late Harvey Dent—the Gotham City Police Department has nearly eradicated organized crime. Batman has disappeared and Bruce Wayne has become a recluse. Police Commissioner James Gordon feels guilty about the cover-up of Dent's crimes, and writes a resignation speech confessing the truth; however, he decides that the city is not ready to hear it. While searching for a missing congressman, Gordon is captured and his speech taken by Bane. Gordon is shot during his escape and found by patrol officer John Blake. While recuperating, Gordon promotes Blake to detective, with Blake reporting directly to him. Wayne Enterprises is nearly bankrupt after Bruce invested in board member Miranda Tate's clean energy project, designed to harness fusion power, only to shut it down after discovering the core could be used as a nuclear weapon. Blake—who has deduced Batman's identity—and Gordon encourage Batman to return, but Alfred Pennyworth resigns after a failed attempt to dissuade him. Bane attacks a stock exchange and bankrupts Bruce, using fingerprints cat burglar Selina Kyle stole from Bruce’s safe. Fearing that his business rival, John Daggett—who employed Bane to aid in a hostile takeover—would gain access to the reactor, Bruce asks Tate to take control of Wayne Enterprises. Bane subsequently kills Daggett as he is no longer of use.

Batman asks Selina Kyle to lead him to Bane in exchange for a program that will erase her identity from every database on the planet, allowing her to retire. However, Selina actually leads him to a trap; Bane agreed to let her live if she brought him Batman. During the confrontation between Bane and Batman, Bane reveals he knows Batman's identity, that he leads the League of Shadows following Ra's al Ghul's death, and that he will steal Wayne Enterprises’ weapons. He physically cripples Batman and sends him to a foreign prison where escape is virtually impossible. The inmates relate the story of Ra's al Ghul's child who was born in the prison and the only person to escape; Bruce believes that the child was Bane. Meanwhile, Bane traps most of Gotham's police underground using bombs throughout the city, and cuts Gotham off from the rest of the world. Bane tells the citizens that any attempt to leave the city will result in the detonation of the fusion core, now converted into a bomb. Bane reveals the cover-up of Dent's crimes and releases the prisoners in Blackgate Penitentiary. Bane starts a social revolution among the poor and criminals of Gotham. The wealthy are given show trials presided over by Dr. Jonathan Crane, where the "convicted" are killed no matter the sentence.

Bruce spends five months recovering and retraining himself. He escapes from the prison and returns to Gotham, enlisting Selina, Blake, Tate, Gordon and Lucius Fox to aid in liberating Gotham and stopping the bomb. During a confrontation between the police and Bane's forces, Batman subdues Bane. Tate intervenes, coming to Bane's aid and revealing herself to be Ra's al Ghul's daughter Talia. She escaped the prison as a child, returning with her father and the League of Shadows to rescue Bane, the one person who helped her escape. She plans to kill Batman and complete her father's work by destroying Gotham. Gordon disables the bomb's remote detonator, while Selina shoots Bane using the Batpod's cannon before he can execute Batman. Batman tries to force Talia to take the bomb to the fusion chamber where it can be stabilized, but she is injured in the attempt. Before dying, Talia floods the chamber. Gordon deduces Batman's identity as Batman uses an aircraft developed by Fox to haul the bomb beyond the city limits. The bomb detonates over the ocean and presumably kills Batman. Batman is praised as a hero, while Bruce is assumed killed in the riots. After Bruce's funeral, Blake wants to reveal Batman's identity to the world, but Gordon disagrees. Bruce's estate is divided to cover any debts and the rest is left to Alfred; the manor is left to the city to become an orphanage. Fox discovers that Bruce had repaired the autopilot on the aircraft six months prior, and Gordon finds the Bat-Signal refurbished. Alfred witnesses Bruce and Selina together in Florence, while Blake inherits the Batcave.

The Dark Knight Rises is a 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan and the story with David S. Goyer. Featuring the DC Comics character Batman, the film is the third and final installment in Nolan's Batman film trilogy, and it is the sequel to The Dark Knight (2008). Christian Bale reprises the lead role of Bruce Wayne/Batman, with a returning cast of Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Gary Oldman as James Gordon, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, and Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crane. The film introduces two main characters to Nolan's series: Selina Kyle (played by Anne Hathaway), a cat burglar whose appearance in Gotham City sets in motion a chain of events that leads Batman to come out of retirement; and Bane (played by Tom Hardy), a mercenary whose objective is to destroy Gotham with a thermonuclear weapon. Christopher Nolan was initially hesitant about returning to the series for a second time, but agreed to come back after developing a story with his brother and Goyer that he felt would conclude the series on a satisfactory note.[4] Nolan drew inspiration from Bane's comic book debut in the 1993 Knightfall storyline, the 1986 series The Dark Knight Returns, and the 1999 storyline No Man's Land.[5][6] Filming took place in various locations, including Jodhpur, London, Nottingham, Glasgow, Los Angeles, New York City, Newark, and Pittsburgh. Nolan utilized IMAX cameras for much of the filming to optimize the quality of the picture, including the first six minutes of the film. A variation of the Batplane termed "The Bat", an underground prison set, and a new Batcave set were created specifically for the film. As with The Dark Knight, viral marketing campaigns began early during production to help promotion. When filming concluded, Warner Bros. refocused its campaign; developing promotional websites, releasing the first six minutes of the film and theatrical trailers, sending random pieces of information regarding the film's plot to various companies. The Dark Knight Rises premiered in New York City on July 16, 2012.[7] The film was released in Australia and New Zealand on July 19, 2012,[8] and in North America and the United Kingdom on July 20, 2012.[9][10] The film received positive reviews and has grossed $959 million worldwide in unadjusted dollars. The Dark Knight Rises is currently the 15th-highest-grossing film of all time and the second-highest-grossing film of 2012.

Wrath of the Titans 2012

PLOT...

Ten years after defeating the Kraken, Perseus (Sam Worthington), the demigod son of Zeus (Liam Neeson), now lives as a fisherman with his 10-year-old son, Helius (John Bell) and has been widowed by the death of Io. One night, Perseus is visited by Zeus, who tells him that the powers of the gods are fading and the walls of the underworld prison of Tartarus are breaking due to the lack of devotion from humans. Zeus states they will need armies to combat the threat, but Perseus shows little interest and refuses to get involved. Afterwards, Zeus travels to Tartarus to meet with his brothers Hades (Ralph Fiennes), Poseidon (Danny Huston), and his son Ares (Edgar Ramirez). He tells Hades they must forget the past and unite to rebuild Tartarus' walls, but Hades rejects his offer and orders his minions to attack. They fatally injure Poseidon, and Ares betrays Zeus by taking him prisoner and stealing his Thunderbolt. In an exchange to remain immortal and powerful, Hades and Ares plan to drain Zeus' divine power to revive Kronos, the father of Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon. They capture and hold Zeus prisoner in chains and the walls of Tartarus break, unleashing monsters into the world. After slaying a Chimera that attacks his village, Perseus takes Helius to the Mount of Idols, so they can speak to Zeus, but the dying Poseidon arrives instead. He informs Perseus that Hades and Ares are holding Zeus in Tartarus, and tells him to meet with his demigod son Agenor (Toby Kebbell) to find the fallen god Hephaestus, who knows the way into Tartarus. Poseidon then gives Perseus his Trident before succumbing to his injuries and crumbling into dust. Perseus flies on Pegasus to the campsite of Queen Andromeda's army. The queen is the princess Perseus saved a decade ago; Andromeda (Rosamund Pike) has imprisoned Agenor for stealing crown jewels, but Perseus negotiates his release by asking the reluctant Agenor to come along in their plan.

Perseus, Andromeda, Agenor, and a group of soldiers set out at sea to find Hephaestus, with Agenor explaining that Hephaestus created the three great weapons that Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon wield: Zeus’ Thunderbolt, Hades' Pitchfork, and Poseidon's Trident, and that together they form the Spear of Triam, the only weapon that can defeat Kronos. Agenor uses Poseidon's trident to direct the boat to Hephaestus's island, where they encounter three Cyclopes: Brontes, Steropes, and Arges, who attack them. When Perseus shows them the trident, they lead the group to Hephaestus (Bill Nighy), the smith god. He explains that he has a map to navigate the path though a deathly long labyrinth leading deep into Tartarus. He leads them to the door to the Labyrinth, where they are attacked by Ares, who found them after one of the soldiers, Korrina (Lily James), prayed to him. Ares is jealous of Perseus' honor from his own father Zeus and kills all of the soldiers while Hephaestus opens the door and then sacrifices himself so that Perseus, Andromeda, and Agenor can enter the door before it closes. Agenor tries to use the map to direct them, but the Labyrinth continually shifts and at one point nearly crushes them. Perseus gets cut off from the group and encounters and kills the Minotaur before finding that he is in the exit of the labyrinth to Tartarus. Eventually, the group manages to reunite and find Kronos becoming powerful. Meanwhile, Zeus has been almost entirely drained of power as Kronos starts to awaken. Zeus apologizes to Hades for banishing him to the Underworld and asks his forgiveness, as he has forgiven Hades for his actions. Though initially surprised, Hades has a change of heart and decides to help Zeus and stop Kronos, but Ares is still angry with his father and Perseus intervenes. Perseus arrives and uses the Trident to free Zeus. As they are escaping, Ares throws the Pitchfork into Zeus's back, thus mortally wounding Zeus. To escape the charging Kronos, Perseus and Zeus use their powers to teleport them back to the Tyrene pass, where battle plans are made. Perseus, Andromeda and Agenor carry a weakened Zeus down to the base of the mountain where Andromeda's army is gathered. Although the Trident and Pitchfork are now in his possession, Perseus still needs the Thunderbolt from Ares to have the power to defeat Kronos. Perseus intentionally prays to Ares, challenging his brother to a final fight at the Temple of the Gods, which Ares happily accepts. At the temple, Perseus finds out Ares has kidnapped Helius, who was brought to watch Perseus die in the fight. Ares easily overpowers Perseus, before pushing him into the ruins in the temple, but is distracted when Helius secretly tries to challenge him by pointing a sword at him, giving Perseus the chance to strike back anew. After a struggle, Perseus kills Ares with the Thunderbolt and combines the gods' weapons into the Spear of Triam. Meanwhile, Andromeda's army is overwhelmed by Kronos' army of demonic Makhai, but Hades arrives to revive Zeus. He and Hades reconcile, and Hades shares some of his immortality with Zeus, making Hades older and Zeus younger, and together they use what power they have left to defeat the Tartarian army. Kronos then appears and begins to attack the human army with lava and fire. Zeus and Hades attack him, giving Perseus the opportunity to fly down into Kronos' throat and pierce the weapon into his heart. Kronos lets out one last blast to try to kill the two, but Zeus jumps into the way, pushes Hades and takes the explosion. Perseus meets with Zeus and Hades; a fatally wounded Zeus advises Perseus to use his power wisely, stating that the time of the gods is over. He thanks Perseus for his bravery before finally turning to dust. Hades is now mortal, his powers spent, though he states he might be better off as such before heading off to parts unknown. Perseus reunites with Andromeda and kisses her as they prepare for possible Titan reprisal. Knowing that there are still monsters to fight, Perseus decides to train Helius to be a soldier and build a new kingdom.