BATMAN: DARK KNIGHT RISES

In Gotham City, the Joker and his accomplices rob a mob-owned bank. After orchestrating their deaths, he escapes alone. Batman and Lieutenant Jim Gordon decide to include the new district attorney, Harvey Dent, who is dating Rachel Dawes, in their plan to take on the Mafia. Impressed with Dent's idealism, Bruce Wayne offers to throw him a fundraiser. Mob bosses Sal Maroni, Gambol, and The Chechen are informed by Lau, a Chinese accountant, that he has hidden their funds and fled to Hong Kong. The Joker interrupts the meeting, warns them that Batman is unhindered by jurisdiction, and offers to kill Batman for half their money. The mob bosses refuse, and Gambol puts a bounty on the Joker. Later, the Joker kills Gambol and takes control of his gang, while Batman captures Lau and delivers him back to Gotham, where he agrees to testify.

The Joker issues an ultimatum that people will die each day unless Batman reveals his identity; he makes good on the threat by killing CommissionerGillian B. Loeb and the judge presiding over the mob trials. The Joker targets Dent at the fundraiser but Bruce hides him, while Rachel is looked after by Alfred Pennyworth. The Joker tries to assassinate Mayor Garcia during Loeb's memorial service, but Gordon foils the attempt, apparently sacrificing himself in the process. As a result, Bruce plans to reveal his identity, but Dent instead names himself as Batman to protect the truth. Dent is taken into protective custody and pursued by the Joker across the city as Batman rushes to aid. Gordon, who faked his death, helps apprehend the Joker and is promoted to Commissioner. However, Dent and Rachel disappear. Batman interrogates the Joker and learns each are in separate buildings filled with explosives. Batman finds Dent moments before the buildings explode, killing Rachel and scarring half of Dent's face. The Joker then uses a bomb to escape from the police department with Lau.

Coleman Reese, an accountant at Wayne Enterprises, deduces Batman's secret identity and plans to blackmail him. The Joker kills Lau and The Chechen, and threatens to bomb a hospital unless Reese is killed. Gordon rescues Reese, while the Joker visits Dent in the hospital, convincing him to get revenge. Dent uses his burned lucky coin to decide the fates of those responsible for Rachel's death, killing Maroni and two corrupt cops who had helped kidnap Rachel. After blowing up the hospital and escaping with hostages, the Joker gives two explosive rigged ferries, one of citizens and the other of Arkham Asylum inmates, the choice to blow the other up until midnight—otherwise, both will explode. Batman asks a reluctant Lucius Fox to use a city-wide tracking device to find the Joker; Fox agrees, but says he will resign immediately afterward. Batman rescues the hostages, who are disguised as Joker's gang, by fighting off the Joker's real men and Gordon'sSWAT team. The ferry passengers refuse to kill each other, and are saved as Batman apprehends the Joker. Nevertheless, the Joker gloats that he has won, as the citizens of Gotham will lose hope once Dent's rampage becomes public knowledge. Batman leaves to find Dent as the Joker is taken into custody.

Dent lures Gordon to the building where Rachel died and holds his family hostage, as Batman confronts him. Dent judges the fates of Batman, himself, and Gordon's son with three coin flips. As a result, he shoots Batman in the abdomen, spares himself and flips to determine the boy's fate. Batman, who is wearing body armor, tackles Dent off the building before Dent can kill the boy, resulting in Dent's death.^[13] Batman convinces Gordon to hold him publicly responsible for the murders so that Dent will remain a symbol of hope for the city. A manhunt for Batman ensues, as he escapes on the Batpod. Alfred burns a letter written by Rachel to Bruce announcing her engagement to Dent, Fox watches the signal tracker self-destruct and Gordon destroys the Bat-Signal before delivering a eulogy at Dent's funeral.

                                                      THE HUNGER GAMES

The Hunger Games takes place in a nation known as Panem, established in North America after the destruction of the continent's civilization by an unknown apocalyptic event. The nation consists of the wealthy Capitol and twelve surrounding, poorer districts united under the Capitol's hegemony. District 12, where the book begins, is located in the coal-rich region that was formerly known asAppalachia.

As punishment for a previous rebellion against the Capitol, in which a 13th district was destroyed, one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 from each district are selected by an annual lottery to participate in the Hunger Games, an event in which the participants (or "tributes") must fight to the death in an outdoor arena controlled by the Capitol, until only one individual remains. The story is narrated by 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, a girl from District 12 who volunteers for the 74th annual Hunger Games in place of her younger sister, Primrose. The male tribute chosen from District 12 is Peeta Mellark, a former schoolmate of Katniss who once gave her bread from his family's bakery when her family was starving.

Katniss and Peeta are taken to the Capitol, where their drunken mentor, Haymitch Abernathy, victor of the 50th Hunger Games, instructs them to watch and determine the strengths and weaknesses of the other tributes. They are then publicly displayed to the Capitol audience in an interview with television host Caesar Flickerman. During this time, Peeta reveals on-air his longtime unrequited love for Katniss. Katniss believes this to be a ploy to gain audience support for him in the Games, which can be crucial for survival, as the wealthy audience members are encouraged to send gifts such as food, medicine, and tools to favored tributes during the Games.

While nearly half the tributes are killed in the first day of the Games, Katniss relies on her well-practiced hunting and survival skills to remain unharmed and concealed from the other tributes. A few days into the games, Katniss develops an alliance with Rue, a 12-year-old girl from the agricultural District 11 who reminds Katniss of her own sister. However, the alliance is brought to an abrupt end when Rue is killed by another tribute. Katniss sings to her (at Rue's request) and spreads flowers over her body as a sign of respect for Rue and disgust towards the Capitol.

Supposedly due to Katniss and Peeta's image in the minds of the audience as "star-crossed lovers", a rule change is announced midway through the Games, allowing two tributes from the same district to win the Hunger Games as a pair. Upon hearing this, Katniss begins searching for Peeta. She eventually finds him, wounded and in hiding. As she nurses him back to health, she acts the part of a young girl falling in love to gain more favor with the audience and, consequently, gifts from her sponsors. When the couple remain as the last two surviving tributes, the Gamemakers reverse the rule change in an attempt to force them into a dramatic finale, where one must kill the other to win. Katniss, knowing that the Gamemakers would rather have two victors than none, retrieves highly poisonous berries known as "nightlock" from her pouch and offers some to Peeta. Realizing that Katniss and Peeta intend to commit suicide, the Gamemakers announce that both will be the victors of the 74th Hunger Games.

Although she survives the ordeal in the arena and is treated to a hero's welcome in the Capitol, Katniss is warned by Haymitch that she has now become a political target after defying her society's authoritarian leaders so publicly. Afterwards, Peeta is heartbroken when he learns that Katniss's actions in the arena were part of a calculated ploy to earn sympathy from the audience. However, Katniss is unsure of her own feelings and realizes that she is dreading the moment when she and Peeta will go their separate ways.

                                      - MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOUR -