Research and Planning: Narrative (Maria)

The Dark Knight Rises (Nolan, 2012)

8 years after the events of The Dark Knight find Gotham at a time of peace. This is due to Batman taking the fall for Harvey Dent's murder. However, a new evil force named Bane has arrived in Gotham and aims to take over the city and expose the truth behind who Harvey Dent really was. Now that Wayne Manor has been completely rebuilt - Bruce Wayne has become almost reclusive, rarely leaving the estate. And with Bane taking over the city by force, it forces Batman to come out of retirement. But his allies are few and far apart. An elusive jewel thief by the name of Selina Kyle could be the key to stopping Bane - but whose side is she on?

The Departed (Scorsese, 2006)

Two just-graduated officers from Massachusetts State Police Academy follow opposite sides of the law: Billy Costigan is assigned to work undercover with the Irish mobster Frank Costello to get evidences to arrest him. His true identity is known only by his superiors Dignam and Oliver Queenan. The protégée of Costello, Colin Sullivan, is promoted in the Massachusetts State Police and is the informer of Costello. Each police officer gives his best effort trying to disclose the identity of the other "rat."

Shutter Island (Scorsese, 2010)

It's 1954, and up-and-coming U.S. marshal Teddy Daniels is assigned to investigate the disappearance of a patient from Boston's Shutter Island Ashecliffe Hospital. He's been pushing for an assignment on the island for personal reasons, but before long he wonders whether he hasn't been brought there as part of a twisted plot by hospital doctors whose radical treatments range from unethical to illegal to downright sinister. Teddy's shrewd investigating skills soon provide a promising lead, but the hospital refuses him access to records he suspects would break the case wide open. As a hurricane cuts off communication with the mainland, more dangerous criminals "escape" in the confusion, and the puzzling, improbable clues multiply, Teddy begins to doubt everything - his memory, his partner, even his own sanity.