Summer of '12

Cinema lovers rejoice. harshikaa udasi takes you through Hollywood's mammoth offerings in the coming months. A ready reckoner for booking the best recliners in the theatres

In this film image released by Sony, Will Smith, left, and Tommy Lee Jones are shown in a scene from "Men in Black 3." (AP Photo/Sony Pictures, Wilson Webb)

Men in Black 3 (May 25)

The Men in Black — based on the Malibu/Marvel comic book series The Men in Black by Lowell Cunningham — are back and in a stylised 3D avatar too. It's been 10 years since the second sequel ( MIB II ) was released and the lead actors Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones have been retained in this third episode. Barry Sonnenfeld returns as director and so does Steven Spielberg as executive producer. As always, thrills are guaranteed in this sequel with Agent J (Will Smith) learning that Agent K's (Tommy Lee Jones) life and the fate of Earth are at stake. He must time-travel to 1969 to stop an alien criminal named Boris from assassinating his fellow agent K and changing the course of history of the planet. Agent J travels back from the future to 1969 to team up with the young version of Agent K (Josh Brolin) to stop the alien criminal within a 24-hour time limit. Or else he will be trapped in the past forever.

Madagascar 3 — Europe's Most Wanted (June 8)

Another animation film with animals? The

Madagascar series can hardly be called that. Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, Gloria the Hippopotamus and Alex the Lion have entertained us enough through two films to have us eagerly waiting for the third instalment in the series, also the first in 3D. After escaping to Africa, the four friends set out to return to New York. Inexplicably, they find themselves stranded in Monte Carlo, where they try to escape from animal control (led by Captain Chantel DuBois) by joining up with a travelling circus they chance upon. Business at this circus, led by the venerable Siberian tiger Vitaly, has been down for a variety of reasons, and during the course of a tour through a series of European cities that ends in London, Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria help Vitaly, Gia the jaguar, and Stefano the sea lion rediscover their passion for show business and reinvent circus performance. This PDI-Dreamworks production features the voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, and Jada Pinkett Smith, among others.

G. I. Joe Retaliation (June 22)

Well, the first attempt to manufacture a movie out of a line of toys didn't go down too well with the critics, but it found a good audience (reportedly grossing over $300 million worldwide) that was obviously waiting for more. Just three years after the release of the first film comes a sequel with no single mortal enemy, Cobra, but threats from within the government that pose a threat to the very existence of the Joes. Zartan, Storm Shadow and Firefly form the pack of villains. Zartan manipulates the U.S. Government and frames all G.I. Joe operatives as traitors, exterminating most of them and leaving a small group of survivors. Outnumbered and beaten, the Joes make a plan to reclaim their place of pride and start their black operation called the “Second American Revolution” with the help of the original G.I. Joe General Joseph Colton.

The film stars D.J. Cotrona, Byung-hun Lee, Adrianne Palicki, Ray Park, Jonathan Pryce, Ray Stevenson, Channing Tatum with Bruce Willis and Dwayne Johnson. Jon M. Chu replaces Stephen Sommers as director.

The Amazing Spiderman (July 3)

This fourth episode in the series of Spiderman films is actually a prequel starring Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker and his alter ego. Emma Stone is Gwen Stacy, Rhys Ifans is Dr. Curt Connors and Indian actor Irrfan is Dr. Ratha, a pivotal character in the film. (Dr. Ratha is the face of research laboratory Oscorp and a close associate of Dr. Curt Connors. He was personally selected for the role by director Marc Webb, who was impressed with his performance in the U.S. television drama In Treatment.)

As a reboot of the series, this one will show the emergence of Spiderman. It will take Peter Parker through the discovery of his super powers and lead him to unearth the truth behind his parents. With a mysterious briefcase belonging to his father who had abandoned him when he was a child, Peter meets his dad's former partner, Dr. Connors, and his villainous alter ego, the Lizard. The Amazing Spiderman is scheduled to be released in 3D and in IMAX 3D on July 3, 2012.

The Dark Knight Rises (July 20)

Heath Ledger's untimely death, a tight plot and marvellous performances gave its predecessor, The Dark Knight (2008), enough media space and revenues of $1 billion, but the producers are hoping that this epic conclusion to the three-part Batman series will break all records at the box office. Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman will reprise their roles from Batman Begins and The Dark Knight . The film will take off eight years after The Dark Knight and introduce the characters of Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) and Bane (Tom Hardy), two villains from the Batman mythology.

When District Attorney Harvey Dent dies, Batman assumes responsibility for Dent's crimes to protect Dent's reputation and is chased by the Gotham City Police Department. Batman returns to Gotham to encounter the mysterious Selina Kyle and Bane's plans to destroy Gotham city.

Ice Age — Continental Drift (July 13)

A tiger, a mammoth and a sloth, along with a squirrel, have made for delightful viewing in the last decade. This one is the fourth in the series; three years post Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs . The lovable trio of Manny, Sid and Diego along with Scrat are back in yet another film, talking about the direct effects of changing climate. As always, Scrat's pursuit of the acorn has world-changing consequences, and Manny, Sid and Diego are forced to go on an adventure. Sid reunites with his long-lost family, Diego finds his love interest, Shira, and a gang of pirates seems determined to stop them from returning home.

The 3D animated film is directed by Steve Martino and Mike Thurmeier, and features the voices of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary and Queen Latifah, among others.