Finally got around to seeing The Dark Knight Rises.  The Aurora tragedy put me off from seeing the movie for a while, as I felt it was a tad direspectful.  (Incidentally, Hans Zimmer, composer of TDKR's soundtrack, released a new track called "Aurora" to benefit the victims.  All profits will go to the victims, covering some pretty bad medical expenses for some.)

As for the movie... what can I say?  I really enjoyed it.  Frankly, I thought "The Dark Knight" was a little overrated, taking itself perhaps too seriously as an important movie where, at its core, a guy dressed up as a bat punches a clown.  This one hit the right balance, taking cue from the more interantional, globe spanning, and grim eras in comics: Neal Adams/Denny O'Neill's run in the 70's, the Knightfall and No Man's Land saga of the 90's, and hints of Frank Miller's celebrated Dark Knight Returns.  Oddly, my second favorite scene was probably the one where the cop from Blue Bloods was riding in the car with an older cop, a direct callback from Dark Knight Returns.  The scene and the context in which they used it was perfect.