#1. THE DARK KNIGHT RISES | Stream for $4 / Own for $8 @ Amazon.com
Early in the movie, Bruce Wayne’s beloved butler Alfred reveals that he harbored a sentimental fantasy that Bruce would escape the Batman obsession, and that Alfred would see him by chance at some random Italian café enjoying his life for once. Of course, Bruce/Batman is seemingly blown up saving Gotham City from a bomb. After that happens, we see Alfred in the very café he described earlier. Alfred looks over and sees Bruce, sitting with Selina Kyle (Catwoman). The two men nod at each other.
The question is, is this real, or is this Alfred’s dream? Well, it’s real. How can you tell? Selina. If Alfred were imagining this meeting, why would Selina be there? He barely knows her (he sees her fleetingly at the start of the movie, and isn’t around while she and Bruce are cementing their relationship), and it would be a big leap for him to go from “criminal I saw once on Bruce’s crime computer” to “the love of his life.” So it must be the real deal (also, the repaired autopilot on the Batwing is another big clue).
Above all, who the hell ever thought a Batman movie — especially after Batman & Robin — would be a confusing movie ending that people needed explained? Well done, Mr. Nolan.
