The Slate Culture Gab Fest is brought to you by Audible.com, a leading provider of spoken audio information and entertainment.

Listen to audiobooks whenever and wherever you want.

Get a free book when you sign up for a 30-day free trial at audiblepodcast.com slash culture fest.

The following podcast contains explicit language.

I'm Stephen Metcath, and this is the Slate Culture Gab Fest Batman and Robbins edition.

It's Wednesday, July 25th, 2012.

On today's program, The Dark Night Rises, the third installment in the Christopher Nolan Batman series. Then we talk about Christian Markley's remarkable installation, The Clock, which is appearing now at Lincoln Center. And finally, we speak with Slate's own Laura Helmuth about bird watching. Yes, bird watching. It's true, Dana Stevens. Bird watching. I'm joined by Slate's film critic Dana Stevens. Hey, Dana. And of course,

Slate deputy editor, Julia Turner. Hello, Julia. Hi, Steve. Dana, of course, we were going to talk

about the Dark Night Rises. We were always going to talk about it. This series has been

zeitgeist defining and box office busting. It's been absolutely huge. The movies are also taken very seriously by

many critics. Additionally, of course, this movie will forever be bound up in the incident that occurred

in Aurora, Colorado, in which a gunman, a crazy gunman, killed 12 people and generally unleashed

mayhem on a unsuspecting movie theater. I think our discussion of the movie is going to be our

discussion of the movie as it might have unfolded with some additions along the way. But of course,

what we want to say principally is that this is a terrible, terrible circumstance. And our

hearts do genuinely go out to anyone who's been affected by it, which at this point really includes

all of us. That said, let's begin with the film.

This is the third time around for The Batman with the Christopher Nolan, the director, Christopher Nolan.

This movie's been getting quite a few accolades, as always.

I did not read your review, and I'm very curious to know what you thought of it.

I mean, as you say, I mean, it's hard to talk about this film now in the few days following the events of last week.

But let me try to get back to the person that I was when I wrote the review of the movie.

...