i didn't know there was a thread here otherwise i would have definitely said something earlier! i saw it on thursday at the midnight screening and thought it was absolutely amazing!
regarding the cast i thought the addition of marion, joseph and anne where all really great, christopher nolan really likes who he likes and knows who will be good in roles! i really wasn't expecting much of anne but i thought she did a really brilliant job.
i agree that the ending was amazing! really didn't expect what happened and loved seeing alfred/batman and joseph at the end.
the whole movie was just brilliant, the emotion that was written into the script and the acting etc etc. i could probably go on forever that's how much i liked it.
definitely different from the previous one but just as amazing!