One aspect I see this Nolan effect in is the way the villains are portrayed. Javier Bardem wasn't really as bad ass as I hoped but Skyfall was really fun movie to watch regardless.

Realism is the way to go. Nolan has elevated blockbuster movies to a place where not only the "fans" can enjoy it but my father and my grandfather can also, no matter what the subject matter is. Thats how you draw in millions (if not billions) of dollars.

You can't give credit to Nolan for some of these things. For example "Silva is an insane (but somehow charming) villain with a substantial physical deformity (like Bane or The Joker)." The characters were already written this way in the comics. That was not Nolan doing it..... Joker has been that was for over a decade.

Also I don't agree with the realistic thing either. I don't like "realism" in video games either. I want to see a movie to enter a fantasy world, something creative and fun.... not realistic "here is our excuse/reasoning for everything" movies. It also breaks some movies, like TDKR has several errors simply because he was trying to be "realistic" but some things were not explained properly.