OMD's Pop-culture Corner: Summer movies are upon us

In the past couple days, I saw Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ex Machina, and tonight I'll be going to Mad Max: Fury Road. It's probably safe to say that the summer movie season is upon us. Of course with Furious 7 having eclipsed the $1 billion mark worldwide weeks ago, it's probably safe to say that the blockbusters have already been unleashed.

While Ex Machina was a strong directorial debut from 28 Days Later..., Dredd, and Sunshine scribe Alex Garland, it was largely carried by Oscar Isaac's performance. Oddly just a day after seeing Ex Machina, the artificial-intelligence-centric Age of Ultron dealt with the matter differently and with a much more terrified view of artificial intelligence than Ex Machina had, though neither ended up the view of the cock-eyed optimist.

While early reviews of Mad Max: Fury Road would appear to put the film in some rarefied air (it's sitting at a 99 on Rotten Tomatoes right now), there is also some effective counter-programming going on at the box office this weekend. While husbands and sons take in Mad Max (much to the chagrin of men's rights activists), their wives and daughters (and me sometime next week) will be taking in Pitch Perfect 2. From what I gather, I'll be seeing a lot of women kicking ass this week, which is a welcome change of pace.

There are a slew of other movies slated for release coming up: Brad Bird's second live-action release Tomorrowland opens next week, San Andreas and Jurassic World are right behind it, and a slew of remakes and sequels follow throughout the summer. What's coming out that you're pumped about?

All I know is that Magic Mike XXL can't come soon enough.