Summertime is great for moviegoers like me because it is the season of the mega-blockbuster.  Think CGI, explosions, beautiful people, action, and a plot that probably won't stimulate those who prefer more intellectually stimulating fare.

Don't get me wrong, I love movies that have tightly paced plots and twists and good acting, but I prefer to see a certain type of movie on the big screen; especially considering today's prices.

So without further ado, here are my top 5 must-watches for this summer.

1. Prometheus - It's a sci-fi/horror genre mixer brought to us from Ridley Scott, whose work and resume are nothing short of genius.  Mixing the words "Ridley Scott" and "sci-fi/horror" are enough to get my wallet out, but consider the speculation that it is going to connect to one of my favorite franchises: the Alien saga.  We do know that there is a loose connection, but Scott is being cagey with us.  If it turns into a full-blown prequel that could be awesome; but not knowing is half the fun.  Oh, and it's rated R, so no concessions were made to make a few extra bucks at the box office.

2. The Dark Knight Rises - This is a no-brainer, both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight were perfect movies which finally got Batman right.  Christopher Nolan is one of the rare directors who can concoct a perfect brew of action, acting, plot, and production values that can appeal to almost every single person, and the Batman/Bruce Wayne character is a perfect vehicle on which to unleash such a spectacle.  We know that this is going to be the last movie in this arc, so there are going to be no-compromises.

3. The Amazing Spiderman - You might think The Avengers would go at this spot, but not so fast.  Since the last Spiderman movie we have had Iron Man, IM2, Thor, and Captain America.  In other words, plenty of "Avengers" and not a lot of Spidey.  This is a reboot, Tobey Maguire is nowhere to be seen, and the leads are the super-hot Andrew Garfield and blond Emma Stone.  Damn!  Spidey looks to be taken in an entirely new direction, which I won't get into here, but suffice to say it will not be a remake of Tobey's "Spiderman."

4. The Avengers - It was going to be here anyway, and I just saw it yesterday.  Joss Whedon pulled it off, managing to cram the "Big 4" (Iron Man, the Captain, Thor, and The Hulk) into the movie with plenty of screen-time left over for the impressive supporting cast.  The main reason I wanted to see it was because Paramount and Marvel were doing something very ambitious by setting up this particular movie with 5 other movies (counting Ed Norton's Incredible Hulk, who was replaced by Mark Ruffalo for this film), and the result was most satisfying.

5. Expendables 2 - As the trailer for this played for The Avengers I remarked to my friend, "this is a movie made by men, for men."  The cast is mostly made up of 80's action megastars (including Stallone, Van Damme, Willis, Schwarzenegger, and Chuck Norris), and the "hard R" rating from the first film (which was awesome) will translate into tons of glorious action that will make 80's fanboys cry out in delight.  This might be one to leave the girlfriend at home.

Other movies that may have made the cut if there had not been so much competition:

GI Joe sequel - glorious action, The Rock, and Chatum Tanning.  The first one had brilliant action and pacing so this is going to be good.

Total Recall - a remake of a glorious action vehicle starring Schwarzenegger, it takes place on Mars and is awesome, I won't give anything away.  Colin Ferrel and Jessica Biel are going to rock this one out of the park, no doubt, but with all the competition it might not get the attention it deserves.

Battleship - Hasbro is giving us a "Transformerish" CGI/action fest coming out this weekend, with Liam Neeson, some hot dude, and Rihanna.  It'll have to hold me over until the summer of 2014, when Michael Bay gives us Transformers 4.

Other interesting ones that I probably will rent but not go to the theater for: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Brave, Bourne 4, and Snow White and the Huntsman (Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, and Charlize Theron, dayum!).