Pop culture recommendations for a man gone walkabout

Well finally, my last week on the other side of the world. Since March 5th I have been traveling Asia and since that day have not watched TV, read a recently published book, or seen a movie (except 300). On Aug 4th I replug myself into the great pop culture matrix, Noble Dopers, what’ve I missed? What should I watch? What should I read?

This year has had a bigger-than-average movie summer. Depending on your tastes, you could catch up with a few of these blockbusters, so you’ll have something to talk about: Pirates of the Caribbean 3, Spiderman 3, Transformers, Die Hard 4, The Simpsons Movie, the new Harry Potter. And some good not-quite-blockbusters: I liked Knocked Up and Oceans 13.

You haven’t missed much on TV.