Our Game of Thrones expert, Gingerbot, was kind enough to give us a review of this weeks episode. So here it is:

While I know a very large percentage of the fan base for Game of Thrones on HBO consists of people who have already read the books and know the story well past what we’ve seen so far I know that there are a few who are new to the land of Westeros so I will try and write these reviews with as few spoilers as possible.  But, if you are reading this and haven’t watched the show or know the story yet then you have been warned that something might slip and you should stop now and come back later.

Last week’s premiere episode dove straight into the story and plowed through a lot of characters, cities, and storylines and I was amazed how much ground they managed to cover in just one hour.  Episode 2 however slowed down a bit and gave us a chance to learn more about specific characters and allowed us time to take a breath.  I think the most commented on aspect of the show so far is the nudity and violence which was very abundant last week and only slowed down slightly this time around.  I warned you last time and I can promise you that it will get worse from here on out because after all, as King Robert says, war is coming.

This episode was spent setting up the story more and allowing you to see how these characters interact and where the loyalty lines are drawn.  Much is alluded to and I know there are quite a few surprises in store for those who haven’t read the books.  Those of us that have get the pleasure of waiting to see how these secrets unfold and how the complex story lines are handled.  It actually surprises me the tiny things I notice that vary from the book.  Certain characters are omitted from some scenes so as not to complicate them and I know that they have eliminated people completely and even combined characters to fit the time restraints and parameters of the show which is certainly to be expected when condensing it down to fit on TV.  While I haven’t been able to pick anyone out that this has happened too yet, and it’s certainly too early for it to make much of a difference yet, it worries me that it could be handled poorly and could detract from the story.  But with that only time will tell and these people need to understand the risk they’re taking because this is a very loyal fan base they are catering to and I wouldn’t want to be the one who angered them.

This latest episode, while slower than the last, certainly did not lack story or action by any means and I still remain as impressed as I was last week and cannot wait for the next installment.  The show is doing it justice so far but there is only so much they can cram into 10 episodes.  So if you are enjoying it please go pick up a copy of the book or download it (I checked and you can get it on your Kindle or Nook!) and read the whole story for yourself I promise you’ll love it!

Pinball FX 2 for Xbox LIVE Arcade is one of the highest rated downloadable titles of last year, winning many awards and accolades, as well as the hearts and minds of those enamored with it. Not content to rest on their laurels, ZEN Studios developed and published the Marvel Pinball Tables which were heaped with even more praise. Everyone was wondering what was next to be released on the Pinball FX 2 platform, and now we know. The newest addition to the FX family is Mars, released on Wednesday. Clobber-Tron and Shaz-Bot are two unabashed pinball fanatics, and here are their impressions of the table.

Before we get started, I wanted to mention that the Mars table has been available on the PlayStation 3’s Zen Pinball for a while now, but neither of us had played it before, so this is a “it’s new to me!” type of review.

This can be really jarring if you aren't expecting it, but it's damned cool.

SB: My first impressions when I saw the table were that there wasn’t much going on. The table looks as barren as the Red Planet itself, at least at first.
As I played the table, I found that it is completely packed with features, modes, and cool effects. I’ll elaborate on these a bit later, but what were your first thoughts, Clobby?

CT: The playing field looks like a smiley face and reminded me of the Watchmen in an odd way and does seem a little empty, some boards seem really ‘busy’ this one looks very uncomplicated until you launch the ball. Also, the ramps look a little far away from the flippers so I wasn’t sure if I could hit them consistently.

SB: I see, very astute. I ended up having a 5 hour marathon play session last night to get to the highest score I could, and in so doing, I discovered a bunch of different modes, and I have to say this table is both easy and fun, which makes for a really addictive combination. Unlike say, the Iron Man table, this table is fun for experienced and novices alike. The ball doesn’t insta-drain and if you can manipulate the outlanes correctly, you can have a ball last long enough to unlock a special event! I got to experience stuff such as the magnetic crane, a pyramid transmitting, later having to battle against the pyramid, and my personal favorite, zero-G multiball. In fact, the only mode i didn’t like was the teleports, which I’ll elaborate on after you have your say.

CT: I love these pinball tables as much as you but I’m nowhere near as experienced. The first game I played was actually my most successful. I had not yet read through the missions so I was relying on the dot matrix display to guide me. I did a little of everything including sample collecting with the crane and hit the five hologram icons, but that was about it. I couldn’t start ignition on the ship and I’ve yet to get to the multiball. I think I need to have a huge marathon session too.

They look innocuous, but those holographic yellow gates are killer.

SB: I get what you’re saying, that actually kind of underlines what I like most about ZEN’s pinball tables. The more you play them, the more you learn the ins and outs of any particular table, thereby increasing your enjoyment. So keep playing, and you’ll get to see all that stuff eventually.

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows though, as I mentioned before, I am not a fan of the teleport mode. You get all of these translucent yellow gates on the playfield, and if you shoot your ball into one, you have no idea where it’s going to come out resulting in an instant drain if you’re not expecting it (which I wasn’t). The only other real complaint I had was that my preferred view doesn’t really give a good look at the lanes at the top of the playfield. I eventually compensated and was even able to get a 10x multiplier/extra ball, but at first, it was a pain.

If you use a view that doesn't show these lanes, the handy video window will.

CT: The only negatives I have on ALL of the FX Pinball tables is the table bump. I just can’t get the hang of it, luckily this table is very easy to navigate without losing the ball in the side gutters. These really are fun to play alone or with friends, I thank you for turning me on to them, I always wanted to buy an arcade pinball machine but these tables are just as good.

SB: All in all, I have to give the Mars table a big recommendation. It’s perfect for someone who just wants to kill a few minutes with a quick game, or the truly dedicated that will stay up until 4 am just to beat some one’s high score. (guilty)

CT: I totally agree, thanks to Mel and the Staff at Zen studios for the incredible tables. Highly recommended from the BSR staff.

A nice, uncluttered view of the whole table.

Mars is available on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace, or withing the Pinball FX 2 game itself for 240 Microsoft Points. You can also grab it for the PS3’s ZEN Pinball for $2.50. Codes were given to us by the developers for review purposes.

Doctor Who is back on the air with the simultaneous UK and US broadcast of the show today. I wouldn’t read this review if you haven’t watched the show. There really isn’t much of a way to review it beyond vague generalities without getting into spoiler territory. Fair warning.

The episode begins with a bit fun, the Doctor is carousing about time on his own causing mischief. Then we’re met with a domestic scene, Amy and Rory, the Doctor’s erstwhile companions, have received a mysterious letter with a time and a place written down. It’s been quite a while since they’ve seen the Doctor and they just know it’s him.

They leave for the appointed time and place and find themselves in the middle of Monument Valley. The Doctor is there, wearing a stetson because stetsons are cool and they are off to solve a murder.

Who’s murder? Well that’s where things get complicated. Right off the back we’re showed the final and horrible death of this Doctor.

River Song, Amy and Rory all received invitations to meet with the Doctor in Utah, and it seems as though they’ve been invited to witness his death. A mysterious Apollo astronaut arrives out the water, the Doctor goes out to meet him, and is killed. Horribly. But this isn’t the Doctor we know and love. This Doctor claims to be some 1100 years old, and the last time Amy and Rory had met him he was merely 903.

While in mourning, they discover that two other envelopes were sent out. The first was to an old friend that Amy and Rory hadn’t met yet, a former FBI agent whose younger self is played by Mark Sheppard (Baltar’s lawyer in BSG), and the other was to…well… The Doctor. A Doctor aged 909 years old.

This is the team the 1100 year old Doctor has assembled to solve his murder. Or prevent it. Or avenge it.

Well, no one really knows.

All of the clues lead them to the Oval Office, where Richard Nixon is dealing with an Alien threat he doesn’t know he has.

Steven Moffat is really working with time in a way Russel T. Davies didn’t, and he’s getting into a place where it almost makes my head hurt, but in a good way. River and the Doctor clearly have a past and they’ve been struggling with the fact that they’re moving in opposite directions in time. They older she gets, the younger a doctor she keeps running in to. He’s her past and she’s his future. It’s a very hard place to be in. And it’s almost enough to make your head spin. And the biggest problem with dealing with time in stories is allowing the audience to be able to wrap their heads around it. It’s working to a point, but they’re going to have to be incredibly careful moving forward.

And what was that? Starting the season with the Death of the Doctor? Can he get out of this? Last season Moffat started the season with the cracks int the wall (and time) and we didn’t really get closure on it until the end of the season. Are we going to see them resolve this death and solve this murder to its completion in next week’s episode? Or is this going to stretch the whole season?

I must say though, it was a little too intense for my daughter. She loves the Doctor, but the new alien threat they’re dealing with were just a little too much for her. Having said that, I loved them. They were atmospheric and creepy and I can’t wait to see what they pull out for the next episode.

The preview for it gives a very good impression of what these aliens are all about:

And seriously, after you’ve watched those two clips, watch this one. This is everything that is right and holy about really well written television.

Wowsers. I really, really can’t wait to see next week’s episode. But maybe the best thing about this episode is that it reminded me that I need to buy a fez. Fezzes are cool.

If you need to catch up on Season 5, you can find it on Amazon here.

This week, we’re starting a new serial! This one is really quite interesting, and it ties into the current movie season! Captain America is a Republic serial, that usually means a couple of things for serial fans. A) Expect a lot of fun and B) Don’t expect a faithful adaptation. Watching this, you’ll find that Captain America is not Steve Rogers, doesn’t carry a shield, but doesn’t have any qualms about gunplay. The thing that jarred me the most though is the lack of ears and wings on the cowl. It’s very surreal, but really fascinating to watch. It’s kind of the poster boy for keeping tight rein on your adaptation. As opposed to Green Hornet, I actually have a lot of stuff related to this serial, so I’ll be sharing some each week, but first, let’s watch Chapter 1 of Captain America: The Purple Death!

Crazy stuff. Anyway, here are some of the cool extras I have from this chapter of the serial:

Lobby Card for Chapter 1

Poster for Chapter 1

We’re back with another episode of The Big Movie Mouth-Off podcast!

The podcast features the stars and producers of The Big Movie Mouth-Off film review show, which appears here at Big Shiny Robot! and on Xfinity (Utah On Demand and Channel 6). That lineup is: Jeff Vice from MSN Entertainment, Jimmy Martin from SLUG Magazine, and Bryan Young (me) and Elias Pate from Big Shiny Robot! and ShineBox Media Productions.

To download the latest episode from iTunes, follow this link.

There, you should rate and subscribe to the podcast.

This week, we talked about:

• Jimmy Watched Kiss Kiss Bang Bang!
• Robert Zemeckis needs an Intervention
• Intro to Black and White Movies
• In Memoriam: Sidney Lumet

Listen! Let us know what you think! Spread the word!

For those of you who don’t like iTunes, you can get a direct .mp3 here. And you can add the BSR! podcast RSS feed by right clicking this link.

We’ve had Green Lantern trailers before, and this one doesn’t really have a lot of new footage, but if you squint really hard, you can catch a shot of Parallax, the entity of fear. The trailer seems to suggest that Abin Sur, the Green Lantern of Earth’s space sector is killed by Parallax, which is an interesting movie-style “let’s tie everything into one origin” approach. The movie is still set to hit June 17th, though it still isn’t rated. Take a peek and let us know what you think!

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Paula Malcomson (form Caprica and Deadwood, most notably) has been cast to play the mother of Katniss and Prim, two characters from the wildly popular Hunger Games novels.

I’ve not seen Caprica yet, but I can’t imagine she’s a bad actress. There’s been a lot to do about some casting not living up to your expectations, but I want to know if this jives with your notions of the character. Is she even a big enough part to stress about?

From the Hollywood Reporter, about the part:

In the books, Katniss and Prim’s mother is grieving after her husband’s death, living in fear that her daughters will participate in the deadly Hunger Games.

Sounds pretty one dimensional to me.

And the film is scheduled to come out March 23, 2012, which seems awful soon if they’re still casting and haven’t started shooting yet. It could be a horrible, botched, rush job.

Ordinarily, Scarlett Ro’Botica would be reporting on this since she’s read the books, but she’s returned to the red earth of Tara for vacation.  It’s where she gets her strength.  It’s part of her and she’s part of it.  So here I am, cluelessly reporting this news.

And so I’m going to open this up to a poll.  Should I be reading The Hunger Games in advance of the movie?  I hear far too many people raving about it and that’s finally what got me to read Harry Potter.  But the same could be said for Twilight and out of bizarre curiosity I read some of it to find that it was insufferable garbage.

So, faithful readers of Big Shiny Robot!: Should I get in on this?

By and large, the pop culture community at large has praised the Volkswagon Passat commercial from this year’s Super Bowl to be the best to come out of that conflagration. There were bound to be imitators, but in this new teaser for the upcoming Thor movie, Marvel takes it in a slightly different direction, especially at the end.

I love this video. It rises above being a mere rip-off by adding its own personal touches. Not only does it parody ‘Little Darth Vader’ nearly shot by shot, it has charm all its own! The costume is great How many references to the Thor franchise can you point out, the video is full of them! Using Flight of the Valkyries is also pretty inspired. The Odinson within me is mightily pleased. We can all go see Little Thor’s adult counterpart on May 6th, in theaters everywhere!

Right now the entire Marvel film universe (well, the parts of it that are being run by Marvel Studios) is aiming straight at The Avengers film that’s coming out next year. Everything since the first Iron Man picture has been building to that boiling point. But what comes next?

Marvel’s not going to just walk away from all of these successful film franchises. They’re going to keep going on with the universe.

We already know that Iron Man III is in the works with the cast returning and Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Lethal Weapon, and The Long Kiss Goodnight) is directing. It’s set for a 2013 release.

Keven Feige told the Disney Fan Club Magazine, D23 (which IGN got an advanced look at) that we have a lot to look forward to:

Feige said that following Avengers, “Thor will go off into a new adventure, and Captain America will continue to explore the modern world in another film of his own. We hope that holds true for the characters appearing in that film — Black Widow, Hawkeye, and the spy organization, S.H.I.E.L.D. —all of whom are more than worthy and capable of carrying their own films. And, we’ve got a lot of other characters we’re prepping and getting ready for film debuts: the world of martial arts, these great cosmic space fantasies, Dr. Strange, and the magic side of the Marvel Universe. There are many, many stories to be mined.”

But I think the question everyone is asking themselves is this: Are these films going to boil up to another Avengers picture? A Marvel Universe wide event like your Civil War or your Secret Invasion?

Wouldn’t The Siege be a helluva story to tell?

I’m very happy that he name dropped Dr. Strange, though. He’s always been one of my favorites in the Marvel Universe. And I hear Patrick Dempsey is yearning to play him, though I think Clive Owen would be much better.

What do you guys want to see in a post-Avengers Marvel movie world?

The Superhero of the Month contest to redesign Atom Eve has been well under way for a few weeks now, and there have been a lot of great submissions so far! But, now it’s time for you, my fellow procrastinators, to get your submissions in!

As a former Graphic Designer/Sub-par artist/Hack, I get it. In school, I always did my best work at the eleventh hour – in fact, one of my most-praised pieces of work was a magazine layout project that I finished up at 2am the morning it was due! Well, here we are at the eleventh hour and as the self-appointed Patron Saint of Procrastination I am calling on all of you who have waited until the last minute to make those final touches to your versions of Atom Eve and get them over to Alex at SHotM! Submissions are due by tomorrow, Friday, April 22 by 5:00pm MST! You need to send your entries to superheroofthemonth@gmail.com. Remember, Ryan Ottley-signed copies of Invincible Vol.6 are on the line!

Thank you to everyone who has submitted a piece, and to all of you that plan on getting yours in by the deadline tomorrow – and of course, best of luck!