The Avengers features a superhero line-up the likes of which the big screen has never seen before with Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, Hawkeye, Black Widow and Nick Fury all teaming up to defend the Earth from Loki. But there is one character who has played a supporting role in films leading up to this legendary team-up who has garnered a fanbase that could possibly rival any of these heroes, and that is Agent Coulson, played tremendously by Clark Gregg.

After his first appearance in Iron Man, I immediately wanted to see more of this character and I wasn’t alone. Luckily, Marvel recognized this and gave Coulson more to do in Iron Man 2 and Thor, along with a couple of short films featuring our favorite agent. From what I hear, Coulson plays an even larger role in the upcoming Avengers and I couldn’t be happier. There is just something about his smart-ass attitude, his consistent calmness about every situation, and – as we saw in the short, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer” – his capability of being a complete badass.

Gregg visited Travis Smiley on PBS and discussed his experience in filming The Avengers and brought along a new clip from the film featuring Agent Coulson stumbling over his words as he speaks to Steve Rogers aka Captain America, apparently someone he has admired for a long time. You can check out the clip in the interview below, which starts at the 30-second mark, but I would encourage you to watch the whole interview.

The Avengers hits theaters in just over a week on May 4! (SQUEEEE!!)

Watch Actor-writer-director Clark Gregg on PBS. See more from Tavis Smiley.

Game of Thrones S02E04 “Garden of Bones”

By Bobot Fett

Warning! Spoilers for S02E04 and Book #2 (A Clash of Kings) included!

Another week in Westeros has come and gone and what a week it was! This week we travel to two new cities and make the acquaintance of some very important new characters.

We begin with Robb fighting another battle in the North, or at least the implication of a battle. HBO continues to cost cut on production by not shooting any large scale scenes. This frugal filmmaking didn’t bother me as much in the smaller scope first season but the extended fade to black overlaying the battle at the beginning of this episode felt a little cheap and I felt a little cheated. With limited action and fantasy the show risks becoming a bore about kings and whores if it continues to neglect the sword. We meet our first new character of the episode, Roose Bolton who has some interesting skin care plans for Robb’s prisoners. Robb’s eye shadow (seriously doesn’t it look like he is wearing eye shadow half the time?) is toned down this episode so he can chat-up Tellisa of Volantis on the pitch after the skirmish. I must admit something about death cries and bone saws always makes me want to flirt, but the balance of the scene seems a little off.

We return to King’s Landing where Joffery strips and shames Sansa in front of his court, all the while acknowledging that she will still be his queen. Tyrion rushes in to save the damsel in a ripped dress and continues his nephew’s education by insult. Tyrion’s wit fails him when he makes a gross miscalculation involving a Name Day present for Joffery gone horribly wrong. This week’s “featured whores” leave a little worse for wear as Tyrion severely underestimated the boy king’s appetites. But again I felt cheated when Ros was handed the Baratheon baton, and Medieval hardcore porn was implied, only to result in an off camera beating, lame.

Lord Baelish continues to snake his way through the royal families, calling on Renly, Margery, and Catelyn at Storm’s End. I am conflicted about Littlefinger lately. First, his belief in an outside chance with Catelyn, especially as we learn he is carrying Ned’s head, seem totally inconsistent with the very smart, informed, self made man we have been presented. Second, for a man who knows the value of information and discretion Littlefinger as of late has been running his mouth off to everyone about their darkest secrets. This doesn’t just strike me as inconsistent for his character but for all the characters involved with his antics. The Cersei we know should have killed him when he mouthed off last episode about Jamie’s incestual prowess. Renly, Margery, and Catelyn-who is Littlefinger to them? It seems odd they would continue to suffer his slings and arrows. Last, and most disconcerting, what the hell is going on with Littlefinger’s accent? It’s not quite as bad as Viggo Mortensen’s Aragorn but Littlefinger is all over the place. It makes one wonder if he has been working the male staff (pun intended) at one of his establishments.

After her capture at the end of last episode Arya makes her way to Harrenhall, the haunted castle bartered with by Tyrion and Lord Baelish last week. Another Lannister plays the hero this episode as Tywin saves the day, and Gendry, from the bucket rat. Little does Tywin know that his new cup bearer prays for his daughter and grandson’s death every night. Daenerys returns to the show briefly to be “welcomed” in to Qarth, pronounced ‘Karth’ bitch, a CG city more impressive than any yet seen on the show.

The episode ends with a bang, or a plop, as Davos carries out a secret mission with Melisandre. My fear of not enough fantasy is abated as Stannis’s king seed spews forth from the Red Priestess. As we approach mid-season the cast and world continue to grow as does the intrigue. The last two episodes may be the strongest of the series thus far. As a fan of the books I enjoy how HBO and the writers slowly build towards the storm to come, “for the night is dark and full of terrors”.

Swirls of golden light fall from the sky outside a Moscow nightclub, appearing like beautiful fireflies but capable of disintegrating anyone in their path.

So begins The Darkest Hour, now available on DVD and Blu-Ray.

The scenery is incredible, with ominous gray skies appearing behind beautiful Russian buildings, including the impressive Kremlin.  And with the recent “firefly” massacre, the once-bustling city is an ash-covered barren wasteland.  The five main characters are able to avoid the initial carnage, but with nearly everyone else gone and no idea what these creatures are or what they want, they struggle to figure out what to do next.  To add to the direness of the situation, the mysterious invaders are capable of becoming invisible.

The very beginning of the film focuses on who these characters are and why they are in Moscow, but this is ultimately unimportant.  They are one-dimensional with names like Sean (Emile Hirsch), Ben (Max Minghella), and Natalie (Olivia Thirlby).  This doesn’t really detract from the very real danger of the enemy, though, since this is ultimately a story about the world on the brink of destruction and not interpersonal relationships.

With a running time of only 89 minutes, this is a short horror/sci-fi film, and it was much better than I expected.  Mostly I was intrigued by what the creatures really were and their motives for destroying Earth, as well as the empty Russian landscape.  Once the useless character introductions were over, the movie kept up a pretty rapid pace.  It’s not epic cinema, but I think it’s a decent popcorn film and certainly worth a look.

Special features on the DVD and Blu-Ray include “The Darkest Hour: Survivors” – Follow the rebel resistance in an all-new short film, Deleted & Extended Scenes, “The Darkest Hour: Visualizing an Invasion”, and Audio Commentary with the Director Chris Gorak.

Vivid Entertainment and Axel Braun are at it again.

This time, they have released their cover for the new Avengers porn parody. I’m really conflicted about these releases. Their Hulk release was boring as hell… The Batman release was fantastic… The Star Wars release… There’s a lot I’d like to say about how I feel about their Star Wars release (I’ve struggled trying to write something about it because of how conflicted I am about it.)

And they must have, hands down, the best copyright attorney in the galaxy.

I wonder how many other franchises we’ll get. Aliens? Wonder Woman? Terminator?

Who knows. It seems as though the well of their pornographic geek ideas is limitless.

And is it just me or does She Hulk look like a dude in drag? Which, I guess, would be fine, but she’s a pretty sexy character otherwise. What Ultimate Team Up would you like to see in this universe?

Today’s Google Doodle celebrates Earth Day, which began on April 22, 1970.  It’s a brief animation sequence that begins with green leaves spelling out the Google letters and then sprouting into beautiful flowers.

The Earth Day Network cites Rachel Carson’s 1962 best-selling book Silent Spring as the precursor to the environmental movement, raising awareness of life on the planet and public health.  Now, more than forty years later, the day is still celebrated in various ways, such as planting trees, being more proactive about recycling, or watching a movie.

Yes, watching a movie.  Many great (and even not-so-great) films throughout the years have advocated being good stewards of our environment.  Some are more blatantly preachy than others, but we at Big Shiny Robot! love movies, and here are a few of our favorite environmentally-friendly movies:

Wall-E:  humans have destroyed the planet and have moved off-world to be lazy and fat until one day  . . . a lonely robot discovers the last living plant and the future for civilization on Earth.  This is one of the sweetest and cutest movies I’ve ever seen, and it really does carry a good message.

FernGully:  The Last Rainforest:  Fairy Crysta and vegetation-killer Zak must join forces to battle an evil that is threatening to destroy the rainforest.  (Avatar is often compared to FernGully, as well as Pocahantas).

The Lorax:  a more recent release, this movie is about a world with no trees, but Audrey desperately wishes to see one.  Ted, wanting to impress her, ventures out on his own and ultimately meets the Lorax.  Voiced by Danny DeVito, the Lorax does what he can to preserve nature.  I haven’t seen this but the message of the film was clear even from the trailers.

Do you have any films you would suggest for watching on this Earth Day?  And how much trouble will I get into if I suggest Return of the Jedi?  After all, it’s about tree-dwelling creatures who overcame a tyrannical, mechanical Galactic Empire.  Show the Ewoks some love on this day, too.   Yub Nub.

Lionsgate has selected Francis Lawrence (Water for Elephants, I Am Legend) to replace Gary Ross as director for the next installment of the Hunger Games franchise, Catching Fire.

Lionsgate is a bit under the gun to get production going on the sequel because FOX is due to start production on the sequel to X-Men: First Class early next year, and Jennifer Lawrence is contractually bound to participate in a sequel. While other directors were circling the project, Francis Lawrence was the one who was able to start on this project immediately – not that he was at the bottom of the list necessarily, but I’m sure this helped.

I think Francis Lawrence is a capable director and will do just fine handling the sequel to the much-applauded Hunger Games. While the first installment was a great film, I don’t think we are in danger of ending up with a poor second installment by losing Ross at the helm. I think that danger comes from what appears to be a very rushed production schedule to ensure this movie gets made before Jennifer Lawrence gets swept up by the X-Men: First Class sequel.

Sound of on your thoughts in this change of directors in the comments below!

This Month’s Podcast Features:

Zombietron (Tom), Arse-Bot (Tyson), Vagatron (Kiley), Mexicus Prime (Jimmy), and Kill-tacular-tron (Lucas)

The April edition of the Big Shiny Podcast is here!

This month we kick off the podcast with our nerd-rage over Michael Bay’s comments about his Adult Alien Ninja Turtle franchise, geek out over the Avengers TV Spots (HULK SMASH!), and Arse-bot asks they question, “Why does it seem like we aren’t allowed to hate anything we don’t like anymore?” Mexicus Prime also has more “flash bang” questions for us to answer that you won’t want to miss!

We also talk what’s new in comics including Avengers Vs. X-Men, the possible death of Gambit, and what we are all reading right now. In video games, a Walking Dead game is set to be released, BioWare is going to release some free DLC that expands and clarifies the ending of Mass Effect 3, and Zombietron has some thoughts to share on Kid Icarus.

Wrapping things up this month are some new collectibles, including Arse-bot’s new collection on Mini Muggs, Marvel Lego sets, and Kill-tacular-tron brings some mini-fig blind packs for us to open!

Thanks for listening and watch for a new episode every month! Also be sure to check out the Big Shiny Girlcast, chock full of geeky girl goodness! If you like what you hear, rate the Big Shiny Robot Podcast Family on iTunes!

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Over the last few weeks the Ender’s Game Blog has been releasing some production photos from the Ender’s Game film that is, at long last, being made.

Despite my excitement for this film, I just can’t get terribly excited about these photos. Yes they have just barely started production, yes I know anything at this point is kind of cool, but what we have here is the back of a head/neck, a bulk-head of some sort, and a shot of Ender’s room. Woo. Hoo. In any case, these photos are at least proof-positive that Ender’s Game is finally getting the movie treatment – now we just have to wait until November 2013 to find out if it was worth the wait.

I know there is a lot of controversy regarding Orson Scott Card, but the Ender’s Game series was one of the first sci-fi series I voluntarily picked up and read, and ultimately fell in love with. So despite Card’s irrational homophobia and inserting of foot into mouth, I am still excited to see this come to the big screen.

Ender’s Game stars Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Abigail Breslin, Viola Davis, and Hailee Steinfeld

Official Synopsis: In the near future, a hostile alien race (called the Formics) have attacked Earth. If not for the legendary heroics of International Fleet Commander, Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley), all would have been lost. In preparation for the next attack, the highly esteemed Colonel Graff (Harrison Ford) and the International Military are training only the best young children to find the future Mazer. Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a shy, but strategically brilliant boy is pulled out of his school to join the elite. Arriving at Battle School, Ender quickly and easily masters increasingly difficult war games, distinguishing himself and winning respect amongst his peers. Ender is soon ordained by Graff as the military’s next great hope, resulting in his promotion to Command School. Once there, he’s trained by Mazer Rackham, himself, to lead his fellow soldiers into an epic battle that will determine the future of Earth and save the human race.

Last night’s episode of Conan featured a pretty funny bit about the upcoming Halo 4 and 343 Industries!

Nothing terribly substantial was revealed about the game being that this was for laughs, not for a “huge reveal” of any sorts, it’s a good nine-minute bit featuring O’Brien poking fun at the franchise and Frank O’Connor and Kiki Wolfkill. Enjoy!

Hey guys! Vagatron is back, after disappearing for a few weeks (and Arse-bot allowing this to get buried in his inbox…), with another convention sketch!

This week’s comes from artist Gabriel ‘Gabo’ Bautista Jr., who draws the web comic, Jesus Christ: In the Name of the Gun. His work has also been featured in several issues of the wonderful series, Elephantmen. This is a sketch of Kitty Pryde from the X-Men (one of my favorite X-characters) that my wife had him draw for me back at Wondercon ’11. Enjoy the awesomeness!

Remember, as always, we are asking if you have a sketch you think others may be interested in seeing, let us know by dropping us a line at editor@bigshinyrobot.com!