If Falling Skies doesn’t grab you right away, give it a few episodes. Amid the shuffle of Must-See shows like Game of Thrones, it feels a little quieter and more pedestrian. But if you remain open to it and let it find its rhythm, it turns into a thoroughly enjoyable bit of summer escapism. With the first season Blu-ray now in stores, those who missed it have a second chance to see what it’s all about. Hit the jump for my full review.

The success of Marvel’s The Avengers has allowed the comic book universe to introduce its rogues gallery to theater-going audiences, bringing in such extraterrestrial villains as Thanos, the Mad Titan.  Thor was the first of the recent Marvel movies to use other-worldly magic as a power source instead of Tony Stark’s technology in Iron Man or the science behind the genesis of Captain America and the Hulk.  In a recent interview, Kevin Feige confirmed that the death-obsessed Eternal would not be making an appearance in Thor 2; another big villain would be stepping in.  We know that Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman will reprise the roles of Thor and Jane Foster respectively (not to mention the return of Idris Elba as Heimdall).  We also know that Tom Hiddleston will return as Loki, but that’s not a new big villain.  And we know Mads Mikkelsen is set to play a villain, so who could it be? Hit the jump to see what Feige had to say.

Lately, Thor 2’s production has been in flux due to the original director Patty Jenkins leaving citing “creative differences” and new director Alan Taylor having to wait for a new writer to rework Don Payne’s original script. It looks as if Marvel Studios has settled on a new screenwriter so now everyone can just settle down and get back to work on making the sequel to one of 2011’s most successful films. Originally considered a contender for the rewriting job, Robert Rodat has bested competitors John Collee and Roger Avary for the position. The Oscar-nominated scribe behind Saving Private Ryan and the creator of TNT’s Falling Skies will have the task of scripting where the Asgardian’s story will head after he wraps things up with the The Avengers this May. Hit the jump for more on Thor 2.

Thor 2 is having an incredibly rocky road to the big screen. Kenneth Branagh originally turned down the chance to return as director, then talks with his replacement Brian Kirk broke down, and just recently director Patty Jenkins walked away from the project. Marvel is, understandably, working hard to get things back on track, and it looks as though they’ve already zeroed in on Jenkins’ replacement. The studio is apparently looking at two directors as possible candidates to take the job: Alan Taylor and Daniel Minahan. Both come from the TV world, and both have helmed episodes of HBO’s epic fantasy series Game of Thrones. Hit the jump for more, including what candidates are being considered to draft a new screenplay.

TNT presented some new footage from their upcoming sci-fi series Falling Skies today to fans at WonderCon, and we were there to cover it. Executive produced by Steven Spielberg, the series stars Noah Wyle as a former university professor and father who has taken up the leadership role in a resistance faction made up of soldiers and civilians alike. In addition to Wyle, Falling Skies also stars Moon Bloodgood, Will Patton, and Drew Roy. Hit the jump to check out a recap on the footage and panel, as well as my reaction to what we were shown.

I’ve never played “World of Warcraft” but it’s a game whose reputation precedes it.  It is the standard bearer for all MMORPGs (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) and also the standard bearer for the stereotype of the anti-social gaming loser who forsakes human contact to live in a world of fantasy.  With over 11.5 million subscribers, the game is slightly popular and would probably rake in some big box office.  But the appeal of an open-world game like this is to craft your own character and tell your own story.  With that in mind, I say “good luck” to Oscar-nominated screenwriter Robert Rodat who now has the task of writing a single, non-playable plot line for director Sam Raimi’s adaptation of “World of Warcraft”.  Take a break from grinding up your avatar’s level and hit the jump for what Raimi and Rodat have in store for the horde(s) of devoted players.

I’m currently in Jackson Hole, Wyoming where I just got out of the press conference for Roland Emmerich’s upcoming disaster flick “2012″ during which he spoke about two of his upcoming projects.  One is his plan to adapt Isaac Asimov’s “Foundation” which we first heard about in January of this year.

But the other film and the one he plans to start shooting this March came as a major shock to me because the movie is about William Shakespeare.  For those that don’t know Emmerich also directed “Independence Day” and “The Day After Tomorrow” so this is a major shift for him.  The film is called “Anonymous” and he planned to make the movie back in 2005 under the name “Soul of the Age”.  This new script is by John Orloff (“Band of Brothers”, “A Mighty Heart”) and Emmerich says it’s his next movie. Hit the jump for details on both films.