ToB Interlude - The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)

Julian Meush April 10, 2023

After the disaster that was the 1993 'Super Mario Bros' feature film it seemed like Nintendo had zero appetite for ever trying that again. Fast forward 30 years and the future of Nintendo franchises making the leap to cinema once again hangs on the hopes of Illumination Studio's 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie'. However, unlike in 1993, the reception to this movie has been much more positive, and even more importantly, it's bringing in the box office revenue, ranking as the most successful animated feature release of all time. But is the movie any good? Julian and Jeremy attempt to answer that question in this week's Tower of Babble Podcast. With decades of internalized Nintendo knowledge and a keen ability to sniff out the good and the bad for this type of adaption, you're in good hands for this spoiler-filled review.

ToB Games - Next Gen Pre-Orders + Microsoft & Bethesda

Julian Meush September 28, 2020

It's been awhile since the ToB Crew got together to talk gaming, but with some of the biggest video game news of the last 5 years unfolding before our eyes, we felt it was time to get back in the saddle. Julian and Jeremy sit down to discuss the huge news of Microsoft buying Bethesda and what that means for not only ‘Xbox Game Pass’ but also for Sony and the next-gen console battle as a whole. It's a major shift of power in the gaming space but it also means fewer independent studios (so it's not all good news). Speaking of anti-consumer moves, the guys also touch on 'Super Mario 3D All-Stars' and Nintendo's baffling decisions around the bundle. Lastly, the pricing for the next-gen consoles are unpacked and the question of "is the series S price point a game changer?" is posed. All this and so much more on this week's Tower of Babble Podcast.

ToB Games - The State of the Switch

Julian Meush January 14, 2019

Now that we’ve all flipped over our calendars to 2019 Julian and Jeremy figured it would be a good idea to sit down and discuss the state of the Nintendo Switch. It will have been on the market for 2 years in March, and so as the console moves into it’s “terrible twos” the guys take a moment to look back at the good ol’ days, as well as examine how it stacks up today, and even what’s in store for the future. Are there enough good games? Is online worth 20 bucks a year? Is Super Smash Bros. Ultimate a game changer for the console? All these questions are answered and more on this week’s Tower of Babble Podcast!

ToB Games - E3 2018

Julian Meush June 13, 2018

It's been awhile since we've taken a break from talking about the latest in film and television news and turned our collective eye towards the gaming industry, but with E3 now upon us we would we remiss if we didn't dive into all the major announcements coming out of gaming's biggest showcase. From Sony and their stellar first party lineup featuring "The Last of Us Pt 2", "Spider-Man" and more to Nintendo and their concentration on all things "Super Smash Bros" and everything in between, the guys discuss the biggest reveals, trailers and demos from this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo.

ToB Games - Mario Odyssey

Julian Meush November 23, 2017

Julian, Daniel and Jeremy are back with another instalment of ToB Games! Dan just bought a Nintendo Switch with Mario Odyssey and he has the low down on Mario's latest adventure. The guys also discuss the surprise addition of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to the Injustice 2 roster and Julian gives his impressions of South Park: Fractured But Whole.

ToB Games - Paris Games Week

Julian Meush November 10, 2017

Welcome back to ToB Games! The news of EA's shocking "pivot" of Visceral's Star Wars game came only a day after recording the last episode, so although it's a little late, the guys kick off the show breaking down every detail. Afterwards, Julian, Daniel and Jeremy discuss the plethora of trailers from Sony's Paris Games Week presser, plus all the buzz surrounding Mario Odyssey's release. All this and so much more on this week's episode of ToB Games!

Episode 99 - The Age of Adaptations

Julian Meush July 8, 2017

After a nice Canada Day/4th of July long weekend the ToB Crew are back at it. The news didn't take a vacation so there's a ton to cover. Starting with movie news the guys discuss the major shakeup with the Han Solo movie, the future of the MCU, Wonder Woman's tremendous box office success and much more. On the TV front it seems like there's a never ending rumour mill of possible adaptations and reboots. This time it's HBO possibly adapting Watchmen, a live action Jetsons series from Robert Zemeckis and Kevin Bacon talking a Tremors reboot. Finally in gaming news Nintendo announced the Super NES Classic Edition and Julian and Dan debate the merits of removing the "Game Over" screen from Super Mario Odyssey. All this and so much more in this week's Tower of Babble Podcast!

Episode 98 - E3 2017 Special!

Julian Meush June 18, 2017

E3 2017 is over. The booths have been packed up, the LA Convention Centre emptied and cleaned. But that doesn't mean we are done talking about it. Julian, Daniel and Jeremy sit down to discuss all the biggest announcements, reveals and trailers from the years biggest gaming event. From the reveal of X-box One X to Mario Odyssey, if you're at all a fan of video games there's something at this show for you. The guys break down and unpack the Metroid Prime 4 reveal, the God of War trailer, Star Wars: Battlefront 2 multiplayer details, State of Decay 2 and much much much more on this Tower of Babble Podcast E3 Special!

ToB Interlude - Top 5 E3 2017 Moments

Julian Meush June 14, 2017

This is the biggest week of the year for gaming news. It doesn't get bigger than E3. It all kicked off on Saturday but now that all the big press conferences are out of the way and the show floor is open the ToB Crew can start breaking down the biggest announcements. Julian and Daniel give you their top 5 favourite moments from the show so far. From Mario + Rabbids to God of War the guys will unpack some of the major announcements.

Episode 95 - Everyone's Favourite Goldblum

Julian Meush May 9, 2017

It's just Julian and Daniel this week on the program as Jeremy is "away". But the show must go on, so to kick things off Julian takes us through his picks for this year's "summer movie wager" and rips Regal Theatres for some questionable business practices. The guys then dive deep into the latest geek news, starting with a couple notable trailers for Marvel's Defenders and The Dark Tower. Moving on, Fox announces 3 new X-Men movies for 2018, Kevin Feige talks about "Phase 4" of the MCU, the Avatar sequels get new release dates (again) and Jeff Goldblum joins the Jurassic World sequel. On the TV front we got our first tease of Marvel's Inhumans and, DC and WB announce a new "DC focused" streaming service that will feature Young Justice season 3 and a new Teen Titans live action series. Over with games, Call of Duty: WWII got a trailer, Nintendo revealed some impressive sales numbers and Injustice 2 continues its march towards launch. To wrap things up the guys shower praise all over the premier of American Gods on Starz, the latest show from Brian Fuller based on the work of Neil Gaiman. All this and so much more on the week's Tower of Babble Podcast!

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Dec 24, 2025

Bonus Episode - ToB Film Club - Surviving Christmas (2004)

Dec 24, 2025

Happy holidays ToB Fans! Completing a string of 3 straight publicly available Film Club episodes, commemorating the show's relaunch, we finish with our annual tradition of doing a Christmas movie for December. This year, with Matt joining the show it was his choice. He went with a movie from the mid-2000s that he's revisited time and again - 'Surviving Christmas'. A Ben Affleck vehicle that comes from a rocky era of his, just one year removed from 'Gili'. Fortunately, it features a strong supporting cast, with both Catherine O'Hara and the late James Gandolfini stealing the show and preventing this from being a complete disaster. Devoid of any type of strong holiday message, we spend much of the movie indulging Affleck's character's obnoxious desires, and despite some funny moments peppered throughout and a relatively strong third act, the tonal inconsistency and unlikability of the main character leave this movie mired in mediocrity. See you all again in 2026!

Dec 24, 2025

Dec 17, 2025

Episode 202 - Could Things Be Worse?

Dec 17, 2025

It is often said we're living through "unprecedented times", and I must admit that it rings true when reading the news. Normally, we're fortunate enough to be discussing the frivolous world of entertainment - shielding us from much of the dower nature of the the modern world. Unfortunately, that does not mean we are immune - this week proves there's still plenty of bad news in the entertainment world to go around. And while we try to focus on the fun stuff, sometimes the bad stuff threatens things we love, like creators, and movie theatres, and therefor must be called out. As such, Matt and Julian spend the front half of the show talking about the Netflix/WB deal, and the Disney's investment in AI. Pick your poison on that one. However, stick around, as things take a turn back to the fun as the latest in film and tv news is covered, including discussions about a new '28 Years Later' movie, a new 'Men in Black', 'Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair', and 'Stranger Things',. All this and so much more on this week's Tower of Babble Podcast!

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Dec 11, 2025

Bonus Episode - Warner Bros. Sales Chaos - Daily DVR

Dec 11, 2025

Julian joins Axel and Andy on The Daily DVR Podcast to wring out all the angst surrounding the impeding sale of Warner Bros. and their myriad of assets, including HBO, to Netflix. With Paramount still sniffing around this is far from done but all of it is far from good for fans of movies and TV.

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Nov 28, 2025

Bonus Episode - ToB Film Club - Dark City (1998)

Nov 28, 2025

The term often used to describe the 1998 Alex Proyas film, 'Dark City' is "Proto-Matrix" given the many similarities between the two movies. Fair or not, they do have a lot in common but I think the comparison does a disservice to what is still a very clever and well made genre-film that largely holds up today (minus some questionable early CG effects). The 4K re-release gives it a fresh coat of paint, looking extremely sharp on modern televisions, accentuating the mostly dark and moody imagery of this sci-fi film noir, and given it's title this is all very fitting. Alex Proyas has some bid ideas here; what is the human soul? Are we the sum of our memories? Can memories be distilled into chemistry? Is love transcendent? Many of these themes are explored with depth, with answers to many of the films mysteries being laid bare in mostly satisfying way. Performances are strong, with everyone seemingly understanding the assignment, though there isn't much for the female characters to do here. Which is unfortunate as what we do get from Jennifer Connelly is intriguing, if lacking depth. On the whole, despite being pretty weird, this is still a very fun movie, if a bit silly at times, that was unfortunately overshadowed by the phenomenon that was 'The Matrix' dropping the following year.

Nov 28, 2025