This week in the Tower we review Deadpool! (Yea we know it's a bit late). It's no spoiler to say we all really enjoyed the movie because apparently everyone else did too. Deadpool smashed some major box-office records over its run, even with its R rating keeping (most) kids away. We of course give Ryan Reynolds some much deserved praise for finally nailing it in the superhero genre by playing the perfect Merc-with-a-Mouth. But its not just a Deaadpool love-in, we also discuss some Star Wars news (as we do every week, and presumably every week going forward into infinitum) and breakdown the last Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer. On the TV side we check out a whole slew of trailers as we get excited for the return of some of our favorite shows. Including, but not limited to: Daredevil, House of Cards and Game of Thrones. Finally we review a couple new indie games; The Witness, a genius puzzle game from the mastermind behind Braid, Jonathan Blow, and the emotional first-person adventure game Firewatch. Both titles have more in common with each other than you might think and Julian and Dan take a very deep look into why they are so engrossing. All that and so much more in this week's ToB Podcast!

In anticipation of the 88th Academy Awards we were able to record a special ToB interlude discussing the various Best Picture nominations. This year includes everything from the intimate and psychological, to large scale conspiracies, to outrageous post-apocalyptic war zones, and, having run the gamut, we were able to examine them at length. With films like The Revenant and Mad Max: Fury Road taking cinematography to new heights, this year certainly provided a spectacle in theatres; while some less visually stunning like The Big Short and Spotlight invoked a poignant social outrage. Each of the Best Picture nominations was successful in creating an emotional connection, and maybe we're just growing up, but this sentimental quality is why we go to movies.

Jan 31, 2025

Bonus Episode - Top 10 TV Shows of 2024 - Daily DVR

Surprise! Another episode of Daily DVR (or maybe not so much of a surprise if you listened to our recent Tobies episode)! Julian was invited to join a panel over on friend of the show, Axel’s feed to discuss everyone’s top 10 in television from last year, plus a few disappointments for some added spice. If you felt like you could have listened to another 2+ hours of TV talk after this year’s Tobie Awards (and I cant’ blame you), then do we have an episode for you! Listen as a cast of characters from around the internet uncover the best of the best from the small screen in 2024!

Jan 27, 2025

Episode 199.75 - The 2024 Tobie Awards (8th Annual)

It is once again that special time, where we come together to celebrate our favourite films and shows from the last year. As part of the ceremony, your hosts look back at some of the concerns worrying Hollywood about 2024 to see if any progress had been made (the answer is mostly no). When it comes to the awards themselves, as is tradition, Jeremy refused to do a list. Which really means he has the privilege of a front row seat as Julian delivers his selections. Plus enjoy an unexpected side tangent celebrating the 20th anniversary of 'Resident Evil 4' (do you feel old yet?).

Jan 16, 2025

SSSW - Skeleton Crew S1E8 "The Real Good Guys"

Well that's all folks! Well possibly anyway. We don't yet have official word on whether Disney and Lucasfilm will bring back 'Skeleton Crew' for another season. So as it stands, this is the story. Overall pretty great, and while we can gripe a bit about the lack of an epilogue to really tie up loose ends, on the whole this finale was satisfying. All four of the kids had an arch that felt complete and inclusion of the parents helped put a bow on that (despite Wendle largely still being an idiot). The episode had strong pacing, as none of the character centric moments felt rushed, though again, it could have maybe done with a few more minutes of run time to make sure that everyone got a fair shake. KB, for instance, got short shrift. The ending itself leaves a lot of story left to be told, and thankfully given it's placement in the timeline, even if we don't get a second season, there should be plenty of opportunity to pick up on some of the loose threads in future Star Wars projects. All in all, 'Skeleton Crew' is one of the strongest outings from Lucasfilm in awhile and it's our sincere hope that it represents a sign of what's to come from the recently maligned studio.

Jan 9, 2025

SSSW - Skeleton Crew S1E7 "We're Gonna Be in So Much Trouble "

Penultimate; everyone's favourite TV word. When it came to 'Game of Thrones', we became accustomed to this next-to-final episodes being a big splash, before a relatively calm finale. That tradition has carried forward into all sorts of different series but Star Wars has never been one to follow the trends. So here we are, 'Skeleton Crew' now only has one episode remaining, and the big question is, did this week's lead-up do enough work setup a satisfying conclusion. In our humble opinions, yes, but that's largely on the back of what is, standing alone, a pretty amazing 30 minutes of Star Wars fun. This episode is full of twists and unexpected turns that left us genuinely surprised. The big factor here though is of course Jod (Jude Law), who has now gone full heel, which has us concerned whether the show has the balls to commit to this turn or unwind it all in the last few moments. Either way, not knowing is part of the fun and as they proved this week there are certainly a lot of ways this show can go to stick the landing. Time will tell!

Episode 67 - Deadpool, Firewatch and More!

ToB Interlude - Oscars Preview

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