Episode 193 - The 2023 Tobie Awards (7th Annual) - Movies

Julian Meush February 15, 2024

With TV now out of the way we can move on to the medium that TV wishes it was - film! Part 2 of the 2023 Tobie Awards focuses in on the best in movies from last year. The Oscars seem to think that there was one movie that stood head and shoulders above the rest, in ‘Oppenheimer’, at least based on how many nominations it got, and Julian, Vince, and Jeremy, certainly give it it’s due, but there is a lot of other worthwhile films to cover on this list. Especially on the genre side of things - movies that would more often than not, never fall under the Oscars purview. Buckle up as the ToB Crew discuss a wide array of top tier films from across the spectrum. Enjoy!

Episode 184 - Where Did Everything Go Wrong?

Julian Meush May 18, 2023

Julian and Jeremy reconvene after some time off to discuss the latest in film and television news, and there is no bigger story than the writers strike as it effects both mediums. The guys discuss the WGA's biggest demands, and spend some time examining how effective AI could really be in replacing creative jobs in media. After that it's a grab bag of stories including the possible return of The Rock to the Fast and Furious finale, another look at 'The Super Mario Bros Movie' and it's massive success as it continues to climb the all-time animated movie box office charts, some comments from Kathleen Kennedy on how to "eventize" Star Wars movies again, and few other odds and ends. Enjoy!

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.

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 193 - The 2023 Tobie Awards (7th Annual) - Movies

Episode 184 - Where Did Everything Go Wrong?

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

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