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.

Episode 115 - Avengers 4 Leak

Julian Meush June 8, 2018

The ToB Crew gathers once again to discuss the latest in film and television news. This week the guys break down the 'Bumblebee' and, 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' trailers, talk about a Willy Wonka origin film and it's rumoured casting, examine the fallout from the 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' box office flop and ask why some fans thinks it's okay to harass creators online. The big news of the week however was the leaked concept art and story details for 'Avengers 4'. Julian, Dan and, Jeremy dissect all the details and go deep into potential spoilers. All this and so much more on this week's Tower of Babble Podcast!

Episode 114 - Solo: A Star Wars Story

Julian Meush May 30, 2018

In what turned out to be a series of unfortunate events and bad decisions, our original review of 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' turned out to be unusable. Fortunately, we we're able to throw together an emergency recording session to correct that error. Julian and Jeremy cover the Boba Fett standalone movie news before diving deep into the guts of 'Solo'. The guys give props to Alden Ehrenreich for a masterful performance as well as break down the film scene by scene, unpacking it's surprising twists and sometimes underwhelming reveals. All this and so much more on this week's Tower of Babble Podcast!

Episode 113 - Deadpool 2

Julian Meush May 25, 2018

As the summer movie season hits full stride Julian, Daniel and Jeremy reunite in the same room for the first time in over a year. To Celebrate, the ToB Crew reviews Deadpool 2 as well as covers some of the news, including Jake Gyllenhaal being up for the role of Mysterio, Zachari Levi's first official photo as Shazam!, the real possibility of a Lando Calrissian Star Wars spin-off movie and when we might actually see an Obi-Wan Kenobi movie. The guys also touch on a few of things they've been up to recently and at the back half of the show dive into the "fridging" debate surrounding Deadpool 2. All that and so much more on this week's Tower of Babble Podcast!

Episode 112 - Familiar With Rings

Julian Meush May 17, 2018

It's only Julian and Jeremy inside the proverbial 'tower' this week as they break down the latest in film and television news. The Guys give their impressions on Shane Black's 'The Predator' trailer and how similar it was to 'Venom' in it's ability to underwhelm. Moving on, they discuss the early buzz coming out of 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' following it's world premier and the latest out DC and Warner Brothers, including the possibility of Peter Jackson joining the DC fold. On the TV front it's a focus on what shows are coming back next year and which aren't as it's that time of year when renewal and cancellation announcements are made. All that and so much more on this week's Tower of Babble Podcast!

Episode 111 - Avengers: Infinity War

Julian Meush May 3, 2018

Infinity War is officially the biggest movie in the world right now, making this the perfect occasion to jump back into a regular podcast schedule. Julian is back in Canada and ready to nerd out after a few months off the grid with his old pals Jeremy and Dan. The guys break down everything in Marvel's massive tent-pole blockbuster, looking at what made the movie such an unprecedented undertaking and where it might have missed the mark. It's an all Avengers episode this week on The Tower of Babble Podcast!

Episode 110 - The Road to Infinity

Daniel D'Souza April 17, 2018

I know its been a minute but Tower of Babble is back! Dan and Jeremy sit down to recap weeks worth of news from both Marvel and DC camps. With the excitement for Infinity War already through the roof, we're talking all things Marvel leading up to the event; Deadpool 2 news, some pretty obscure Infinity War theories, and of course Black Panther. A little more low-key on the DC side with set photos from Shazam, rumours of big changes to the Flashpoint movie, new DC animation. All this and more on this week's Tower of Babble Podcast!

Game of Thrones S1E5 "The Wolf and the Lion": ToB Rewatch Breakdown

Julian Meush March 14, 2018

Tyrion finds himself on the Eastern Road, Ser Barristan stands vigil for the fallen knight Ser Hugh, after losing to Ser Loras a furious Gregor Clegane goes berserk, forcing the Hound to intervene, Bran attends his world history class, Arya stumbles across ancient Dragon skulls in the dungeon, Yoren warns Ned of Tyrion's abduction, Robert issues an assassination order, Ned abandons his role as Hand, Jaime confronts Ned and Jory outside Littlefinger's brothel, and the first observable blow is struck.

Game of Thrones S1E4 "Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things": ToB Rewatch Breakdown

Julian Meush March 7, 2018

Tyrion visits Bran with a gift, Drogo's Khalasar arrives in Vaes Dothrak, Ned follows Jon Arryn's trail, the Hand's tourney begins, Jon protects a new recruit at the Wall, Ser Hugh rides against the Mountain, Viserys vents his frustration, Sansa hears the story of the Mountain and the Hound, and Catelyn confronts Tyrion at the Inn at the Crossroads.

ToB Interlude - 2018 Academy Awards

Julian Meush March 2, 2018

The 2018 Oscars are here, and so is the ToB crew. Dan and Julian sit down to touch on all the Best Picture nominations and discuss most of the major categories before picking winners and favourites. This year we were treated to a diverse array of films; from the melodic and thoughtful "Call Me by Your Name" to the raw, visceral experience of "Dunkirk", a quirky coming-of-age tale in "Ladybird", and the invigorating, unpredictable thriller "Get Out. We saw incredible performances all around, including Sally Hawkins acting without a voice, Gary Oldman embodying Winston Churchill, and Daniel Day-Lewis in his proposed swan song. More than any other year in recent memory there's a little something for everyone in this year's nominees. Enjoy.

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Jun 5, 2025

SSSW - Tales of the Underworld

Jun 5, 2025

Lucasfilm Animation has been hard at work on their next major project, 'Maul: Shadow Lord', but they've found the time to deliver another installment in their "Tales of" anthology series. The first ones covering the Jedi and the Empire, they now turn their focus towards the Underworld. However, be warned, this is a bit of a misnomer. Don't expect any crime syndicates or really any large scale criminality here. These 2 mini-arcs instead focus on Asajj Ventress (I know, not the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions the Underworld) as she assists a young Jedi on the run from the Empire, and the origin story of Cad Bane. Which admittedly is closer in line with the criminal underworld concept, but is really more interested in telling a western style revenge story instead. All in all, despite the always great visuals and sound/music design, and few interesting ideas, there's not enough meat on the bone here to satisfy most viewers. But most disappointing is its failure to capitalize on the potential of the Underworld concept.

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SSSW/ToB Film Club - Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

May 22, 2025

It's hard to believe that 'Rogue One' premiered nearly a decade ago. At the time, it was fairly well received, considered to be a decent first step into the standalone Star Wars movies, if not a bit messy. As the years passed, we learned more about the production. Gareth Edwards, who retained sole directing credit, was assisted by Tony Gilroy to "fix" the project. Tony went so far as to call it a "corpse" when he came aboard for rewrites and reshoots. It was Tony's inclusion that brought us some of the movies most memorable moments, and ultimately led him to leading the charge on 'Andor', a prequel project that flew under the radar as hits like 'The Mandalorian' hogged the spotlight. With 'Andor' now complete, considered by many to be a masterpiece in storytelling, not just in Star Wars but on television in general, now is the most appropriate time to reexamine the movie that spawned the Cassian-centered prequel series with fresh eyes. 'Andor', which leads directly into the events of 'Rogue One' recontextualizes much of the film, creating a unique viewing experience that pays off a multitude of threads that are brilliantly laid over the two seasons of 'Andor'. It takes the movie, which was already pretty good, and makes it great. Now existing as part of a whole that weaves a cohesive narrative from the nascent moments of the Rebellion all the way through to the destruction of the Death Star in 1977 (the seed that begat ALL Star Wars, and what we appropriately align our Star Wars BBY calendars to). It all feels wholistic and considered when viewed from the broader perspective - an accomplishment that should set a shining example of what Star Wars can and should aspire to.

May 22, 2025

May 15, 2025

SSSW - Andor S2 Finale

May 15, 2025

After only 4 weeks - the blink of an eye - it's all over. The best Star Wars story since the Original Trilogy has graced our screens and left us in awe. These final three episodes weren't able to reach the emotional highs of last week's arc, but that wasn't the goal. Instead, it provides time to look back at what brought us here, and sets the stage for the climax of the story to take place not in this moment, but within the now recontextualized film that birthed all of this in the first place, 'Rogue One'. And while the show may carry Cassian's name on the title screen, it's been the cast of characters we've met along the way that truly elevated this experience. Not to pick favourites, but in particular, Luthen and Kleya, who get an episode all to themselves this week are the standouts. And what an episode it was, as their story which shepherded much of the series came to an end, as we all expected it would have to. Embracing those feelings of closure, in the final moments of the series, as Cassian flies off into 'Rogue One', we are treated to our last glimpses of our heroes and villains. From Dedra to Vel and even Perrin, we are left to consider their fates as the story marches with inevitability into what begat all of this way back in 1977. Will we ever see Kleya, Vel, Wilmon, or Bix again? One can only hope - and rebellions? Well, they're built on hope.

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May 9, 2025

SSSW - Andor S2 E7 - 9

May 9, 2025

When dealing in the world of prequels, it’s impossible to escape the inevitable - Anakin will fall, Han will win the Falcon, Cassian will die on Scarif. Somehow, in the midst of some of the most thrilling episodes of television ever put to screen, Tony Gilroy and his team found a way to address that impending doom and weaponize it against the audience to induce some of the most gut wrenching and heart breaking moments we’ve yet to see on ‘Andor’ - “There’s some place he needs to be”. At a larger scale, the show continues to outdo itself on a weekly basis, proving that the Star Wars galaxy provides a colour pallet of some of the richest hues from which to paint bold and personal stories. Proving you can go beyond the larger than life stories of heroics and grandeur to human stories of loss and pain and everything in between. That’s without mentioning the deft touch in pulling in themes that resonates with the contemporary while remaining timeless - a feeling that is a staple of Star Wars. Every detail is considered, every character is deep and interesting. There isn’t much more that can be said about such a powerful piece of art, except that not even the audience can escape the inevitable - only one week remains of this masterpiece.

May 9, 2025