'Obi-Wan Kenobi' returns to form this week with one of the strongest entries since the 2-part premiere. With the Empire baring down on Ben, Leia, and friends, we are treated to flashbacks of Obi-Wan and Anakin training, pre-clone wars (an era not often enough explored in my opinion) . This not only justifies bringing back Hayden for Vader, but also acts as an exciting, and insightful, framing for the larger "modern" story being told. Despite some odd dialogue moments, this episode feels concentrated on Obi-Wan and Anakin's relationship, and how that is reflected in Vader and Ben's choices, it's fascinating. Plus, there's also some very good action here (even some inspired by the Clone Wars I might add), with enough moments that will make you audibly exclaim, "that's cool", to largely overshadow some of the flaws this week. On to the finale!
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SSSW - Obi-Wan Kenobi S1E4
As we pass the half-way point of the season, it comes as a bit of a surprise that Part 4 of 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' was only just over 30 min. With only 6 episodes for the full season, 30 min episodes, in my opinion, really need to justify the truncated length. Unfortunately, Part 4 ultimately still felt rushed, despite also having some very cool moments. Of course seeing Obi-Wan skulk around an Imperial instillation never really gets old, but it's everything around that core setup that felt under baked this week. We are introduced to new characters who we barely get any time to get to know, and despite some interesting allusions to a more interesting story with them, we are rushed off to a set-piece far too quickly. After the events of last week's big confrontation with Vader, I would have liked a little more time to let those moments breath, but alas, the show must go on!
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SSSW - Obi-Wan Kenobi S1E3
We see Obi-Wan face off with Vader much sooner than we might have expected. But with only 6 episodes to work with, maybe we shouldn't be so surprised, as we're already half way through. And just as Ben reunites with Anakin this week, so to does Julian reunite with Rachel, following her return from Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim (though with much less death and agony). They break down the return of Vader, Ben's fear, Leia's intuition and much more in this over-stuffed review!
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ToB Interlude - Top Gun: Maverick
We've known about this movie for what seems like a millenium. We got the trailer for it before we knew what a "COVID" even was. Then it all fell apart. 'Top Gun: Maverick', was pushed, and then pushed again, and now finally it's in theatres. And you know what? All those delays were worth it. They must have known they had something good on their hands to wait this long to finally release it in theatres, YEARS after it's original scheduled release. 'Top Gun: Maverick' not only lives up to the original cult classic but rockets right past it. It may very well have the same staying power that the original 1986 film had, and in this modern "content" world we live in, that's saying something. It was a movie 30-something-years in the making and the modern filming technology available to Tom Cruise, and team, today make for something that begs to be seen on the largest screen possible. Join Jeremy and Julian as they absolutely gush over this film. Enjoy!
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SSSW - Obi-Wan Kenobi - Premiere Reaction and Review
Run, dont walk, to your nearest Disney+ enabled device, because ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ is finally here and it’s been worth every excruciating moment you have spent waiting. With Rachel “on-location” at Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim (don’t worry, she’s already promised to have A LOT to talk about when she’s back), Jeremy fills in to review the premiere (Part 1 and Part 2) with full spoilers. Join the guys as they gush over the execution of a series long awaited, that carried the weight of enormous expectations, yet still managed to deliver something that goes beyond even what the most strident Star Wars fan could have expected. Everything from the elevated scope and scale, to the brilliant performances by returning and new actors alike, there isn’t much to dislike here, if anything at all. This is something big that deserves your attention. Join us every week as we break down each new installment. It all starts here!
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ToB Interlude - Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Julian and Jeremy sit down to discuss the first Marvel movie of the year with 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness', which kicks off the summer movie season (hallelujah!). Doctor Strange 2 continues what was started in 'Spider-Man: No Way Home ' and takes us even deeper into the mulitverse (which incidentally also continued Marvel's ability to completely lap DC at these ideas o the big screen). This inevitably brings some mind bending action brought to you by non-other than the legend himself, Sam Rami, with music from Danny Elfman! It's a match made in heaven, that largely delivers on the hype. You could argue that the pacing was a little quick, and it could have done with probably another 30 min of runtime, but when all said and done, Marvel's undefeated streak continued (I guess maybe discounting 'Eternals' for those haters out there), with another very solid entry into their cinematic universe (616!).
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Bonus Episode - Summer Movie Wager 2022
It’s been 2 years since we’ve had a complete slate of summer blockbusters to look forward to, and it looks like this time they will finally come out on schedule, and not be delayed again (or again, again, in some cases). So with the return of some normalcy, so too comes the return of an old tradition, The Summer Movie Wager (which is a game run by the folks over at The Film Cast, and which we owe 100% credit of this idea). Julian and Rachel each prepared a list of 10 movies (and 3 dark horse picks) from the slate of summer movie releases and attempt to correctly predict their box office performance (ranked 1 - 10). Join them as they discuss their picks, why they placed them where they did in their ranking, and some general wholesome movie chat goodness. Tune in again at the end of the summer as they break down the winners and losers, but until then, make sure to get out there and enjoy Blockbuster Season!
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Episode 175 - No Holds Barred!
With Julian moving out of the current ToB Studio, it was only fitting that he sat down with Jeremy for a full no-holds-barred free-for-all episode to really go out with a bang! The guys discuss the recent demise of Netflix, and how it reflects on their less than recent lack of quality programming, dive into more Warner Brothers drama, talk about the genius of some of the great Hollywood directors, find a way to talk Star Wars (of course), and some of the news out of CinemaCon. All that plus SO MUCH MORE, on this very special episode of the Tower of Babble Podcast. We'll be back with a new episode very soon out of the new space, so make sure to tune in to the live show to see how it all looks!
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Episode 174 - Tha Many Offshoots of 'Sonic 2'
The Sonic movies continue to have this odd lasting impact on cinema. The first one being a relatively well received video game adaption (a surprise on it's own), following controversy over the original design of the character, but it was also one of the last movies to premiere in theatres before COVID hit full force. Now with it's sequel, it's proven to not only have achieved the biggest video game movie box-office opening weekend, but also may very well be the franchise that sunsets the great Jim Carrey's career. Julian and Jeremy discuss all this (despite not having seen the actual movie yet), as well as dive into a plethora of news, not the least of which being the story that following the closing the of Warner Bros. Discovery merger that their new CEO is looking to, once again, "fix" their DC content, including mentioning the "languishing" of Superman, amongst other seemingly obvious blunders they've made recently. In addition, the guys debate a sexy new "Agree of Disagree" segment, the potential for a Tobey McGuire 'Spider-Man 4', the fallout of Will Smith's Oscars incident, and much more on this week's Tower of Babble Podcast!
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Bonus Episode - Oscars 2022 Recap + Best Picture Noms
Traditionally we would record an Oscars preview show, but for a littenay of reasons it was not possible to do that this year. Please enjoy this Oscars coverage in lieu. Julian sat down for a rare solo show, recorded as part of a ‘Twitter Space’ (as such please excuse the less than optimal audio quality), to give his thoughts on all 10 Best Picture nominees as well as look back at what worked, and what didn’t, at this year’s ceremony.
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