Tower of Babble

Time marches on and we all feel old. This week, 'Toy Story 5' hit theaters, and while reviews have been positive, it's crazy to think we're onto the fifth installment in that franchise. In a similar vein, we recently learned that Mike Myers is interested in returning to 'Austin Powers', on the heels of his appearance in the trailer for another fiver, 'Shrek 5' (which already has people in it's own...

It's hard to believe it's been so long since the last Star Wars movie hit theatres. After years of announcements, failed projects, and even a change in leadership at Lucasfilm, the first movie in nearly a decade is a follow-up to the first ever live action Star Wars show. Maybe that's fitting for a new era, under new management. The film itself is a fast paced, action-packed, adventure that hails...

There it is, folks - the season finale to the latest creation from Lucasfilm Animation. It was certainly gorgeous to look at, with the new painterly stylings, and there was no shortage of thrilling action to sink your teeth into, nor did they skimp on the stakes. But while the season started off on a welcomed unfamiliar foot, by the end of this season, and certainly in these final two episodes, th...

There's two of them now?! With the arrival of another Inquisitor things really start to escalate on Janyx. We see Maul at his lowest since probably his spider-leg days (he goes on a self-guided therapy session/vision quest that results in something quite inspiring actually!), providing us a deeper understanding of his motivations, beyond simply "revenge!". Meanwhile, Devon continues to be the most...

It's been a minute since Matt and Julian sat down to cover the latest in film and TV news. Some might say it's been dearly missed. Well wait no more folks because this week it's all news and nothing but the news so help me god! If the last few weeks (months?) of stories weren't enough, CinemaCon 2026 also just concluded which had it's own news deluge. The guys unpack it all (well most of it anyway...

We’ve reached the halfway point of the season and with it comes a tonal shift back to the roots of Star Wars animation - 'The Clone Wars'. With the arrival of the Empire, the focus shifts away from Maul and his dealings and toward the pair of Jedi as they are now in the crosshairs. The noire tone takes a back seat, next to Maul, as things become more pulpy, mixed with an impending doom that is rem...

Now that the premiere is out of the way, the team at Lucasfilm Animation can focus on driving the story forward with authority. The pacing is much improved this week as time feel more evenly dispersed across the characters. There's a greater concentration on characters who can wield a lightsaber and it's appreciated. No shade to the crime syndicate storyline, but we've kind of seen all that alread...

It's been some time since we've been able to sink our pointy teeth into a meaty Star Wars animated project. Since the finale of 'The Bad Batch' all the way back in May of 2024, all we've had to tie us over were anthology installments of varying quality. Praise the Force, that wait is finally over with the release of 'Maul: Shadow Lord', the latest full length series from Lucasfilm Animation. The s...

In honour of Matt strapping on the goalie pads again for the first time in many years (and not completely pulling his groin), it only made sense to revisit the classic hockey comedy, 'Slap Shot' from 1977. This isn't the first time seeing the movie for either Julian or Matt but it's been a long time so there are plenty of questions still to answer. Here's a few examples: How well shot are the hock...

Matt and Julian are back to unpack the results from last Sunday's Academy Awards ceremony. While the show itself had few surprises (there was a tie though so that's something!), between Conan's bits, the winners, and the losers, there is plenty to discuss. Congrats to 'One Battle After Another', PTA and all the winners ('Sinners' probably deserved a better fate, but respect to MBJ for his ascensio...

Julian is back from vacation just in time or the 98th Academy Awards! Airing tomorrow (Match 15th), hosted once again by Conan O’Brien, it’s the most prestigious night in Hollywood (after the Tobies of course). This is Matt’s first time on the preview show, so the format is tweaked a bit from our traditional reviews of Oscar noms, though there is still some of that. A broader approach is taken, wi...

There have been rumours circulating for years about the eventual retirement of Kathleen Kennedy from her role as President of Lucasfilm. Never mind the seemingly constant swirling demands for her head from segments of the fan base. And while those rumours and demands may have felt at times unwarranted, they were nevertheless always going to be right... eventually. Kathleen Kennedy, after 14 years...

As noted by the recent Tobies, awards season continues in full flight, so it's no surprise to have The Oscars drop their nominations just in time for Matt and Julian to break them down. 'Sinners' taking home 16 noms sets an Oscars record and (more importantly) validates Julian's recent Tobie pick. Plus, the guys return to a more traditional news format with headlines about James Bond, Game of Thro...

With the Golden Globes holding their annual ceremony last week, it signals only one thing - it’s AWARD SEASON BABY! And of course, when one thinks of the most prestigious awards in entertainment, of course names like Oscar, Tony, and Emmy might come to mind. But held on equal footing with those self-congratulatory titans is of course the name Tobie. That’s right y’all THE TOBIES ARE BACK for anoth...

Reference article: https://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-best-of-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...

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 wo...

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.

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 p...

Julian and Matt start getting into the swing of thigs as they tackle the latest in film and TV news, with the hot story being about the turmoil surrounding the new Bond film. Fortunately, 'Goldeneye' turns 30, providing a positive 007 topic to dig into in an effort to balance things out. A new 'The Mummy' starring Brendan Fraser is in the works with Rachel Weis also set to return. To Matt's chagri...

Before Matt officially joined the show as a co-host he was invited on as guest to talk about one of his favourite movies of all time, ‘Swingers’. Now returning in an official capacity to the ToB Film Club, he brings with him another film from his top-3, another comedy, ‘Kingpin’. A Farrelly brothers film that followed up their smash hit breakout, ‘Dumb and Dumber’, and you can see the through line...

After an extended hiatus, ToB returns with a fresh voice on the second chair. Julian is joined by long-time friend of the show, Matt Tworek. We spend this first episode of the "new" ToB getting to know him and setting up what else is to come. Sure, Matt's been on the show before, covering 1 of his top 3 favourite movies 'Swingers'. But the real question remains... do Matt and Julian's tastes align...

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 crim...

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...

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...