Tower of Babble

Despite being over 3000 years old, Homer's 'The Odyssey' has remained an enduring work of fiction. It's hard to conceive how many times this story has been told and retold. For this reason it's all the more compelling to have one of our generations greatest visual storytellers reinterpret this foundational work for modern audiences. In fact, you could argue this may be the richest interpretations, while understanding the limitations of the filmic medium, given the wonders of modern technology (imagine what the ancient Greeks would think of this!). That's without even mentioning that this film was shot entirely on 70 mm IMAX film (a first of it's kind), and while it may very well be a dying medium, it remains one of the grandest forms of visual storytelling available still today. A beautiful marriage of subject and medium. That is all to say that Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' is a remarkable film. The job of pulling an ancient text into the modern world in way that still captures the imagination is no easy task, but I can safely say accomplished with style by Nolan. While certainly not perfect, the film's ability to leverage the story of Odysseus to deliver a message profoundly relevant to our current time speaks both to the timeless nature of the story but also to Nolan's craftsmanship to shape his telling in such a way as to be pointed in the parable. Which may end up being the film's enduring legacy.

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Another cult classic, 'The Warriors' brings a distinctly unique sense of style and grittiness that feels right at home on the grimy streets of 1970's New York City. The gang-centered heightened reality of the film feels almost Shakespearian in nature, as if you're watching an mythological journey fraught with peril of all kinds - violence, temptation, and the law. This movie was selected as a double-feature of sorts with Nolan's recently released 'The Odyssey' and the comparisons between these stories feels apt. At the end of the day it's just people trying to get home and doing their best to overcome the challenges the world throws at them. The stakes are clear, and while the nature of good guys vs bad guys is more than a bit muddied here (Ajax... dude, wtf?) the thrilling chases, bombastic action sequences and the long awaited final confrontation are all working at a high level (despite some pretty flat performances and lackluster dialogue). While there are certain elements of the movie that DO NOT age well (looking at you gender politics), the core of the film remains strong and executed well. Plus, as an added bonus, the soundtrack for this movie absolutely slaps! This is a fun ride and it's easy to see why it's endured over these many years.

Next Month: We stay in New York but skip ahead 13 years to 1992 for another cult classic, this time starring Al Pacino, Alan Arkin, and Alec Baldwin - James Foley's 'Glengarry Glen Ross'

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We're into the full swing of blockbuster season. With 'Obsession' breaking box office records, 'The Odyssey' now filling IMAX theatres, and 'Spider-Man' right around the corner, movies feel very "back" right now. Plus, with Comic-Con next week Marvel released their first full-length 'Avengers: Doomsday' trailer. Julian and Matt try to decide if the hype is there, which feels crazy when considering it's an Avengers movie after all, but that might speak more to the situation Marvel currently finds themselves in. Meanwhile, DC doesn't want to be left behind, releasing a new trailer for 'Clayface' , which is shaping up to be a sneaky hit in the body-horror space (despite still not Batman). This all leads to Matt's idea that comic book movies should be treated like jury duty. Plus, a news rundown covering the passing of Sam Neil, Netflix updates (they're bad), some box office updates, and more!

If you enjoy the show please subscribe and leave a nice review on Apple Podcasts, and check out Patreon.com/TowerBabbleCast to become one of our latest patrons.

• Marvel

• Trailer: ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

• Patrick Stewart says he will never officially retire from acting. "'Il always and forever be an actor."

• Marvel TV boss Brad Winderbaum wants to do 10 seasons of 'X-Men '97' 

• DC

• Trailer: ‘Clayface’ 

• ‘The Batman Part II’ Delayed Again Until February 2028

• Matt: Comic book movies should be treated like jury duty, every director gets randomly chosen and they can’t get out of it. Only happens once in their career. 

• Box office:

• 'Obsession' is now the highest-grossing original horror movie of this century. Now at $423M worldwide.

• Live-Action Moana is bombing

• 'The Odyssey' debuts with $264.1M at the global box office

• The biggest opening ever for a Christopher Nolan film

• Production budget was $250M

• Matt wants to read the odyssey, but now I feel this movie coming out will ruin the reading experience.

• Danny McBride to Direct G.I. Joe Movie for Paramount

• Sam Neil - dead at 78

• The Writers Guild of America has filed a lawsuit to block the Paramount & Warner Bros merger.

• Netflix reportedly considers adding always-on channels

• Netflix viewers aren’t sticking around for season 2.

• Netflix has revealed that roughly 300 of their TV shows have used generative Al at some point in the production process.

• Pixar lays several hundred people

• Neil Blomcamp releases AI test movie on YouTube and receives backlash 

• God of War series is recasting Kratos after injury to actor.

• 10 years ago on July 14, 'Stranger Things' premiered on Netflix.

• Not Another Teen Movie

• Over Your Dead Body

• Little Brother

• The Bear S5

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 tizzy). Matt and Julian debate the merits of either prospect, and then turn the page to stare into the abyss that is AI invading Hollywood. Plus a grab-bag of entertainment stories covering odd popcorn bowls, a Knicks documentary, a scrapped Palpatine show and much more! Finally, to wrap things up, a brief discussion on 'House of the Dragon' season 3 premiere, 'Obsession', 'The Furious', and 'Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring' (both in and out of concert).

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• Mike Myers, on the heels of the ‘Shrek 5’ trailer, tells reporters that he plans to return to Austin Powers.

• ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ box office.

• New ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ trailer and its unhinged popcorn bucket.

  • Also ‘Supergirl’ has a VERY odd popcorn bucket as well.

• Lionsgate has taken an equity stake in AI company Runaway. They plan to make AI-generated short-form shows with some of their franchises.

• Google invests $75m in A24 to develop AI powered Filmmaking tools.

• Hollywood, according to THR, is searching Reddit for short stories and ideas that could be turned into movies following the success of ‘Backrooms’.

• Paramount/WB deal approved by US Justice Department.

• Casting is officially underway for James Bond.

• George Miller is looking to develop a final ‘MAD MAX’ movie and TV series. Amazon, Universal, and Sony are interested in the rights.

• A movie adaptation of the videogame franchise ‘Battlefield’ is in the works. Michael B. Jordan is currently attached to produce and potentially star. Christopher McQuarrie is set to direct.

• Ian McDiarmid says that George Lucas was developing a live-action Palpatine TV series that would have “followed the Emperor’s progress, like Hitler’s” but was scrapped when Lucas sold the SW rights to Disney.

• A multi-part Knicks documentary is in the works at A24 and HBO that would follow the Knick’s entire history up to their first NBA Championship in 53 years. It will be directed by Ben Stiller.

• Conan will return to host next year’s Oscars (3rd straight)

• House of the Dragon S3E1

• Obsession

• The Furious

• Punisher: One Last Kill

• Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in Concert (theatrical cut)

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 back to the old serials that George Lucas loved. While it is certainly a fun time at the movies, with exciting set-pieces, characters inclusions from across the lore, all of which set on planets with diverse biomes (i.e. some of the things Star Wars does best). Unfortunately, the movie lacks compelling stakes, character depth (where's Din's arc?), much of any plot to speak of, or even a sense of real "importance" - and while that may be a bit intangible, it prompts the question: why was THIS movie the first to bring Star Wars back to feature films in almost a decade? Julian and Rachel try to answer that question and dive deep into all the nerdy details.

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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, the hallmarks of what we've come to know from Star Wars animation showed their head. Early on, the admitted inspirations from films such as 'Heat' and 'The Dark Knight', provided a needed grit to a show which was ostensibly following a villain. This provided the show with a fresh personality - distinguishing itself from it's predecessors in animation. Unfortunately, the creatives couldn't seem to maintain that tone, as by this two-part season finale the old tropes and predictable beats of 'Clone Wars' rose into prominence. And while the appearance of a certain fan favourite character adds some very cool action, the unoriginality from a narrative perspective robbed the final moments of the needed pathos and drama required to land the plane in the most satisfying of ways.

Tune back into Small Screen Star Wars in about 3 weeks, following the release of 'The Mandalorian and Grogu', for a full review!

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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 interesting character on the show as she takes two steps forward, one step back, flirting with the dark side (though bonus points for the slick ride she acquires for their getaway). On the action side, the show continues to bring the goods, with dynamic, large scale battles (heavy on LAATs which is always a treat), intimate lightsaber combat, and a special shout out to the speeder chase this week that included a new Star Wars techno track (get outta here Niamos!), which combined for a chef's kiss of a sequence. The finale is next week, dropping on Star Wars Day (May the 4th), so stay tuned to see how much the show wants to tie up and how much it wants to leave dangling ahead of season 2!

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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)! Of utmost priority is the news of Michael B Jordan and Austin Butler's reboot of 'Miami Vice', which is close to Matt's heart. Plus 'Spaceballs 2' gets a title and release date, trailers for 'Dune 3', 'Clayface' and 'Street Fighter' all surprise (in a good way), and a new 'Lord of the Rings' movie is announced (and you won't guess who's writing it!). Plus, a 'Game of Thrones' movie, more 'Transformers' and is 'Avatar' over? All this and so much more on this week's Tower of Babble Podcast!

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• Trailers:

  • ‘Dune 3’

  • ‘Coyote vs. Acme’

  • ‘Clayface’

  • ‘Street Fighter’

• Chuck Norris passes away at 86.

• Michael B Jordan and Austin Butler are confirmed to star in ‘Miami Vice 85’ - August 2027 - From Joseph Kosinski

• ‘Spaceballs 2’, now called ‘Spaceballs: The New One’ will arrive next summer.

• Paramount is officially making a new ‘Transformers’ movie and Tom Cruise is returning for ‘Top Gun 3’

• Disney, who just went through a large round of layoffs, also fired its entire team that manages its DVD and Blu-Ray sales.

• ‘Escape From New York’ is getting a reboot/

• HBO, who has been trying to figure out their next big ‘Game of Thrones’ spinoff idea has landed on a theatrical film concept for Aegon’s Conquest - it’s now officially in the works.

• Despite a massive petition by Hollywood stars and crew to prevent the merger of WB and Paramount, the WB shareholders agreed on the terms of the merger this week.

• The ‘Resident Evil’ movie from the director of ‘Weapons’, Zach Cregger, says the movie will be true to the games - says he’s played a “shit load” of them.

• Despite ‘Avatar 3’ making $1.5 billion at the box-office, ‘Avatar 4’ is in question at Disney along with the future of the entire franchise, as they’ll likely cancel plans for an Avatar theme park. In the meantime, they’re trying to find a way to make the movies for less money and more quickly.

• A new ‘Lord of the Rings’ movie was announced, being written by Stephen Colbert and his son, as well as Philippa Boyens. Called ‘Shadow of the Past’, it will be a sequel to the OG trilogy, “set 14 years after the events of the films. Sam, Merry, and Pippin set out to retrace the first steps of their adventure. Meanwhile, Sam’s daughter, Elanor, has discovered a long-buried secret and is determined to uncover why the War of the Ring was very nearly lost before it began.” 

• This is NOT the Hunt or Gollum, which just recast Aragon.

• Arnold says they’ve asked him to be in the next ‘Predator’ film, and that there’s a script for ‘Commando 2’.

• ‘Terminator: Zero’ will not get a season 2.

• ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ reboot cancelled before it ever began.

• Craig Mazin (Chernobyl, The Last of Us), is making a ‘Baldur’s Gate 3’ show on HBO, which will continue the story from the game.

• ‘Animorphs’ series is coming to Disney+, Ryan Coogler to executive produce.

• Project Hail Mary

• The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

• Shrinking S3

• Invincible S4

• The Boys S5

• Daredevil: Born Again S2

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 reminiscent of the final season of 'The Clone Wars'. The set-piece action sequences get an injection of scale and danger, which is exciting, and some of the early seeding of characters like Rylee start to pay off. While maybe a bit different from the previous 4 episodes, the quality and the stakes remain high (well... for every character except Maul I suppose). Join Julian and Rachel as the unpack it all in excruciating detail.

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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 already (it was quite literally a 'Clone Wars' arc). The action remains strong while taking another step forward with lightsaber duels joining the mix. Plus, the fast cutting from last week seems to have been dialed back, which is appreciated as it provides more clarity in action scenes. For example, Devon's engagements with Maul are gripping, and with the additional time provided to Master Daki, the stakes feel ratcheted up. Kevin Kinner's music remains a highlight, the illusions to the Anakin vs Obi-Wan Mustafar theme was a particular highlight. In general, there is still room for more character growth, especially with characters not named Maul, who really can't/won't change - but happy to proven wrong! This show feels like it's in full swing already, which is good because next week things look to be really heating up as we hit the half way mark. Julian and Rachel unpack it all!

If you enjoy the show please subscribe and leave a nice review on Apple Podcasts, and check out Patreon.com/TowerBabbleCast to become one of our latest patrons.