Episode 51: The Chosen People? and American Gods
What does it mean to be one of God’s chosen? Is it a blessing, a curse, a responsibility, or a privilege? Or is it all of the above? The film The Chosen People? A Film About Jewish Identity, asks these very questions. This movie is an independent effort by filmmaker Joshua Gippin. After getting funded […]
Episode 50: Triple-ation-Christ-ploitation-stravaganza
This is our 50th episode! We’ve been podcasting for 6 years! We’re releasing this episode on the 4th of July! And we have 7 Christploitation movies watched and reviewed in this episode! It’s a triple celebration, Christ-ploitation, extravaganza! (Triple-ation-Christ-ploitation-stravaganza!!!) As you can tell, I like to make up words and use exclamation points, but Mike and […]
Episode 49: Silence and The Young Pope
Have you ever wondered what really tough Christian ministry looks like? Martin Scorsese gives us a glimpse into the hardships and trials of two 17th century monks witnessing in Japan in his 2016 passion project, Silence. Mike and I have never been as divided in opinion over a movie as this. But we we equally […]
Episode 48: Last Days in the Desert
Welcome, to what has inadvertently become a bimonthly podcast. The Bible tells us that Jesus spent forty days in the desert fasting, and at the end of those days he was tempted by the devil. Did you ever wonder what happened on the other 39 days? Well, you can keep wondering, because you will not […]
Episode 47: Defending Your Life
Welcome back to the podcast after our holiday break. Back at the begining of the season, our Thanksgiving weekend, Michael and I gave our thoughts about the classic comedy Defending Your Life by Albert Brooks and the new NBC somedy about “The Good Life.” Both are very similar in concept, exploring and sending up our notions […]
Episode 46: Spotlight
Hello faithful listeners! We recently completed our Star Wars Trilogy, this episode rounds out another trilogy of sorts on the podcast. We have previously reviewed Doubt and Calvary, and this episode covers the Oscar winner for best picture, Spotlight. Christopher Marlowe Officially Credited As Co-Author Of 3 Shakespeare Plays George Lucas In Love (1999) (Short […]
Episode 45: Lightning Round
Hello media fanatics! This month we offer up to you a smorgasbord of TV goodness (Well, most of it was good). With the new season of fall TV just around the corner, we take a look at some of the shows that graced our screens this last spring and summer. Four shows from four networks: […]
Episode 44: Star Wars: The Religion
“Greetings, exalted one!” This episode is the last in our series on Star Wars. The first was on how religion and myths influenced the creation of the Star Wars saga. In last month’s review of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, we found the film had more style than substance, and that the only mythology that […]
Episode 43: Episode VII Review
Sorry about another long wait friends and listeners, but this podcaster had another round of eye surgeries which prevented me from doing many things, including the things I love like talking about Star Wars. But Mike and I are back and we have loads to talk about. We have the next several episode planned out, […]
Episode 42: Star Wars: The Mythology
Star Wars is built from the many myths and religious themes that run through human history. George Lucas said he “Tried to tell an old story in an new way.” In this month’s episode, we examine just how Lucas pulled upon the work of his friend and mentor Joseph Campbell, the world’s leading expert in the study […]
Episode 41: Left Behind
Hello, and welcome to the (once again) monthly CTG Podcast. This month’s offering is the Christian reboot ofLeft Behind (2014) starring Nicholas Cage. In TV Corner we watch the Amazon original series “Hand of God.” Well, we watched part of it. One episode was quite enough. Also, remember almost exactly a year ago when I […]
Episode Forty: Calvary
Hello faithful listeners! Sexual abuse in the church is a serious issue which continues to persist. There are no easy resolutions. Even so, it seems as if the church is slow to satisfactorily work towards ending these despicable crimes, slow in punishing those who perpetrate them, and also in preventing them from happening in the […]
Fellow Christians—Please Burn Your Protest Signs! A response to SDCC protesting
By Robert Wright-Stasko San Diego Comic Con 2015 is right around the corner. I am expecting that this year, just like the last several years, there will be some Christians with poorly thought out slogans slapped onto protest signs, with big bullhorns causing brouhaha for comic book fans, cosplayers, and anyone else at the convention […]
Episode Thirty-Nine: God’s Not Dead
We’re Back! After a few months away, Mike and I are back and we are ready to rip into a riff worthy Christ-ploitation film, God’s Not Dead. And in TV Corner, we attempt to delve into the reality show “Preachers of LA.” Well, as deep as you can get in a reality show. Here are […]
Episode Thirty-Eight: Exodus: Gods and Kings
Happy New Year! In December, Mike and I had the chance to see Exodus: Gods and Kings, and thought “Hey, we’ve done three episodes over Ridley Scott movies, how about one more?” Is it the next Gladiator or more likeAmerican Psycho? Listen to our review to find out. In TV Corner we check out “The Greatest […]
Episode Thirty Seven: Retro Episode-Oh God! and Highway to Heaven
Season Greetings! We hope you are all well this Christmas Eve. This episode has been delayed not because of poor health of your hosts (which has happened in the past), but because of the failing health of the laptop used to produce this podcast. The issues seem to have been resolved, and so you get […]
Three Reasons Not to See the Christploitation Film Left Behind
As most people do, I receive a lot of spam in my email. One day, while attempting to clean out my inbox, I ran across this advertisement from New Release Tuesday, a Christian music website. As soon as I saw this it made me very angry. There is a lot a bad sentiment implied here; […]
Episode Thirty-Six: The Master and Longmire
How does one make a movie about Scientology without it being about Scientology? In our discussion this month, we plumb the depths of meaning lurking within the frames of Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master. In TV Corner we look at the A&E western/procedural that is, ahem, on hiatus: “Longmire.” This show helps us look at faith and […]
Episode Thirty-Five: The Apocalypse Special
IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT! In this episode we return to the popular post-apocalyptic genre looking at two of last year’s film parodying the Biblical account of end of the world, This is the End and Rapture-palooza. In addition, we reveal our opinion of the new HBO series “The Leftovers.” Also, take note of […]
Episode Thirty-Four: Frozen
Hello, faithful listeners! This episode is coming to you on the eve of my (Robert’s) very first short term mission trip, a week in Costa Rica spreading the good news of Jesus. While I am there, Mike and I hope you enjoy our discussion on Disney’s Frozen and ABC’s “Resurrection.” When I get back I’ll update this […]
Episode Thirty-Three:Noah
Greetings! SPOILER ALERT! If you have not seen the movie Noah starring Russel Crowe, be warned that this podcast contains many plot spoilers. But as the plot points in this movie were all by the book cliches, they will come as no surprise to you, even if you have not seen the film. In fact, don’t […]
Episode Thirty-Two: Les Misérables
Bonjour! In this months episode, Mike and Robert turn their critical eye to the award winning Les Misérables starring Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe. That’s right–it’s Wolverine vs. Jor-El in this musical set during France’s Student Revolution. In TV corner we examine the British ITV production of “The Second Coming” with Ninth Doctor Christopher Eccleston. Les […]
Episode Thirty-One: Machine Gun Preacher
Welcome to another long awaited episode, number thirty-one, of “Checking the Gate: A Film and Religion Podcast.” This one is a doosie folks; we must be real film critics now because we both Mike and Robert have rants about all of the media we watched for this month. We viewed the Gerhard Butler vehicle Machine Gun […]
Episode Thirty: Life of Pi and Doctor Who (Again!)
Hooray! We hit the big three-oh in our first episode for 2014. We look once again at “Doctor Who” which just celebrated its 50th anniversary to much fanfare, but first we critique the acclaimed Ang Lee flick Life of Pi. Life of Pi (2012) – IMDb Doctor Who as Religion | The Jesuit Post Next […]
Episode Twenty-Nine: Joyeux Noel and Veggie Tales
Happy Boxing Day! This special holiday edition of Checking the Gate brings you reviews of the foreign feature Joyeux Noel and the family series “Veggie Tales” Now that all the presents have been wrapped, given, unwrapped, and then played with, eaten, drank, watched, broken, or returned, you can sit back and relax with Mike and Robert. Joyeux […]
Episode Twenty-Eight: Riddick Movies and Fall TV Roundup
Greetings! Hey, we are back on schedule! This month we talk about Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick. Do you think that Vin Diesel’s Riddick character is a Christ type, or is that stretching the definition too far? We also do a roundup of several shows Mike and I have been watching this fall. Some of them […]
Episode Twenty-Seven: The Godfather and the Bible
Finally! The cursed episode is finally completed and released! After many delays in recording due to various health problems for both Mike and Robert, then more delays after half the audio recorded was rendered unusable due to computer malfunctions, we at last present to you this episode on The Godfather Series and “The Bible: The […]
Episode Twenty Six: Hellboy and Save Me
Celebrate Independence Day weekend with a new podcast from Checking the Gate. We evaluate the religious merits of the Hellboy movies and the short lived series “Save Me.” Our Hellboy discussion, admittedly, is merely an excuse to talk about Guillermo Del Toro’s new film Pacific Rim out July 12. But our discussion about “Save Me” […]
Episode Twenty-Five: CTG Recommends
Hello faithful listeners, ye who are full of faith! Welcome to a another special episode of CTG Podcast. This month Mike and I have recommended new media to the other for our review session. I (Robert) suggested the movie Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myselfand Mike heralded Aaron Sorkin’s “The West Wing.” Please […]
Episode Twenty-Four: Contact
May the Fourth be with you! Well, it’s a little after May the Fourth. With Free Comic Book Day, Iron Man 3 premiering, and further celebration for Revenge of the Sixth some of us were suffering from nerd hangovers. At any rate, this month’s episode is edited and posted for your enjoyment and enrichment. We […]
Episode Twenty-Three: Life of Brian
Once again it is Easter time, and here at CTGPodcast we are celebrating by watching what we think should be required viewing for all mature Christians: Monty Python’s Life of Brian. In TV Corner we begin discussing the merits of the show “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” but somehow end up debating the cost of […]
Episode Twenty-Two: Clash of the Titans
Thank you for listening to episode 22 of CTG Podcast where we, Mike and Robert, review the movie Clash of the Titans and the TV show “Fringe.” We discuss why the ancient Greek religion still persists in our imaginations, if those gods are really dead, and if so are we trying to be gods ourselves. […]
Episode Twenty-One: Stargate
We’re back! Thank you for hanging in there last month. We wanted to bring you our best and we have that here this month with our review of the movie “Stargate” and its spin-off “Stargate SG-1.” What is more true, scientific fact or religious faith? We seek to find the answer through the Stargate (or […]
Special Announcement
Hello folks! I know you guys were expecting a full podcast but things are still a little crazy from the holiday busy-ness. We will still be giving you a podcast covering Stargate and Stargate SG-1, only it will be arriving in the beginning of February. In the meantime, Mike and I have some exciting news […]
Episode Twenty-It’s A Wonderful Life
Happy Holidays to all! “It’s a Wonderful Life” is our seasonal pick for you, and we join in the speculation on what will happen to Star Wars now that Lucasfilm has been sold to Disney in our News Corner. It’s a Wonderful Life – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Columbia News Service » Blog Archive » […]
Episode Nineteen: Fireproof
Welcome to this special Thanksgiving Day release of Checking the Gate that reviews a few of the films by Kirk Cameron. Mike has been waiting to watch “Fireproof” and “Left Behind” for a long time and is proud to present this episode to you. We also talk about the Jeff Foxworthy hosted game show “American […]
Episode Eighteen: The Exorcist and Constantine
Welcome to the Halloween episode of Checking the Gate, where we examine the religious veracity of the classic horror movie “The Exorcist” and the more recent (and not so classic) “Constantine.” We look at the fictions put forth in these movies, the former based on a novel and the latter based on graphic novels, to see if […]
Episode Seventeen-Planet of the Apes
“A planet where apes evolve from men?” This and other mind boggling questions are tackled in this month’s epic podcast on the “Planet of the Apes” series of movies. In our TV/Book corner we review Stephen King’s post-apocalyptic spiritual spectacular: The Stand. We have not had as much fun recording since our “Dune” episode, and we hope […]
Episode Sixteen – Metropolis
Welcome to episode sixteen, on Lang’s classic Metropolis and the short lived Caprica, of Checking the Gate: A Film and Religion Podcast. As you may remember, we delayed this episode to focus on Christ centered movies for Easter earlier in the year. At last, we are able to turn our attention to the Medieval religious imagery in an an […]
Episode Fifteen – Prometheus
Greetings! For the last month since Prometheus was released, the whole internet community has been scratching their heads, asking questions, and submitting theories over Ridley Scott’s latest cinematic journey. We join in the fervor with our latest episode as we look at some of the popular theories and give you some of our own. As always we try to […]
Episode Fourteen – Kingdom of Heaven
Welcome to Episode 14 of CTGPodcast on Ridley Scott’s “Kingdom of Heaven.” Mike and I are eagerly anticipating the release of Scott’s new movie “Prometheus,” so we decided to take another look at his epic of the Third Crusade. We also have some fun extras that we cut from older episodes for time or for […]
Episode Thirteen-Anniversary Special-The Ten
May the Fourth be with you! This month’s episode happens to fall on National Star Wars day, but we here at CTGPodcast are celebrating for a different reason. We have been at this for a year now, and Mike and I thank you for listening to us! So in this super-sized episode we have our […]
Episode Twelve – Easter-avaganza!
Happy Easter and Passover to everyone! Sorry about the change of plans this month, but I felt it appropriate to adhere to Mike’s advice to switch from replicants to something seasonably relevant. The result is our Easter-avaganza in which we watch “The Last Temptation of Christ” and “The Passion of the Christ.” Keeping with the […]
Episode Eleven- Blade Runner (Updated)
Greetings! On this episode we wax philosophic as we delve into the worlds of “Blade Runner” and “Battlestar Galactica.” We ponder the meaning of death and the spiritual ramifications of mass producing synthetic humans. Incidentally, we also get a double dose of Edward James Olmos! Along the way we mention these spectacular websites and references. […]
Episode Ten: Paul
Happy New Year, o listeners of faith! Mike and I have whipped up a tantalizing episode for you this month. As we discuss the alien road trip movie “Paul” starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Kristin Wiig, I start to speak my mind on the creation/evolution debate. Then, Mike has some deep thoughts in TV […]
Episode Nine: Indiana Jones
Happy Holidays to everyone! Our gift to you this year is a super-sized, double length episode. So much has happened this December that we had to get our two cents in all of it. We have our regular movie and TV reviews on Indiana Jones and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” along with some additional discussion […]
Episode Eight: Red State and Godzilla
SSKREEEEOOOONK! Welcome to episode eight of “Checking the Gate: a Film and Religion Podcast” in which we look at Kevin Smith’s latest effort “Red State” and the amazing monster movie “Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah,: Giant Monsters All Out Attack!” A heartfelt thank you goes out to Kyle Yount of the “Kaijucast” for giving us a […]
Episode Seven: Book of Eli
Hello faithful listeners! Mike and I had a lot of fun recording this episode, and we hope you enjoy listening to it just as much. We review the 2010 movie ‘Book of Eli” and the 1989-1993 series “Quantum Leap.” What would it be like to live in a world with no religion? Denzel Washington finds […]
Episode Six: Easy A
Salutations, and sorry for the late release of Episode Six of Checking the Gate: A Film and Religion Podcast. Starting up a new job and grad school has interfered with my podcast editing. This was so much easier when I was unemployed! So now you have it, hope you enjoy our review of “Easy A” […]
Episode Five: Doubt
Hello loyal listeners! In this episode of Checking the Gate: A Film and Religion Podcast we take a serious look at the provocative and relevant movie “Doubt.” While we chose this movie in an effort to avoid getting a reputation of focusing totally on the sci-fi genre, we do have a segment in the beginning […]
Episode Four: Dune
Salutations, loyal listeners! Sorry about the delay in July’s episode (as it is already August); grown up stuff got in the way of fun stuff but here we are again. Our thoughts on “Dune” and “Futurama” appear somewhere in between our riotous laughter, but we promise those thoughts are profound. So put on your stillsuits […]
Episode Three: Superman Super-Special
Hello faithful listeners! Episode three of our humble podcast is the Superman Super-Special. We look at the Christ-like imagery as it is seen in the movie “Superman Returns” and the television show “Smallville” and try to determine if it is an artistic or commercial decision on the part of the film makers. Here are some […]
Episode Two: Thor!
Greetings, true believers! I’m stealing Stan Lee’s trademark salutation because in our second episode, Mike and I are going two on one against the mighty movie “Thor.” In this podcast, we praise the work of this movie’s director, Kenneth Branagh, and ponder if this movie is as offensive to modern day heathens as “The Last […]
Episode One: Avatar
Greetings! You are one of the lucky few who have been recruited by the Star League to defend the frontier against Xur and the Ko-Dan armada. Just Kidding! Actually, you get to hear the much more epic, Checking the Gate: A Film and Religion Podcast: Episode One! In our premier podcast, we play beach ball […]
Episode Zero
Robert here. This is a special preview of the Checking the Gate Podcast, Episode Zero. This episode was a test and not originally meant for anyone’s ears save our own, but it was so much fun we thought we would throw it up as a preview for a limited time. If you love Doctor Who […]
