Check the Gate

Gretchen and Martin are excited to have been consistant enough to release on their two week schedule that they brought you a treat of an episode. Maybe. Blood Diner, a schlockfest of a movie that has its passionate fans in the cult classic underground. This film has cannibals, vegan restaurants, a ventriliquist that may have a corpse dummy. Nazi wrestlers. Nazi rockabilly bands. All topped off by what can only be described as a volva mouth on an ancient Egyptian goddess. See, we told you it was a treat of an episode. 

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Hey everyone. Gretchen and I watched the 1986 Tobe Hooper attempt at a kid's movie, Invaders from Mars. When the guy who gives you Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Poltergeist tries to go family friendly, the old ways of filmmaking don't go away quietly. High budget price tag with low budget looks and B-movie acting make this a Tobe Hooper movie for the light weekend viewer.

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Hey everyone. Unfortunately, this episode is a mess. I deleted one of the audio tracks on accident. I tried to edit with the remain audio track but it was really bad. In the end, I was only able to salvage audio from the cameras, so this episode is full of room noise that I can't clean up. It's too bad because this is one of my favorite films [Martin] and talking about it with Gretchen is something I have wanted to do for years. I hope that I make up for it in future episodes and that this never happens again. If you want to skip this episode, I understand.


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Gretchen and Martin return with one of the most beautiful films made by Akira Kurosawa. Dreams is a magnificent film the reimagines a personal existence across childhood into adulthood and the throws of WWII and the other side of that through the cultural changes of a post-nuclear Japan. Lavish and haunting, this film is truly a masterpiece. Kurosawa is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time and this movie is the prime example of his wonderful and complex emotions on screen.


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It's one of the greatest animated movies of all time. It's literally the personification of sex, drugs and rock & roll. With aliens, zombies, robots and a warrior queen. Ripped John Candy. Macho Eugene Levy. Cheap Trick at the top of their musical game. Dan O'Bannon is writing some of his coolest work every. This film hits all the nostalgia cylinders. Come along with Martin and Gretchen as we talk about Heavy Metal.

Martin and Gretchen talk movies and more at Check the Gate. Follow along and chat with us on Instagram @checkthegatepodcast .

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Sorry for the long break. March was madness but we are back with a new episode, and it's a great one. Streets of Fire, the 1984 Michael Paré taking the leading man role. Willem Dafoe doing his best Green Goblin before Spider-Man was even on the Marvel map. Diane Lane being Diane Lane. Academy Award winner Amy Madigan being epic. Rick Moranis as you've never seen him before. It's a round robin of action, drama, rockabilly biker fun. Latex bib overalls. Sledgehammer duals. Seriously, what more could anyone want?

Martin and Gretchen talk movies and more at Check the Gate. Follow along and chat with us on Instagram @checkthegatepodcast .

This episode is the palate cleanser we have been needing. The Muppet Movie is pure joy, and you definitely need that in your life. This wonderful film from 1979 is exemplary filmmaking. Every aspect of this film is perfection. The effects. The sets. The cameos. There is no aspect of this film that isn't perfect and wonderful. 

Martin and Gretchen talk movies and more at Check the Gate. Follow along and chat with us on Instagram @checkthegatepodcast .

Season two begins where season one left off. When last we talked about movies, Gretchen and I had watch Ralph Fiennes in The Menu. So to ring in 2026, we watched the Ralph Fiennes 1995 cyberpunk film, Strange Days. This Kathryn Bigelow film comes after the amazing Point Blank and the extremely amazing vampire film, Near Dark. Strange Days gives us an amazing look ahead at video as a tool of the future, social media, voice to text messaging and a power structure controlled by the wealthy. Video drugs, double crosses, extra judicial killings and Tom Sizemore's ugly wig. It's a crazy ride that is not always for the timid. 

Martin and Gretchen talk movies and more at Check the Gate. Follow along and chat with us on Instagram @checkthegatepodcast .

When a young Furiosa and a Warboy meet in a different time, and a different life, with Voldamort serving them dinner before making the worlds most screwed up 'smores, you get The Menu. It's a tremendous performance by Ralph Fiennes, who pretty much never disappoints. Anya Taylor-Joy is pretty much perfect. Nicholas Holt is always solid. Together, they make a memorable movie with a twist on the culinary experience. Take a trip to the island and diner with Gretchen and Martin and they watch The Menu. 

Martin and Gretchen talk movies and more at Check the Gate. Follow along and chat with us on Instagram @checkthegatepodcast .

In 1979 Disney set out to make an ambitious film. Giant practical sets. Cutting edge camera movement. Specialized digital effects. Bigatures. All of that to join the frey of filmmaking studios trying to find their Star Wars. While The Black Hole wasn't their hit, it stands as an amazing film today. Filled with imaginative set pieces, a great villian, renegade robots, all set against the backdrop of a supermassive black hole. Gretchen and Martin watch this fantastic film and gush about it's practical effects and the poor judgement to not cast Sigourney Weaver. 


Martin and Gretchen talk movies and more at Check the Gate. Follow along and chat with us on Instagram @checkthegatepodcast .