Checking the Gate Podcast

THE END IS NOW UPON US! At least for the podcast in this medium.  After nine years of audio podcasts, Mike and I are going to make the jump to video reviews.  We aren't leaving, just changing form.  So in the meantime we hope you enjoy this last podcast, in which we do what we said we would never do. We review the third and hopefully last movie in the "God's Not Dead" franchise. Then we take a look at the HBO series The Righteous Gemstones.  See you on the other side!

THE END IS NIGH! At least for the hero of this month's movie review, The Shack, starring Sam Worthington of Avatar fame. He's back from Pandora (not really) and has an encounter with God as he goes after the killer of his daughter (yes, really). And in TV Corner, we examine a show which seems to have its own sub-genre: that of the mystery solving priest.  "Cadfael" and "Father Dowling Mysteries" are two examples of this, but we will be examining the British offering "Father Brown," starring Mark Williams of Harry Potter fame.

Look for some dynamic changes soon in the CTGPodcast!

Hello! It's been a while, and I know you've missed us.  We review a quality movie and TV show for you toady, to make up for the long absence. We have acclaimed indie film First Reformed and hit CBS show "God Friended Me."

Look for some more exciting news in the future, we have big plans for the next step of the podcast.

Nuns are fascinating. Through the years, so many movies and TV shows have drawn inspiration from their lives, from the sublime (The Nun's Story) to the ridiculous ("The Flying Nun").  Our selections fall widely along that spectrum but, all of them are recent, having been released in that last few years.  First up, is the comedy The Little Hours and the drama Novitiate. We follow those movies with the melodramatic BBC show "Call the Midwife" and the Netflix true-crime docu-series "The Keepers."

The Decameron

Novitiate Catholic News review

Novitiate IMDb reviews

Priest's DNA Not A Match

We look at more recently released media next month, with the new Ethan Hawk effort First Reformed and the popular CBS series "God Friended Me"

What was Fred Rogers most scandelous secret? The docudrama at the heart of today's podcast, Won't You Be My Neighbor?, delves into this provocative question and other details from Fred Rogers' life.  (Apparently, the most scandelous thing he did was give a generation a sense of entitlement because he taught them that everyone was special!) We also take a trip down memory lane and recall some of our favorite episodes of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," of which many episode can be found streaming on Amazon Prime. The movie is now available for streaming and on Blu-Ray or DVD.

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood Episode Guide

Mister Rogers' Nieghborhood on Amazon Prime

Won't You Be My Neighbor? Official Site

Seeing that the new horror film The Nun is in theaters, we decided NOT to review that movie.  Insead we will look at some other movies about sisters of faith, including the 2017 film Noviciate and the comedy The Little Hours.  Carrying on the theme in TV corner, we'll look at the British show "Call the Midwife" and the Netflix original "The Keepers." So come back next time, you'll have thing you'll want to talk about. We...will...too!

Heretics and Devils. Some would say they are not mutually exclusive, some would look closer at who is calling the kettle black. Then there are some who would say, "That's a good idea for a TV show!" That's what were talking about on today's podcast, the result of the latter.  Come Sunday is a docudrama and "Lucifer" is a crime procedural.  "Wait...huh?" you might say, but yes, Lucifer has more in common with Castle than it does with American Horror Story. Both shows will soon be on Netflix...coincidence?

Wikipedia - Carlton Pearson

Another theme episode is in store for our next podcast. We will look at the life and work of Fred Rogers as we review Won't You Be My Neighbor? (which should be available for home viewing by the time the episode is released) and the eternal show "Mr Roger's Neighborhood" (of which at great deal of episodes can be found on Amazon Prime).

Hello again, we are here in a timely fashion to give you three reviews!  We bring you the Pureflix version of Samson, as well as Paul: Apostle of Christ.  The cool thing about the last movie is that we got to see a rough cut sneak preview of the film in February, about a month and a half before it was realesed in theaters on Easter weekend.  Then, in TV Corner, we talk about the live, Easter Sunday broadcast of NBC's Jesus Christ Superstar.

Next episode, we will look at teh Netflix film Come Sunday and the recently cancelled "Lucifer" which is still available on Hulu. For all our American listeners, happy 4th of July. For all of our international listeners, we apologize.

A happy Jesus morning to you, as Eanest Angley would say.  We have another themed episode all about Televangelists. First up is the Steve Martin classic, Leap of Faith, with a whole cast of "look who that was before they were famous!" Then in TV corner, we watch some real evengelists, taking a look at Pat Robertson's "The 700 Club," Jim Bakker's new YouTube channel, and local NE Ohio televangelist Ernest Angley.

IMDb -  Leap of Faith (1992)

This Former 700 Club Producer Wants to “Make Amends to a Whole Generation of Christians”

ABC Family, No Matter What It Calls Itself, Can’t Get Rid of Pat Robertson’s The 700 Club

The Jim Bakker Show

The shocking allegations rocking Rev. Ernest Angley’s Ohio megachurch

Appeals court overturns ruling against televangelist Ernest Angley over use of unpaid workers at buffet

Guardians sue Ernest Angley Ministries on behalf of elderly Chicago woman

Next time we look at just a few of the plethora of movies that have arrived in time for Easter this year, Samson and Paul, Apostle of Christ. In TV corner we have the live Easter special "Jesus Christ Superstar" We'll see you then!

Do you ever experience what I call the "Moebius Strip of Conversation?" I experience it quite often.  It is where one starts a conversation on one subject, and then through the natural process of carrying on a rambling conversation, one comes through the twists and turns of that palaver to the same subject. We do that here in our review of last year and what we look forward to this year.  

Next time we return to our regular format, going back to the old Steven Martin vehicle Leap of Faith. Keeping with the theme we will look at variety of local and national televangelist shows to see where they are in the current day and age.

Faith based movies are getting better, both in production values and the quality of the end product.  But does The Case for Christ live up to these expectaions? And why doesn't "Kevin (Probably) Saves the World"? have any buzz?  We attempt to answer these questions and moree in this episode.

The Case for Christ official website

The Case for Christ (2017) - IMDb

Kevin (Probably) Saves the World - Wikipedia

Next episode will be our Easter Special, 2017 in review and a 2018 preview. Thanks once again for listening!