Épisodes

  • Check the Gate - Heavy Metal

    Check the Gate - Heavy Metal
    Apr 30 2026
    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 .

    Report instances of harassment or abuse connected to this show to the Creator Accountability Network here: https://creatoraccountabilitynetwork.org/resources/make-a-report/
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    54 min
  • Check the Gate - Streets of Fire

    Check the Gate - Streets of Fire
    Apr 15 2026
    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 .
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    1 h et 3 min
  • Check the Gate - The Muppet Movie

    Check the Gate - The Muppet Movie
    Feb 19 2026
    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 .
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    53 min
  • Check the Gate - Strange Days

    Check the Gate - Strange Days
    Feb 4 2026
    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 .
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    54 min
  • Check the Gate - The Menu

    Check the Gate - The Menu
    Dec 15 2025
    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 .
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    1 h et 9 min
  • Check the Gate - The Black Hole

    Check the Gate - The Black Hole
    Nov 21 2025
    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 .
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    1 h et 24 min
  • Check the Gate - The Crow (Devil's Night Edition)

    Check the Gate - The Crow (Devil's Night Edition)
    Oct 30 2025
    Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is. And felt how awful goodness is.

    It's Devil's Night. Our new favorite holiday and we're here for it with our newest episode. This time, we are featuring the 1994 Alex Proyas film, The Crow. The perfect, but now flawless, film that pushes the music video movie genre all the way past the stick margin. This fabulous movie, while met with great tragedy, is a classic that still holds up as a solid. It's part of Martin's regular rotation of films to watch. This was pure joy to see again.

    Martin and Gretchen talk movies and more at Check the Gate. Follow along and chat with us on Instagram @checkthegatepodcast .
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    57 min
  • Check the Gate - Shin Godzilla

    Check the Gate - Shin Godzilla
    Oct 15 2025
    Martin and Gretchen return to their podcasting roots, both with the Kaijucast and Check the Gate, with this episode. Shin Godzilla! A beautiful relaunch of Godzilla under the banner of Toho. This film is an amazing array of taught political satire questioning the political apparatus of Japan while stepping into the digital effects age with a digital Godzilla. It's a risky moved that paid off in spades for Toho.

    Martin and Gretchen talk movies and more at Check the Gate. Follow along and chat with us on Instagram @checkthegatepodcast .
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    1 h et 2 min