Cinematic Doctrine
Cinematic Doctrine is a mature, millennial-infused film/tv discussion podcast from Melvin Benson that features Movie Discussions (conversational episodes about specific movies), Party Pleasers (movies fully-summarized from start to finish to discern if its a 'Party Pleaser' or 'Party Pooper'), and Let's Talks (prepared film-or-Christian related topical episodes). Influenced by Acts 17 and Romans 2:4. Podcast Magazine says Cinematic Doctrine "uses the shared value of human life as a springboard into deeper conversations". // CinematicDoctrine.com
Episodes
PATREON MOVIE DISCUSSION:
This movie was selected by our Patreon Supporters over at the Cinematic Doctrine Patreon. Support as little as $3 a month and have your voice heard!
Shirleon joins Melvin to discuss 2013's insane surprise financial hit, Now You See Me! Despite being a critical flop the film was a blockbuster blowout earning nearly 5x its budget! So, who's right, the critics or the audiences? T...
MOVIE DISCUSSION:
Kathryn joins Melvin to discuss Osgood Perkins' second movie of 2025, Keeper! Has Perkins created another commercially accessible psychological-horror success, or has he returned to his undeniably divisive slow-burn roots? And is Keeper another one of his female-led soft-feminist tales? Tune in and find out!
Topics:
MOVIE DISCUSSION:
Shirleon joins Melvin to discuss Death Note: The Last Name, a sequel to 2006's Japanese live-action adaptation, Death Note, that released 3-months later. The two look at the film as a unit with its predecessor, its successes as a stand-alone sequel, and compare it to the anime (as well as the Western Netflix adaptation).
Topics:
- (PATREON EXCLUSIVE) 26-minutes discussing "Evil AI is B...
MOVIE DISCUSSION:
Kathryn joins Melvin to discuss Scott Derrickson's latest horror feature, Black Phone 2! The two get into what sets it apart from other franchises like A Nightmare on Elm Street, how it holds up against the first film, and how it's... more Christian? Oh snap!
Topics:
- (PATREON EXCLUSIVE) 23-minutes discussing Sigourney Weaver saying at NYCC 2025 that there's a "very strong ...
PATREON MOVIE DISCUSSION:
This movie was selected by our Patreon Supporters over at the Cinematic Doctrine Patreon. Support as little as $3 a month and have your voice heard!
Shirleon & Kathryn join Melvin to discuss Weapons, Zach Cregger's sort-of-sophomore flick after Barbarian! Horror fans have been eating good throughout 2025, and the gang explores whether the film continues this trend. They also pond...
PARTY PLEASER:
Shirleon joins Melvin to summarize The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It, a late-2000s direct-to-video family-friendly horror movie based on R.L. Stine's short stories! Is it possible to be scary without being gory? How frightening can a PG-rated horror movie be, anyway? And does it even capture that spooky Halloween spirit?
Topics:
- (FREE PATREON EXCLUSIVE) 38-minutes discussing the u...
MOVIE DISCUSSION:
Shirleon and Kathryn join Melvin to discuss George Romero's groundbreaking, culture-making horror feature Night of the Living Dead (1968)! From its rich characters to the longstanding influence of horror in US culture and abroad, the gang explores the ins-and-outs of this undeniable classic!
Topics:
- (PATREON EXCLUSIVE) 36-minutes discussing the concept of "Cursed Actors", actor...
MOVIE DISCUSSION:
Kathryn joins Melvin to discuss The Long Walk, a film whose premise is extremely simple yet whose content is incredibly challenging. Based on a novel influenced by the woes of the Vietnam War, this film adaptation from Francis Lawrence is updated for a modern yet not-so-different demographic. Class solidarity, the importance of beauty, the vile oppression of facism; The Long Walk has it all!
Top...
QUARTERLY CATCH-UP:
Movies & Us: Podcast, Instagram
Quarterly Catch-Up is a co-production between Cinematic Doctrine & Movies & Us! While answering a few questions about watching habits, we also spend time talking about the industry we love, specifically budgets, revenue, and the profitability of this years films overall (so far!). Otherwise, here's what to expect in ...
PATREON MOVIE DISCUSSION:
This movie was selected by our Patreon Supporters over at the Cinematic Doctrine Patreon. Support as little as $3 a month and have your voice heard!
Shirleon joins Melvin to discuss one of the most influential horror movies of the modern era: The Blair Witch Project! How does it fare against modern horror? What does a first-time watcher think of the film? Did the Blair Witch cause Heathe...
PARTY PLEASER:
Kathryn joins Melvin to summarize this year's cherry-picked so-bad-its-good movie, War of the Worlds (2025)! Featuring a cast of fairly known names (Ice Cube, Eva Longoria, Devon Bostick, Clark Gregg, and many more) this odd adaptation of the H.G. Wells classic limits its prose to a computer screen. What could go wrong?
Topics:
- (PATREON EXCLUSIVE) 20-minutes discussing Chris Columbus'...
LET'S TALK:
In the Church Library: Podcast
Kelsey Kramer McGinnis: Instagram // Substack // Christianity Today
Marissa Franks Burt: Instagram // Substack // Author Page
Out October 14th - Pre-Order: The Myth of Good Christian Parenting: How False Promises Betrayed a Generation of Evangelical Families by Marissa Burt & Kelsey McGinnis
Kelsey Kramer McGinnis & Marissa Franks Burt join Melvin to explore Sh...
MOVIE DISCUSSION:
Kathryn joins Melvin return to the MCU to discuss The Fantastic Four: First Steps! It's been 2 years since the gang has talked about Marvel, so what's it like to discuss this latest feature? Also, does it stand well on its own? At the end of the day... is it even good? Tune in and find out!
Topics:
- (PATREON EXCLUSIVE) 25-minutes looking at the budgets for each 2025 Marvel release and...
PATREON MOVIE DISCUSSION:
This movie was selected by our Patreon Supporters over at the Cinematic Doctrine Patreon. Support as little as $3 a month and have your voice heard!
Shirleon joins Melvin to discuss Sinners, Ryan Coogler's massive 2025 hit. As the film continues to dominate conversation, the two discuss it's myriad of themes, whether the film mixes its ideas together well, how they interpret th...
MOVIE DISCUSSION:
Jessica LM Jenkins: Podcast // Instagram // YouTube // WeWhoThirst.com
Jessica LM Jenkins joins Melvin to discuss a massive Pixar favorite; The Incredibles! From the simple-yet-deep "traditional" family stereotypes explored among the Parr family, the relationship between self-expression and conformity, and the similarities between Mr. Incredible and Syndrome. Jessica and Melvin get into...
REBROADCAST MOVIE DISCUSSION:
In this rebroadcast episode (originally released September 28th, 2021), Melvin & Dan talk about one of Laika's several family-friendly horror-animated features, ParaNorman!
Topics:
- ParaNorman has a comfortable, cozy Fall atmosphere.
- Laika takes advantage of it's medium to create a fun, charismatic animation style that separates itself from the competition.
- ...
REBROADCAST MOVIE DISCUSSION:
Before Dune, Daniel saw a trailer for Redeeming Love. After the trailer played, he leaned over to his friend and said, "I think that's supposed to be a sexy Christian movie.". So, here we are talking about that "sexy Christian movie". Boy, there sure is a lot to talk about here. (originally released March 22nd, 2022)
Topics:
- Redeeming Love contai...
PATREON MOVIE DISCUSSION:
This movie was selected by our Patreon Supporters over at the Cinematic Doctrine Patreon. Support as little as $3 a month and have your voice heard!
Shirleon joins Melvin to discuss the 1960s Village of the Damned! Combining weird fiction with childhood mischief, this sci-fi horror offers a lot to chew on, and the two try and parse through everything they can. Join them as they explore co...
LET'S TALK:
Kelsey McGinnis: Instagram // Christianity Today // Podcast
Pre-Order: The Myth of Good Christian Parenting: How False Promises Betrayed a Generation of Evangelical Families by Marissa Burt & Kelsey McGinnis
Kelsey Kramer McGinnis, contributor to Christianity Today, returns to the podcast for an impromptu sequel to last year's Let's Talk "Zoetic & the CCM Coconut Tree"....
MOVIE DISCUSSION:
Kathryn joins Melvin to discuss an early 1990s horror feature, Jacob's Ladder! That's right, the gang heads back to the 90s to discuss another cult-classic horror feature, and the two get into all its metaphors, scares, and the joy of having changed opinions on rewatched movies.
Topics:
- (PATREON EXCLUSIVE) 23-minutes discussing Martin Shore's write-up on WhatToWatch titled, &qu...
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