Exodus – Gods and Kings: Naïve & Devoid of Content

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 our latest Patron-Selected movie, Exodus: Gods and Kings! Can Ridley Scott give this paramount Bible story the Gladiator treatment? Does it play fast and loose with the historical account? Was it, at the very least, enjoyable? Tune in to find out!

Topics:

• (PATREON EXCLUSIVE) 33-minutes discussing the various drama leading up to Snow White (2025)’s release as well as it’s Rotten Tomato Score debut. (PATREON EXCLUSIVE)
• Shirleon, “I hated it. I hated the direction that it went.”
• Melvin, “It’s super rare to find movies that feel like they’re devoid of content.”
• What deflates the material is how remedial it is compared to the rich complexities of the Biblical text.
• A follow-up to criticism’s mentioned in the Journey to Bethlehem episode regarding bible-reading statistics.
• The film doesn’t just mischaracterize historical figures, it mischaracterizes biblical figures, texts, and God Himself, all in ways that can’t be considered concessions of the medium.
• Melvin talks about the one scene in the movie he liked.
• The two agree: It’s not just a bad biblical adaptation, it’s also a bad movie.

Recommendations:

• Read Exodus from the Bible
• The Prince of Egypt (1998) (Movie) (Cinematic Doctrine Episode)
• The Ten Commandments (1956) (Movie)
• The Midnight Meat Train (2008) (Movie)

Exodus: Gods and Kings is Rated PG-13 for violence including battle sequences and intense images. It features Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton, Ben Kingsley, Sigourney Weaver, John Turturro, Aaron Paul, Ben Mendelsohn, Zipporah, Isaac Andrews, Hiam Abbass, and Indira Varma. Directed by Ridley Scott. Exodus: Gods and Kings is available here.

Consider supporting Cinematic Doctrine on Patreon! As a bonus, you can gain access to a once-a-month movie poll where you decide a movie we discuss on the podcast, early unedited episodes of the podcast, and merch!!

Melvin Benson is the Founder, Editor-In-Chief, and Lead Host of Cinematic Doctrine. Whether it’s a movie, show, game, comic, or novel, it doesn’t matter. As long as it’s rich, he’s ready and willing to give it a try! His hope is to see King Jesus glorified as far as the east is from the west!

Cinematic Doctrine is available on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, and other major podcast apps.

Frogman – Cryptids, Found-Footage, & Self-Destruction – Cinematic Doctrine: A Movie Review Podcast Hosted by Christians

Send us a Question!PARTY PLEASER:Shirleon & Kathryn join Melvin to summarize Frogman, a surprise found-footage horror feature from 2023 about the Loveland Frogman! The three discuss their familiarity with Frogman, the inherent qualities of Found-Footage narratives, and whether they're frog people or rat people!Topics:(PATREON EXCLUSIVE) 33-minutes describing three cryptids, exploring their history, and deciding, "Do we believe?". (PATREON EXCLUSIVE)Asking the important questions: what's Frogman, and is he a swamp-mermaid?Each scene cleverly employs a new framing device, helping the film keep a healthy forward momentum.So… what does the gang think about the film's characters?The interview section of the film is when Melvin thought to himself, "Oh, like, this is a competent, real found-footage film, not just some Tubi-esque feature. Nice."Frogman is a real cryptid, but some of the environmental stuff in Frogman isn't. Kathryn shares why that may be.Does the Found-Footage genre typically result in a main character's self-destruction?Recommendations:Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie (2023) (Book)Old Gods of Appalachia (2019 – X) (Podcast)Hokum (2026) (Movie) Support the showSupport on Patreon for Unique Perks! Early access to uncut episodes Vote on a movie/show we review One-time reward of two Cinematic Doctrine Stickers & PinsSocial Links: ThreadsWebsiteInstagramLetterboxdFacebook Group 

1. Frogman – Cryptids, Found-Footage, & Self-Destruction 59:30
2. Vertigo – The iPad Kid Killer 01:05:58
3. Grant Gow on "What's Theater Programming?" at the Hiway Theater 35:50
4. Obsession – w/ Dreadful Digest on Female Agency and Pathetic Men 01:16:29
5. Backrooms – The Liminal Space Between Character & Vibes 01:26:34