A Filmversation with Mike and Nick

Send us Fan Mail Mike and Nick step into their kitchen to cook up a mix of delicacy and debauchery. Trần Anh Hùng brings to life an intimate nineteenth century French countryside. Mike espouses the love for food contained in each frame. On the other side of the spectrum, Peter Greenaway grosses audiences out in an antithetical kitchen. Helen Mirren bares the brunt of an unhinged Richard Bohringer as he lambasts every human in his own restaurant. Nick is floored by the formal colour mastery at...

Send us Fan Mail Mike and Nick enter Ingmar Bergman’s imperial era. The two meditate on morality, memory, and the terror of self-realization. Digging into Bergman's internal and visual philosophy, the pair investigate how the director marries and juxtaposes intellectuality and emotional universality. Topics include discussions on dream logic, existential anxieties, and reflections on human fragility. Step into Bergman's world with Filmversation; if we drown in the cinematic abyss, at least we...

Send us Fan Mail Now that the Oscars have come and gone, The Filmversation crew can give their final say. That's right, that special time of year is here. Mike and Nick present their top 10 lists for 2025. Find out what the pair was watching throughout the year. Which strange and unheard of films did Nick make Mike watch? Which surprises did Mike put on Nick's radar? As usual, these discussions run long, so enjoy the first part: honourable mentions and 10th - 7th.

Send us Fan Mail Mike and Nick hunt aliens! The pair visit one of their modern favourite's most recent outputs to see if the magical weirdness still shines bright. Mike helps interpret the film's alien language for Nick as the pair explore various themes of corporate alienness and interesting empathy.

Send us Fan Mail Nick makes a Pascalian wager to show Mike his first Éric Rohmer movie he hopes might be... Christmas-y! Enjoy all the festive talk about intellectualism, Marxism, sexual politics, and 60's France! Nick thought Rohmer might be a future favourite of Mike's. Find out if he's right. Happy holidays from your favourite amateur film snobs.

Send us Fan Mail Mike and Nick return to their journey through Bergman's filmography. This time they explore the medial film in Bergman's "comedic" trilogy. One of the lesser regarded films upon its release, the pair wonder if the criticism at the time was warranted or if Mike's favourite magazine, Cahiers du Cinéma, was right to include this (along with two others, to Nick's chagrin) on their 1958 list. Is this a secret triumph for Bergman or is it another failed attempt at humour from one c...

Send us Fan Mail Mike and Nick kick off their seasonal Halloween episode pair with a tribute to one of their favourite American filmmakers: John Carpenter. It never hurts to revisit the undeniable classic that is The Thing. But this time, Nick introduces Mike to one of his cult favourites: Prince of Darkness. Does Mike agree with Nick this deserves a second look? Find out what makes John Carpenter films so effective.

Send us Fan Mail Mike and Nick continue their journey through Bergman's major and minor works. Hot off the tails of Sawdust and Tinsel, the director makes a pivot into more lighthearted humour, offering, in his words, a comedy for adults. The hosts debate if the humour works; which host falls where may... not surprise you. Mike gets to the bottom of the lesson in love and Nick commiserates with Bergman in his likely fashion. You know, the usual Bergman fare.

Send us Fan Mail Kinuyo Tanaka is likely best know for her tremendous acting career performing in great works of directors like Kenji Mizoguchi. But she also had a shorter directing career. Filmversation hopes to shine a light on this lesser known director, as the second Japanese female director in history and the first Japanese female to helm director of a movie solo. The Moon Rises reminds both, but Mike especially, of co-writer and show-favourite, Yasujiro Ozu. Forever a Woman stands out a...

Send us Fan Mail Go back in time with Filmversation. A time of innocence and beginnings. A time of earnestness and naivete. Go back to your youth. Mike discusses his early memories of saving the rainforest and Nick is flabbergasted by Tim Curry's unhinged performance. Nick waxes poetic about The Land Before Time and Mike tells Nick about the savage butchery the film suffered behind the scenes. In a time of increasing turmoil, it's nice to go back to the films of our youth.

Send us Fan Mail Mike and Nick are joined by good friend, Jackie. The three dive into Robert Eggers' newest iteration of Nosferatu. They examine one of its predecessors and direct influences, Ingmar Bergman's Cries and Whispers. With Jackie's help, the gang dives into the nuance and experience of the films' colours, shadows, and psychosexuality. Find out why Mike thinks these are the same movie and which Ozu movie Cries and Whispers reminds Nick of.

Send us Fan Mail Mike and Nick celebrate spooky season with two classics of silent horror cinema. What better way to kick off the festivities other than travelling back in time? 1926's Faust sees FW Murnau retell the classic tale of making a deal with the devil. 1928's The Man Who Laughs sees Paul Leni channel Conrad Veidt (of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari fame) to tell the tragic love story of a man disfigured during youth. Both films capitalize on the early stages of the medium. Where sound i...

Send us Fan Mail Mike and Nick revisit Bergman's Summer lens through one of the director's first big "hits" : Summer with Monika. The pair explore themes of isolation, youth, and escaping society. Nick comments how he thinks this is the cinematic answer to all romantically ambiguous endings in film. The pair contrast American attitudes at the time toward sex with Sweden's. And finally, Nick is aghast with Mike's defense of Monika.