IFSCA’s Best Films of the Century, thus far list (2025) | SPECIAL FEATURE

In early October of this year, the International Film Society Critics Association (IFSCA), of which I am a voting member, released its list of the 100 best films of the century thus far. I had taken part in the voting, got the opportunity to write a few review-type blurbs for certain films, and I was really delighted to be able to take part in this process. Today, both for posterity’s sake (meaning for the purpose of preserving and presenting my writing for my site’s readers) and to widen the list’s reach, I want to share my very brief review blurbs for the films that I was selected to comment on, release my 10 film ballot, and navigate you to the list home over on the IFSCA WordPress site. Let’s get to it.

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Bring Her Back (2025) | REVIEW

Sally Hawkins in BRING HER BACK — PHOTO: A24 (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Danny and Michael Philippou — Screenplay by Danny Philippou and Bill Hinzman.

In Bring Her Back, we follow Australian step-siblings Andy (played by Billy Barratt), a 17-year-old young man still struggling with previously undisclosed trauma, and Piper (played by Sora Wong), his visually-impaired younger sister, after they find their father dead in the shower. Now, with Andy not being quite old enough yet to be Piper’s legal guardian, they risk being split up by the system, but the siblings put their foot down and eventually get a foster parent to agree to house them. But while this foster parent, Laura (played by Sally Hawkins) hopes to adopt Piper, the siblings still have hope that they can eventually go out on their own. However, Laura, a grief-stricken former counselor who has recently lost her own visually-impaired daughter, has ulterior motives and, it appears, she may have already experimented with occult rituals on another child in her care.

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Den Sidste Viking (2025) | REVIEW

(L-R) Mads Mikkelsen and Nikolaj Lie Kaas in THE LAST VIKING (DEN SIDSTE VIKING) — PHOTO: Nordisk Film / Rolf Konow.

Directed by Anders Thomas Jensen — Screenplay by Anders Thomas Jensen.

Only a select few films can fill up theater rooms across Denmark like Anders Thomas Jensen’s directorial efforts can. Ever since he burst onto the scene with Flickering Lights, he has been a favorite for Danish filmgoers, and it is always genuinely delightful to see Danes flock to theaters whenever he has gotten ‘the gang back together’ (the gang always consists of Denmark’s two most popular actors Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Mads Mikkelsen) to tell a ‘black comedy’ narrative with absurd quirks and goofy but strangely lovable oddball characters. Now, he’s back again with The Last Viking (Danish title: Den Sidste Viking), which is yet another instantly successful Danish black comedy with some of Denmark’s most popular actors. It doesn’t quite hit the highs that Riders of Justice (Retfærdighedens Ryttere) did, but it is nonetheless quite good and will be very satisfying to those with a love for the wavelengths of Jensen’s oeuvre. 

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John Candy: I Like Me (2025 – Documentary) | REVIEW

PHOTO: Amazon MGM Studios.

Directed by Colin Hanks.

Not a month goes by in my family without someone referencing Uncle Buck. It’s fair to say that John Candy has a special place in both my heart and the hearts of my family members. Therefore, I was especially excited to watch Colin Hanks’ film about John Candy‘s life, which, tragically, ended much too soon back in 1994. Actor John Candy, a gentle giant with a special comedic talent, is best known for Planes, Trains, and Automobiles and the many other John Hughes films in which he appeared. This latest Amazon Prime Video documentary paints a beautiful portrait of Candy but is, ultimately, both heartwarming and heartbreaking, as you see how many lives he touched, how much of a positive inspiration he was to others in the industry, but also the hole that he left behind for his family. A beloved father, actor, and comedian, John Candy was larger than life, and the documentary does a good job of emphasizing just how talented he was with archival footage of his Second City skits, his films, and plenty of footage of him making public appearances and still being witty as ever.

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The Long Walk (2025) | REVIEW

David Jonsson in THE LONG WALK — PHOTO: Lionsgate (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Francis Lawrence — Screenplay by J.T. Mollner.

Based on the 1979 Stephen King novel of the same name (published under King’s pseudonym Richard Bachman), Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk is set in a dystopian America under a totalitarian military regime, which holds an annual event referred to as, you guessed it, ‘the Long Walk.’ During this event, fifty young men, one from each state, must take part in a coordinated walk of potentially hundreds of miles, while they’re escorted by the military, which also broadcasts the event live. Those who stop walking, or fall below a dictated pace, will receive three warnings (that eventually replenish) and, should they fail to get back to the right pace in time, be executed. The event will only end once a sole victor remains left standing and alive, and the winner will receive not only an overwhelming cash prize, but also a single wish that the regime must grant. Lawrence’s film follows Maine-born participant Ray Garraty (played by Cooper Hoffman), who quickly befriends a group of young men led by the charismatic Peter McVries (played by David Jonsson). However, we soon learn that there is a secret reason why Ray is taking part in the event.

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Eenie Meanie (2025) | REVIEW

Karl Glusman and Samara Weaving in EENIE MEANIE — PHOTO: 20th Century Studios.

Directed by Shawn Simmons — Screenplay by Shawn Simmons.

Shawn Simmons’ Eenie Meanie is a crime comedy-thriller that follows Edie (played by Samara Weaving), who has a past as a getaway driver. Edie has just found out that she is pregnant, and so she decides to seek out the child’s ne’er-do-well father, John (played by Karl Glusman), whom she hasn’t been with in months. When she shows up at his apartment, however, she becomes entangled in a web of crime to which her former lover is stuck. To save the father of her child, Edie will have to put some of her old skills to good use to do a job.

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War of the Worlds (2025) | REVIEW

Still image of title card from trailers — PHOTO: Universal Pictures.

Directed by Rich Lee — Screenplay by Kenneth A. Golde and Marc Hyman.

Only rarely is a movie deemed to be so bad that its reputation takes on a life of its own. In the case of Amazon Prime’s War of the Worlds, we have one of the most critically derided films released by a streaming service, maybe ever. Not only is it narratively unsound, a visual disappointment, and a poor adaptation of a well-known narrative, but the film as a whole also represents everything film critics, cinephiles, and film historians fear about the state of cinema and its future. This is a film with shameless corporate self-promotion on the part of the streaming service, which shows no appreciation for the material it is adapting or any apprehension about what they might treat their audience to. The Ice Cube-led War of the Worlds film from Amazon is, like you’ve heard, the worst film you’re likely to see this year. It is, at once, both embarrassing and alarming how faulty and ill-conceived it is. 

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Predator: Killer of Killers (2025) | REVIEW

A hulking Predator in PREDATOR: KILLER OF KILLERS — PHOTO: DISNEY.

Directed by Dan Trachtenberg — Screenplay by Micho Robert Rutare.

With 2022’s Prey, 10 Cloverfield Lane director Dan Trachtenberg proved himself capable of shepherding the Predator franchise and steering it in a new and exciting direction. Now, in 2025, Trachtenberg’s next moves with the iconic sci-fi horror action film series are coming our way. This November, his second live-action Predator-film, Predator: Badlands, is set to premiere theatrically, but if you’re jonesing for more Trachtenberg-Predator goodness right now, then you’ll be happy to know that Disney+/Hulu just released a brand new Predator from Trachtenberg that is unlike anything you’ve ever seen from this franchise, given the fact that it is actually a fully animated film. That may not sound like the ideal way to tell these stories, but, in actuality, Trachtenberg has, with Predator: Killer of Killers, used the medium to pull off some genuine wish-fulfillment Predator movie moments that are exactly as out there and as gory as you could possibly like.

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The Last of Us – “Convergence” | REVIEW

Bella Ramsey in THE LAST OF US: CONVERGENCE — PHOTO: Liane Hentscher / HBO.

This is a recap and review of the seventh and final episode of the second season of HBO’s The Last of Us. Expect spoilers for season 1 and game 1 (and the episode itself, of course), but also some references to and comments about the second game (though without spoilers).

In the seventh and final episode of the second season — titled Convergencee — Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey) and Jesse (played by Young Mazino) search the streets of Seattle for Tommy (played by Gabriel Luna. However, when Ellie sees something in the distance, she parts ways with her friend. Convergence was written by Neil Druckmann, Halley Gross, and Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and directed by Nina Lopez-Corrado (Supernatural; Mayor of Kingstown).

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The Last of Us – “The Price” | REVIEW

Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in THE LAST OF US: THE PRICE — PHOTO: Liane Hentscher / HBO.

This is a recap and review of the sixth episode of the second season of HBO’s The Last of Us. Expect spoilers for season 1 and game 1 (and the episode itself, of course), but also some references to and comments about the second game (though without spoilers).

In the sixth and penultimate episode of the second season — titled The Price — we get multiple flashbacks to various birthdays, as we see how the Joel (played by Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey) dynamic and relationship changed over the years in Jackson. The Price was written by Craig Mazin (Chernobyl), Halley Gross, and Neil Druckmann, and directed by Neil Druckmann, the co-creator of the games.

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