J. Hoberman
Tomatometer-approved critic
Eraserhead (1977)
87%
“Eraserhead's not a movie I'd drop acid for, although I would consider it a revolutionary act if someone dropped a reel of it into the middle of Star Wars. ” –
Village Voice
Jan 23, 2025
Full Review
Green Border (2023)
93%
“Similarly devoid of nuance, its moral reckoning accentuated by brilliant black-and-white cinematography, Green Border is a visceral ordeal and virtuoso tumult.” –
The New York Review of Books
Jan 15, 2025
Full Review
Henry Fonda for President (2024)
90%
“Alexander Horwath’s erudite, entertaining three-hour meta-biopic.” –
Artforum
Oct 9, 2024
Full Review
Alien Resurrection (1997)
55%
“At least Alien 3 had intimations of mythological grandeur. Too tepid to be satire, "Resurrection" has reached the point of diminishing returns. ” –
Village Voice
Aug 6, 2024
Full Review
Spaceballs (1987)
52%
“The spirit of desecration rules Mel Brooks’s Spaceballs. Buoyant, unsentimental low comedy, this manic Star Wars parody is continually vulgar without ever seeming smarmy.” –
Village Voice
Apr 3, 2024
Full Review
Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World (2023)
97%
“Indeed, given Jude’s willingness to engage with (or disinclination to disengage from) the cyber-powered second life, Do Not Expect is more despairing if even funnier than Bad Luck Banging.” –
The Nation
Mar 30, 2024
Full Review
Forrest Gump (1994)
75%
“There's an undeniable kick to the idea of recapitulating to the Boomerography as a tale told by an idiot, but the thrill inexorably fades.” –
Village Voice
Mar 1, 2024
Full Review
Pulp Fiction (1994)
92%
“More than anything else, Quentin Tarantino is a spinner of tall tales—the superbly garrulous, living embodiment of the movie enthusiast’s hey-wouldn’t-it-be-great-if... aesthetic.” –
Village Voice
Feb 29, 2024
Full Review
Yambao (1957)
- -
“Deliriously trashy...fueled by the star’s mad conviction, Yambaó is a movie made for Jack Smith...” –
Artforum
Jan 27, 2024
Full Review
Sensualidad (1951)
- -
“Feistier than most and strikingly progressive in her class and gender solidarity...” –
Artforum
Jan 27, 2024
Full Review
Aventurera (1950)
- -
“López is an actress of taste.” –
Artforum
Jan 27, 2024
Full Review
Maria Candelaria (1944)
92%
“Pictorial big-sky melodrama...” –
Artforum
Jan 27, 2024
Full Review
Salón Mexico (1949)
- -
“...a classic cabaretera, detailing the self-effacing Stella Dallas–like martyrdom of a dime-a-dance fichera...” –
Artforum
Jan 27, 2024
Full Review
Rio Escondido (1947)
- -
“Fernández and Figueroa proved equally adept in the nocturnal realm of smoky dives and neon-illuminated back alleys.” –
Artforum
Jan 27, 2024
Full Review
Victims of Sin (1950)
100%
“A tumultuous product of Mexican cinema's Golden Age, the movie is a perfect storm, the confluence of three huge talents.” –
Artforum
Jan 27, 2024
Full Review
Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks (2002)
- -
“A three-part, nine-hour look at the painful decline of a once-thriving industrial zone...Wang has immersed himself in the lives of migrant workers...” –
The Nation
Nov 10, 2023
Full Review
Youth (Spring) (2023)
86%
“The prolific director examines how the People’s Republic became the workshop for much of the world.” –
The Nation
Nov 10, 2023
Full Review
Three Sisters (2012)
100%
“Wang’s magnificent 2012 portrait of young children in a subsistence-level village in Yunnan province...” –
The Nation
Nov 10, 2023
Full Review
Traffic (2000)
93%
“Traffic is exemplary Hollywood social realism. ” –
Village Voice
Sep 7, 2023
Full Review
Spirited Away (2001)
96%
“Its funny, inexplicable transformations are closer to vintage Fleischer Bros than Disney.” –
Village Voice
Jul 17, 2023
Full Review
Mulholland Dr. (2001)
84%
“Mulholland Drive is thrilling and ludicrous. The movie feels entirely instinctual.” –
Village Voice
Jul 11, 2023
Full Review
Back to the Future (1985)
93%
“This sci-fi blending of American Graffiti and It’s a Wonderful Life is the kind of movie that, try as you might to avoid it, you'll end up ingesting by osmosis anyway.” –
Village Voice
Jun 27, 2023
Full Review
Unrest (2022)
86%
“The tranquility is accentuated by the soft murmur of voices, the sound of wind in the trees, and the natural-light cinematography. Unrest’s pastoral quality recalls mid-period Straub-Huillet films...” –
The Nation
Jun 21, 2023
Full Review
The Color Purple (1985)
73%
“What’s most shocking about this film is not how sentimental it is, it’s how inept. The valentine comes apart in your hands.” –
Village Voice
May 25, 2023
Full Review
EO (2022)
96%
“The beasts give EO an authenticity beyond human acting, without the trappings of rational meaning. Behind the veil of Skolimowski’s bravura technique, life simply is.” –
The Nation
Jan 3, 2023
Full Review
No Reviews Yet
Load More
Something went wrong.. try again