Jay Boyar

Select another critic »
Orlando Sentinel
For 396 reviews, this critic has graded:
  • 56% higher than the average critic
  • 2% same as the average critic
  • 42% lower than the average critic
On average, this critic grades 1.9 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)

Jay Boyar's Scores

  • Movies
  • TV
Average review score: 64
Highest review score: 100 The Age of Innocence
Lowest review score: 0 Revenge
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 209 out of 396
  2. Mixed: 140 out of 396
  3. Negative: 47 out of 396
396 movie reviews
view
per page
    • 63 Metascore
    • 80 Jay Boyar
    Cry-Baby
    Cry-Baby is hipper and funnier than any Elvis flick ever was, but in many ways it's not so different from Viva Las Vegas or Blue Hawaii.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 80 Jay Boyar
    Gas Food Lodging
    Looking around, you realize that only so much is possible in this town. Fortunately, the limited range of possibilities includes a film like Gas, Food, Lodging. [8 Jan 1993]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 72 Metascore
    • 80 Jay Boyar
    Down and Out in Beverly Hills
    There probably isn't anyone working in movies today who could have done more with this material than writer-director Paul Mazursky does. In Down and Out, he finds humor in those contemporary issues about which most people haven't quite resolved their feelings. This can lead him into dangerous territory: AIDS, anorexia, homosexuality and even "We Are the World" all figure in Down and Out's unusual comedy. [21 Nov 1999, p.60]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 52 Metascore
    • 80 Jay Boyar
    Hook
    It's a lot of fun to watch - over two hours of thrills, spills, elaborate sets and special effects, all tied together by a pleasingly varied (and lighter than usual) musical score by John Williams.
    • 61 Metascore
    • 80 Jay Boyar
    Mo' Better Blues
    The music becomes an aspect of Washington's performance - as does, in a satisfying way, everything else in the film. [03 Aug 1990, p.7]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 49 Metascore
    • 80 Jay Boyar
    Species
    The best monster movie to come slithering out of the muck since Jurassic Park. Species is an exploitation picture while Jurassic Park was mainstream, but the new one is lots of fun if you're in the mood for B-movie thrills. [07 July 1995, p.19]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 64 Metascore
    • 80 Jay Boyar
    Outbreak
    Outbreak is sharp, sometimes-exploitative entertainment that does its job with great efficiency.
    • 51 Metascore
    • 80 Jay Boyar
    Wild Bill
    Wild Bill is uncompromising almost to the point of orneriness. Director Hill takes you from one incident to the next, trusting you - or, rather, expecting you - to work out the connections among them. [01 Dec 1995, p.21]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 75 Metascore
    • 80 Jay Boyar
    Terminator 2: Judgment Day
    The action in Terminator 2 is edited for maximum suspense, and much of it is mounted on such a grand scale that little in movie history comes close. (Scenes in last summer's Die Hard 2 did, but they lacked the finesse of the new film).
    • 64 Metascore
    • 80 Jay Boyar
    The Muppet Christmas Carol
    No one can know what Jim Henson would have thought of The Muppet Christmas Carol, but I suspect he would have admired the way it fuses Dickens' spirit with his and usually comes up with something fresh and subtly different from either. Taking Scrooge's advice, Brian Henson and his crew keep Christmas in their own way - which, I suppose, is the only way to keep it. [11 Dec 1992, p.C-19]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 71 Metascore
    • 80 Jay Boyar
    Eight Men Out
    Sayles has created a lively and instructive entertainment, a moral tale that is everything The Natural (1984) should have been.
    • 73 Metascore
    • 80 Jay Boyar
    Big
    The setup isn't exactly what you'd call plausible, but the follow-through is consistent and clever.
    • 55 Metascore
    • 80 Jay Boyar
    Pacific Heights
    Despite its faults, however, Pacific Heights does the most important thing that any thriller can do. Whether you're a landlord or a tenant, it'll get you crazy. [28 Sept 1990, p.7]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 67 Metascore
    • 80 Jay Boyar
    Reality Bites
    Among the movie's strengths are the performances, especially that of Ryder, who comes across as bright, beautiful and more delicate than ever before. The lead roles in this film are the sorts of roles that she and Hawke really ought to be playing ones that allow their contemporary vibes to work for them. The film's shortcomings are those of youth and with one exception they are easily forgiven.
    • 89 Metascore
    • 80 Jay Boyar
    Searching for Bobby Fischer
    Zaillian's usual weakness - a tendency to simplify and sentimentalize - asserts itself from time to time here. But much of the movie has a dry, almost documentary-like tone that helps to keep the material in perspective, as does the filmmaker's loving attention to detail. [13 Aug 1993, p.20]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 56 Metascore
    • 75 Jay Boyar
    Heart and Souls
    In praising Heart and Souls, I hope I haven't oversold the film. Really, it's kind of thrown together, but it's thrown together in a fun, unpretentious way that makes it an often delightful distraction for a rainy August afternoon. And it'll probably look even better when it shows up on TV. [13 Aug 1993, p.17]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 63 Metascore
    • 75 Jay Boyar
    Bad Influence
    Bad Influence has a somewhat effective screenplay, provided by newcomer David Koepp. The dialogue is much sharper in Bad Influence than it was in The Bedroom Window - although the new film's plot could have used more work. [09 Mar 1990, p.5]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 56 Metascore
    • 75 Jay Boyar
    Mermaids
    The better you remember 1963, the better your chances of liking Mermaids. It's not so much a movie as it is a time capsule. The fun is in seeing what gets pulled out next. [14 Dec 1990, p.8]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 79 Metascore
    • 75 Jay Boyar
    Red Rock West
    Red Rock West is not, in any sense, groundbreaking. When you come right down to it, all Red Rock West really has going for it is its enormous entertainment value. But, hey, that's plenty. [14 Oct 1994, p.31]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 80 Metascore
    • 75 Jay Boyar
    Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
    Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer isn't entirely successful, but it's admirable nonetheless. The film is an honest and disturbing attempt to come to grips with the sort of modern horror that we must - more urgently every day - try to understand.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 Jay Boyar
    A Brief History of Time
    The film doesn't go deeply enough into Hawking's theories to really explain them, and it doesn't go deeply enough into Hawking's life to impart anything but a sketchy understanding of the man. Still, considering the almost impenetrable subject matter, it's remarkable that Morris has gotten as far as he has.
    • 44 Metascore
    • 75 Jay Boyar
    Three Men and a Cradle
    A simple equation, perhaps, but when it comes to comedy, simpler is frequently funnier. This formula has already worked beautifully in France, where the movie has broken all box-office records and has won three Cesars (the French equivalent of the Oscar) including one for best picture.
    • 40 Metascore
    • 75 Jay Boyar
    Rocky IV
    The film is a slugger that keeps hitting you with one obvious image after another. Funny thing, though: Obviousness is sometimes effective. If Rocky IV doesn't kill you, it'll conquer you.
    • 78 Metascore
    • 75 Jay Boyar
    Enchanted April
    For the most part, you can't go wrong praising the exceptional ensemble cast, either. [28 Aug 1992, p.19]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 38 Metascore
    • 75 Jay Boyar
    Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit
    In Sister Act 2, these energized musical numbers and the sparkling comedy work together in ways that are very hard to resist. And considering how terribly resistible (to me, at least) last year's Sister Act was, the sequel seems like a movie miracle. [10 Dec 1993]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 51 Metascore
    • 75 Jay Boyar
    Poison Ivy
    Working from a script she wrote with producer Andy Ruben, director Katt Shea gets some sexy vibes going, and the atmospherically lit production has an unexpected visual distinction.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 75 Jay Boyar
    Little Buddha
    Bertolucci's latest effort probably won't create much commotion of any kind. But on balance, it isn't a bad little picture. [27 May 1994, p.22]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 68 Metascore
    • 75 Jay Boyar
    Avalon
    Under the sweet, gooey surface of Avalon there's a more impressive movie yearning to break free - a finely textured movie about how an immigrant man's love of the performing arts produced a grandson who became an important American filmmaker. [22 Oct 1990, p.C1]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 50 Metascore
    • 75 Jay Boyar
    Now and Then
    Director Lesli Linka Glatter (NYPD Blue, Twin Peaks) gets nice performances from her young cast, which includes some of the best little actresses working today. Their adult counterparts are fine too. [20 Oct 1995, p.22]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 64 Metascore
    • 75 Jay Boyar
    Fried Green Tomatoes
    At its best, Fried Green Tomatoes is a pleasantly nostalgic tale wrapped around a murder mystery (which, frankly, isn't all that mysterious). The filmmakers do a decent job of weaving the texture of the thoroughly racist and sexist society within which Idgie, Ruth and the movie's major black characters (played by Cicely Tyson and Stan Shaw) must struggle to preserve their self-respect and, at critical times, their lives. At its worst, the film is unexciting and rambles too much.
Page:

Top Trailers

See all »
See all trailers »