Jay Boyar

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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
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    • 56 Metascore
    • 80 Jay Boyar
    The Cable Guy
    Whether Carrey's fans will like it or not, the film is easily his best crafted piece of work to date. [14 June 1996, p.22]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 78 Metascore
    • 90 Jay Boyar
    Ruthless People
    The idea behind Ruthless People is just about irresistible. Much of the fun of this comedy is in watching what happens as virtually everyone in the movie tries to double-cross or otherwise take advantage of everyone else.
    • 64 Metascore
    • 63 Jay Boyar
    Flight of the Navigator
    There's no mistaking Flight of the Navigator for a really first-rate children's picture like, say, The Black Stallion. But Flight of the Navigator is an enjoyable film that encourages kids to use their heads. Unlike those children's movies that spoon-feed their audiences, this film keeps setting up challenging situations that young moviegoers must think through.
    • 41 Metascore
    • 20 Jay Boyar
    Stay Tuned
    Not only does the new film generally fail to skewer TV's follies, it isn't even as entertaining as television. And I'm not talking about really good television, like Seinfeld and Murphy Brown. I'm talking about the usual stuff, like Three's Company and Mork & Mindy. [17 Aug 1992, p.D2]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 67 Metascore
    • 100 Jay Boyar
    Deep Cover
    If Larry Fishburne is like a Clint Eastwood who can act better, the new film is like a Dirty Harry movie done right. [17 Apr 1992, p.20]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 65 Metascore
    • 50 Jay Boyar
    The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
    Actually, the rating fits. The movie isn't quite enough fun to qualify for the "average" category, yet not quite lame enough to deserve to be called "poor." [28 June 1991, p.6]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 57 Metascore
    • 60 Jay Boyar
    The World Is Not Enough
    The latest 007 extravaganza has enough plot developments, double-entendres, emotional underpinnings and, of course, Bond girls, action scenes and explosions to furnish at least a couple of Bondfests, with plenty left over for an episode of Nash Bridges.
    • 72 Metascore
    • 100 Jay Boyar
    Kiss of Death
    The intensity of Caruso's close-to-the-vest performance in this absorbing, brutal crime movie suggests that he may have the makings of a big-screen star. [21 Apr 1995, p.29]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 41 Metascore
    • 75 Jay Boyar
    The Rookie
    For an hour or so The Rookie really cooks, and Clint Eastwood is the main reason why. [07 Dec 1990, p.6]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 77 Metascore
    • 100 Jay Boyar
    No Way Out
    A thriller that grabs you even before the ironies of its plot kick in is a thriller you don't want to miss. No Way Out is that sort of movie, a thriller that's thrilling throughout.
    • 44 Metascore
    • 50 Jay Boyar
    Last Man Standing
    If Last Man Standing is a failure, it's far from a disgrace. Its intentions seem pure; its method, precise and painstaking. You might say this movie has everything. Everything but excitement. [20 Sep 1996, p.22]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 72 Metascore
    • 60 Jay Boyar
    The Crow
    The bottom line is that The Crow is a somewhat-better-than-average exploitation flick that has received an extra shot of hype from the untimely and dramatic demise of its star performer.
    • 65 Metascore
    • 80 Jay Boyar
    The Client
    The Firm and The Pelican Brief, both of last year, were solid entertainment. Now along comes the movie version of The Client - the best of the Grisham film trilogy.
    • 33 Metascore
    • 20 Jay Boyar
    Son in Law
    Let's just say that compared to Son-in-Law, Green Acres is Noel Coward.
    • 57 Metascore
    • 60 Jay Boyar
    Not Without My Daughter
    What's surprising about Not Without My Daughter (which was adapted from a book that Betty Mahmoody wrote with William Hoffer) is how effective it is despite its obvious shortcomings. As a conventional thriller along the lines of, say, a Mission: Impossible episode, the movie actually manages to be borderline entertaining. [11 Jan 1991, p.9]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 59 Metascore
    • 70 Jay Boyar
    The Living Daylights
    Dalton shows a serious side that's been missing from the role since Sean Connery's earliest 007 days.
    • 52 Metascore
    • 80 Jay Boyar
    Tomorrow Never Dies
    For the most part, then, Tomorrow Never Dies is a straightforward action picture. And since the action is clearly and suspensefully staged, this unpretentious production turns out to be the best Bond flick in years.
    • 59 Metascore
    • 70 Jay Boyar
    Junior
    By putting Thompson together with Schwarzenegger, DeVito and the others, Reitman creates abundant opportunities for comedy. The situation is ripe with possibilities. [23 Nov 1994, p.E1]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 64 Metascore
    • 75 Jay Boyar
    Muppet Treasure Island
    If the Muppets sometime seem at sea in Muppet Treasure Island, the film still has more wit and irony than most kid-oriented productions. Fozzie, in fact, has more in that index finger of his than Barney has in his whole purple carcass. [16 Feb 1996, p.30]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 57 Metascore
    • 80 Jay Boyar
    Legal Eagles
    Director Ivan Reitman isn't an especially careful moviemaker, though this latest film is structurally superior to such previous efforts as Ghostbusters, Stripes and Meatballs. He's still got a lot to learn about giving dramatic points the proper weight, and his visual sense is shaky. But for all his shortcomings, Reitman seems to have something that other, more elegant directors lack: the ability to get stars to go a little crazy. The enjoyment we get from the goofy performances in his movies is something rather rare.
    • 63 Metascore
    • 75 Jay Boyar
    Kids
    Yet Kids does stay with you - which is more than can be said for a picture like Showgirls, most of which vanished from my consciousness 10 minutes after it ended. Nearly a month has elapsed since I've seen Kids and, tedious though much of it is, the experience lingers. [29 Sept 1995, p.19]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 76 Metascore
    • 100 Jay Boyar
    Mother
    What's different about this film is that it holds together better than Brooks' other movies. And in the end, it's somewhat sweeter. [17 Jan 1997, p.21]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 95 Metascore
    • 80 Jay Boyar
    Beauty and the Beast
    Much as I like Beauty and the Beast, I think I would have preferred it if its dark parts had even been darker. The brooding beast is a fascinating character to consider, and his fearsome battle with a vicious pack of wolves is one of the most powerful scenes in the movie.
    • 43 Metascore
    • 30 Jay Boyar
    Skin Deep
    But even with Dudley Moore, this movie would probably have fallen flat. At best, Skin Deep is a VCR movie. Rent it when it comes out on tape, fast forward to the best part, and replay the condom scene until you stop laughing.
    • 47 Metascore
    • 37 Jay Boyar
    Young Guns II
    Young Guns II shoots blanks. [02 Aug 1990, p.E1]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 54 Metascore
    • 50 Jay Boyar
    Blue Steel
    When the dust clears, Blue Steel turns out to be just one more violent movie whose basic theme is women as victims. [16 Mar 1990, p.3]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 50 Metascore
    • 50 Jay Boyar
    Passenger 57
    Passenger 57 was directed by Kevin Hooks, a former actor who directed last year's Strictly Business. He manages to keep the action fairly clear, which is something that can't be taken for granted in today's adventure movies. [09 Nov 1992, p.C1]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 42 Metascore
    • 75 Jay Boyar
    Taking Care of Business
    Obviously, the premise is pretty implausible, but the moviemakers do a decent job of addressing (if not entirely satifying) our questions about the implausibilities. And the stars, especially Belushi, bring an amazing amount of conviction to this formulaic material. [17 Aug 1990, p.8]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 48 Metascore
    • 80 Jay Boyar
    Sleeping with the Enemy
    It's an efficiently crafted psychological thriller that keeps you guessing - even when you're sure that you have all the answers. [08 Feb 1991, p.6]
    • Orlando Sentinel
    • 28 Metascore
    • 60 Jay Boyar
    Howard the Duck
    In Howard the Duck, the special effects -- and the Muppety duck jokes -- command so much attention that it's easy to overlook the movie makers' clever narrative touches. It's rather fitting, for example, that Howard is shown to be almost as much of a misfit on the duck world as he is on Earth. And there's a sometimes-touching, sometimes-hilarious Fay Wray-King Kong relationship established between Howard and a sexy, baby-faced rock singer named Beverly (Lea Thompson). The main reason the relationship is so intriguing is that Thompson always keeps you guessing about her character's true feelings for the cantankerous bird. It's hard to fault the tongue-in-bill high spirits of a movie like Howard the Duck.
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