Rotten Tomatoes

Article ID:832482

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:''For use of tomatoes against performers, see rotten tomatoes .
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Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of movies and video game s. The name derives from the use of tomato es and other produce thrown at stage performers if a performance was particularly bad. The website created a distinctive means to summarize the general critical opinions about these works. The staff search the internet for websites that contain reviews of particular films and games from the amateur to the professional. Once found, the staff determines if the review is positive ("fresh", marked by a small icon of a red tomato ) or negative ("rotten", marked by a small icon of a green splatted tomato).

The website keeps track of all of the reviews counted (which can approach 200 for major films) and the percentage of positive reviews is tabulated. If the positive reviews make up 60% or more, the film is considered "fresh" in that the majority of the reviewers approve of the film. Conversely, if the positive reviews are less than 60%, then the film is considered "rotten". In addition, major film reviewers like Roger Ebert are listed in a sub-listing called "Cream of the Crop" which tabulates their reviews separately, while still including their opinions in the general rating. When there are sufficient reviews to form a conclusion, a consensus statement is posted which is intended to articulate the general reasons for the opinion. As of October 2005, the best reviewed film on the site is "Toy Story 2" receving 105 reviews, all of which are fresh and having an Average Rating of 8.5.

This rating in turn is marked with an equivalent icon when the film is listed, giving the reader a one glance look at the general critical opinion about the work.

In 2004, the website IGN Entertainment acquired Rottentomatoes.com. In September 2005, IGN was bought out by Rupert Murdoch 's News Corp .

Accolades and criticisms

This site has been praised as a effective way for film reviews to challenge the hegemony of movie marketing by providing a simple, yet comprehensive, resource in which reviews can be referenced. At least one major newspaper , the Toronto Star , regularly publishes the ratings in its entertainment section weekly.

On the other hand, the website is sometimes criticized for being a measure of how many people liked a film, rather than how high they scored it. Thus only "consensus" films reach high scores, while controversial films that might appear as truly great to some people still sport low scores. Another complaint is that reviews in more obscure entries may often be labeled incorrectly (ie, a positive review will be given a "rotten" measure) and will go unnoticed. These mistakes occasionally tip the balance in an overall rating and will be enough to change the "consensus" on the site. This has been noted to happen more often in videogame entries which are accessed less frequently. Rotten Tomatoes currently has no method of allowing users to directly contact their staff aside from forums which, again, are often infrequently viewed.

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