By Carolyn J. Sosnowski, MLIS
Rotten Tomatoes
www.rottentomatoes.com
We all peruse movie reviews in our local newspapers, but sometimes I want to know what critics in other cities and forums think about a film I'm about to spend $10 to see. The short quotes that appear in commercials and print ads ("You Must See This Movie!") don't always give the full story. And that's where Rotten Tomatoes comes in. The site boasts more than 120,000 film titles, both current and on video/DVD, and over 600,000 searchable reviews. Really. Blurbs of critics' reviews are linked to the original sources--ranging from The New York Times to Film Threat. The Tomatometer (yes, you read that right) is a quick way to gauge the sentiments of the reviews--a fresh red tomato denotes that 60% of the reviews for a particular title are positive, and a green splat means that the movie is not recommended. In addition to film reviews, there are plenty of other sections worth visiting--celebrity information, industry news, video game reviews, and an online store for items like movie posters and DVDs (the latter with a price comparison feature). "Top Movies" lists satisfy those trivia needs, and there's even a section devoted to the critics, whose faces we so seldom see.
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