For those who’ve never paused to wonder what the metric actually means, a tutorial: Each film’s Tomatometer score is equivalent to the percentage of “positive” reviews it has accumulated. For example, when John Travolta’s 2018 mobster biopic Gotti generated a 0 percent rating, it meant that literally none of the 55 critics who appraised the film had any remotely warm feelings about it. If a movie generates a 59 percent or lower, it’s Rotten. Sixty percent or higher, it’s Fresh.
Since Tim Ryan started his archival project, Rotten Tomatoes has created roughly 210 pages for old-time movies on its site, thanks to 5,500 ancient reviews he unearthed, many by critics who are all but forgotten.
More at https://www.wired.com/story/behind-the-scenes-rotten-tomatoes/
#movies
#^Behind the Scenes at Rotten Tomatoes
Humans, not algorithms, determine those ubiquitous scores. Good ingredients, imperfect recipe.