District 9 – “Armond White is a Troll”
On Roger Ebert's personal blog, he calls Armond White a troll. This weekend, White was the first to post a rotten "review" - if you can call his writing that - of District 9 after 49 other critics have posted favorable reviews about the film. When I saw the meter drop to 98% after being 100% for so long, I knew it had to be him. Since then, his review has garnered 575+ comments (even after removing comments of physical harm and racism, this has to be a new record for him). With 575+ comments and Roger Ebert writing about him, I think this issue with White is reaching critical mass and it's time Rotten Tomatoes did something.
On Thursday night I posted in entry in defense of Armond White's review of "District 9." Overnight I received reader comments causing me to rethink that entry, in particular this eye-popping link supplied by Wes Lawson. I realized I had to withdraw my overall defense of White. I was not familiar enough with his work. It is baffling to me that a critic could praise "Transformers 2" but not "Synecdoche, NY." Or "Death Race" but not "There Will be Blood." I am forced to conclude that White is, as charged, a troll. A smart and knowing one, but a troll. My defense of his specific review of "District 9" still stands.
- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
I agree completely. Ebert's original defense of Armond White was retracted when his case fell apart upon closer examination of White's reviews. If you don't know who White is, he is the guy who posts rotten reviews to popular and critically-acclaimed films on Rottentomatoes.com.
Yes, I am feeding the troll by writing this post. Yes, so did any of those who commented. But counting such reviews from a contrarian whose sole intention is to gain publicity by playing the game of "me against the world" only serves to discredit the Tomatometer. For as long as this guy is allowed to be factored into the Tomatometer, no popular movie no matter how much of a masterpiece it is will ever get a fair chance at 100%. This is especially true for Pixar's films who in the past has successfully achieved this.
How can someone not like The Wrestler, Up, The Dark Knight, Star Trek, Slumdog Millionaire, Milk, and all movies of the Harry Potter series but at the same time give Transformers 2, Dance Flick, Termination Salvation, Transporter 3, and Confessions of a Shopoholic positive reviews? I mean, some films are indisputably better than another within the same genre; this guy deliberately picks the one that is worse. He agrees with the meter 50% of the time but often times, when he does agree with the meter is when the movie is foreign or limited release (case in point: You, the Living, which caused Ebert to say "WTF?").
Rotten Tomatoes is a site for film critics who actually review the films they have seen. Armond White does not review films but plays the Tomatometer and everyone for his own publicity and probably for the New York Press, which probably no New Yorker reads. I hope the owners of Rotten Tomatoes realize that White is hurting the site's credibility, and thus, their bottom line.
The following is the image that caused Ebert to retract his defense of Armond White:
(Image by Wes Lawson)
As for me seeing the film, which I have yet to do, I plan on it being the next time I hit the theatres. 
