if this deserves 1 star, what deserves 5?
358889
So many reviewers have attacked this movie so harshly that I don't know where to begin.  The story is hard to follow; so what?  I'd rather this than something like "Bourne Identity."  Wasn't that also hard to follow?  At least the action in A.i.t. D is exciting and its easy to follow why it happens.

The movie has an ending - another thing a lot of movies (and books) these days don't have.  There's several parts in the movie with dialogue, meaning that the main character tells you what he knows and what he's thinking several times, including at the end.

There's plenty of things that happen in the latter half of the movie that explain things from the first half, such as how the creatures only weakness is elements... 77-80, I think if was.  And one of those is gold, which is what the "evil" was sealed in on the ship.

"I can't stand the heavy metal music!!!"  What heavy metal music?!  There's about 30 seconds of Mnemic's "Ghost" during the first scene where the humans go ballistic shooting at the creatures.  And for anyone who says that this "heavy" metal is terrible, why don't you try actually listening to it, rather than just hearing it, before you officially declare it "noise."  I found out about this movie from a Nuclear Blast magazine.  The soundtrack for this album is featured in the winter 2005 catalog.  Ghost is on the soundtrack, and the 2 songs that play during the credits of the movie are on it - Nightwish's "Wish I Had an Angel" and Deathstar's "Synthetic Generation."  Alone in the Dark contains 6 music videos - all metal, but not HEAVY metal.  They are by Mnemic, Nightwish, Kataklysm, Hypocrisy, Dimmu Borgir, and In Flames.  This "heavy" metal and the songs on the soundtrack barely have anything to do with the movie at all.  Most of the music in the movie is just creepy orchestrated music like you'd see in any other movie.  Its not like there's actual "songs" like there are in movies like Daredevil and Big Daddy.

I enjoyed watching the movie.  No joke.  And I'm not some psycho who loves evil or something.  I like good movies and don't like boring movies.  And I liked this movie.  The acting is good, the suspense is far from lacking, the visual quality for all the non-realistic features was amazing, and the story progressed at a perfect rate.  "What story?!?!"  The story of the one failure in the experiment to merge man with creature trying to discover more about the other 19 from his orphanage - that story.  Speaking of that orphanage... the scene where Edward (the main character) discovers his orphanage and his friends discover his name on one of the beds is done just as well as scenes similar to this one in other movies.

Now for messages...  At the end of the movie, Edward talks to the viewer about how evil was released into the world once again and hasn't been sealed 10 movie-minutes earlier.  Anyone who stops and thinks for just a second can pick up the symbolism for terror and such in our world today.  And to find out what released it, look back at the symbolism from the scene on the boat where what's-his-face opened up the golden (remember when I mentioned that earlier?) box.  Sure, this message isn't as superior as the one in Big Daddy, but it ranks up there with Head of State, Memento, Life...

I don't STRONGLY recommend this movie, but it sure deserves more of a chance than what my fellow reviewers are saying it does.
246349
There is zero chance of me purchasing this CD.  The Billboard review says it all..."After a decade and a half of #! INSTRUMENTAL HITS"

I own seven of Steve's CDs.  Steve is a superior guitarist and if and when he ever gets back to the INSTRUMENTAL #1 HITS, I'll buy his CDs again.

Maybe this CD is a good thing.  If no one buys it, maybe he'll get the hint and shut off the microphones totally when he;'s in the studio.

My star rating (1 star) is actually incorrect, but there is no provision in the rating system for zero stars.
3203889
Every review is a perfect 5.  Hard to believe.  In fact, it stinks with the odor of personal friends doing him a favor on Amazon to help him sell his book.

So why did I give a 5 too?  I'm not POSITIVE, yet I wanted to say that I do not trust those reviews.  So what's one more 5 gonna hurt?
2092679
These Amazon pop music reviews are so hilariously moronic. it doesn't matter what CD you browse, the great majority of the contents of the review read as thus:

(Sycophantic reviewer #1): This is the best album of all time! You must buy this album! It's incredible! 5 stars!

(Fan of other band): This band is rubbish. Go listen to ( insert random band name). They're way better than this band! 1 star!

(Sycophantic reviewer #2) Fan of other band is an idiot/ needs to die! Ignore anyone who gives this album 1 star! This is a 5 star album!

That's basically it. And nothing illustrates it better than Aenima by Tool. I hope at some point they'll come up with "Amazon Music review- The Opera" because it would really pull in the crowds who want a laugh. Is it a new phenomenon? No, because I've browsed through music mags of about 20 yars ago, and readers letters follows the same pattern of praise/ slamming/praise, repeat ad infinitum. But Amazon has elevated it to comic perfection. In truth I don't like nor dislike Tool, so...3 stars.
2356397
I don't normally do this, but before I started writing this review I actually scrolled down and read a few other "opinions". The obvious one star ratings made me have a little faith left in humanity, but the amount of five star ratings made me hate everyone all over again.

And what is the REASON this insulting, possible legacy tarnishing catastrophe got five stars from these dim-bulbs? "It's a fun movie for kids." This is written on EVERY five star review (is it the same mouth-breather or what?) So, by THAT reckoning, re-making 911 but replacing the suicide bombers by cute fluffy animals, who put a furry paw over their eyes when they're about to crash, followed by a slide-whistle soundtracking the towers collapsing would be OK, too? 'Cos you know, that would be "harmless fun for kids to watch at Halloween time" too. Pffffff.

Anyway, I don't think I need to explain WHY this is so bad. Laurel and Hardy were too genuine one-offs. Genius entertainers who merged eye-watering slapstick with spot-on visual gags, with perfect timing and execution. These two hacks think that if they DRESS like Laurel and Hardy and try and SOUND like them, then the same big laughs will come thick and fast.

They don't. Not once. Not ever. Imitation may be the highest form of flattery in some aspects, but this is an insult, a cheap cash-in on a famous name. Don't be tempted, don't be fooled.

If people really ARE on the look-out for something to make their kids laugh, then show them the real Laurel and Hardy films. People falling through roofs and getting hit with ladders will ALWAYS be funny, especially if it's the two REAL masters at work. Show the kids Laurel and Hardy's "The Music Box", and leave this disgrace gathering dust where it belongs.

The_Curmudgeon_Hates_You@yahoo.co.uk
4353385
I was debating purchasing this item, because it's rated five stars and I thought my son might enjoy it. Then, I checked the reviews. Most of them seem to say the same things and none are critical of the product in any way. So, I checked out the reviewers - nearly all have either 1 or 2 reviews, giving five stars to each. I think there were only two actual people in the entire list. The odds of 50+ people only reviewing this one item seems pretty slim, and for all of them to give it five stars - call me skeptical, but I believe these reviews are either from fake or paid accounts.

It's a terrible practice, and I really hope that some day Amazon does something to drastically deter it.
1666198
I didn't get this one WOW... One star so I could write the review.
1485109
I've decided to rate all of the country music that my wife buys with one-star reviews.  If I sway just one mind away from this horse poop, it will be worth it.
4232209
Is it me being suspicious, or do all these 5-star reviews sound strangely similar?

I'm calling foul on these. I wouldn't risk it again.
3450532
Isn't it disturbing how people usually only bother to write a review about items they like? That's why we get these unrepresentative 5 star reviews all over the place! I usually find the 2 and 3 star reviews the more informative ones (the 1 star reviews being unfair more often than not). So here you get a two star review. It should perhaps be 3 stars but I wish to lower the high average rating of this cd.

My point is just the following. All good music is more than the sum of its parts. This is not the case here. While the flower kings are able to produce quite complex music, there is nothing here that really g r a b s  you. Compare this with the 70's

 prog jewels "White mountains" and "The fountain of Salamacis" from Genesis, The Umma Gumma Live concert of Pink Floyd (or Dark Side of the moon, but everyone knows this one), Journey to the centre of the eye from Nektar, Epitaph and Starless+BibleBlack from King Crimson, the 20 minutes In Held Twas in I from Procol Harum, Every good boy deserves favor from The MoodyBlues, Renaissance from Vanilla Fudge, to name a few.

Moreover, prog is not everything! Push your horizons and start listening to some 70's soul (Ashford+Simpson,Gladys Knight+the pips, Barry White, Rufus, Millie Jackson, Thelma Houston-not Whitney!) and hard blues/heavy metal (JimiHendrix, Buddy Guy Gary Moore, Gary Hoey, AC/DC, Axel Rudi Pell)
302964
I disagree with the other reviewer, who gives it one star.  I am perplexed as to what the complaint refers to specifically.  -- yet people have found his or her review to be "helpful"  ...I don't get it.  This is the recording exactly as I  remember it.  Really.  I swear.
955993
It works. Period. As long as it doesn't break it the next year or so, this gets a five-star review.

What else do you want me to say?
2452222
Thought about going for 1 star to counteract all the mindless 5-star [cough] reviews [cough] on this page.

Here's the rundown. Fanboys and girls will eat it up. 5starz, ez! Jaded heads will talk about how phish peaked, and it's been all downhill ever since 90/93/95/97/Big Cypress. Whatever.

Truth, as always, is in the middle. This isn't a bad show. But it isn't a particularly good one, either. The first set is hit or miss. Aside from "Dinner," the first 45 minutes are mostly forgettable. Moma>Free is a genuine highlight. Maze, Fankenstein are hollow shells of their former selves. 2nd set starts well. 46 Days > Possum, Oh Kee Pah > Suzy are all strong, without too many strey notes. From that point on, though, it's fairly disappointing as several would-be climaxes fizzle, failing to live up to potential. The encore is brutal.

Recommendation:
Ignore the hype; this is not "the one." Buy it for Moma and the first 45 minutes of set II.
881270
Isn't funny how all the people who got one free rated it 5 stars and all the verified purchasers rate this thing as below junk? I wasn't bribed to write this review with an free unit.
3172465
Frightfully mediocre and uninspired.  If you want to remember why you absolutely hate going to church, buy this stinker.
Was this a contractual obligation or something? Steer well clear.

I bought this (for $1.70 from Momox--I love them for used discs, they are remarkably fast!) largely because of BMO'H's scathing review.  He is dead right here.  I currently have two other versions: Karajan (Janowitz, Ludwig, Wunderlich, Berry) and Klemperer (Soederstroem, Hoeffgen, Kmentt, Talvela).  I give the nod to the a-little-too-slow Klemperer.  But I am waiting for Giulini and Have High Hopes for Herrweghe.
3041724
Next time I will start with the 1 Star reviews.  Whoever gives this garbage 5 stars needs to shop around more.
293813
obvious crap. Look at review profile. Why does BD keep churning out this garbage?