*Batteries Not Included (1987)

Quite possibly the nadir of Steven Spielberg's career as a producer, this piece of sentimental junk from 1987 concerns five little spacecraft which arrive on Earth just in time to help out some New Yorkers getting kicked out of a tenement. The script's goo just sticks to the viewer, and the cast looks silly by trying not to be silly. You get the feeling that Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment was pretty much throwing stuff at the wall to see what would hang there, and they came up with this ridiculous thing. --Tom Keogh Amazon.com

Enchanting movie

As I told my kids about this movie I once saw about those cuddly little flying saucers, they were immediately keen to watch it. Seeing it for the second time after all these years, I enjoyed it even more than back then. Superficially, it is a well-constructed plot about the good guys and the bad guys, where the good guys get some unexpected help. Only the good guys are not the run-of-the-mill type young and good-looking heroes, but elderly and suffering from Alzheimer's disease, poor, a pregnant single mother to be, a mute ex-boxing champ, or a frustrated artist. Even the main bad-guy character is blessed with depth of character. Several subtle sub-plots turn the story into a sympathetic statement about human dignity. The superb acting of particularly Jessica Tandy adds a magical touch. The little UFO's were even better than I remembered. It must have been great fun to make this movie. September 26, 2008

Batteries Not Included

Jessica Tandy reminded me of my Grandmother. It's a sweet movie that all will love. August 1, 2008

Good Light-hearted Fare.

This Movie tugs at my heart cause I had just become separated from my spouse when it came out and I didn't have enough money to pay the electricity but I had a movie voucher for the theater up the street so I was able to retreat there for a few hours of Peace on a snowy day in Memphis.

This was a fine film with the great husband wife team of Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy. Miss Tandy plays a woman beset by alzheimers and Mr. Cronyn is her set upon husband who tries to keep them in their home of 40 years as a unscrupulous developer tries to tear the building down to build a yuppie haven.

Little living robots settle in the building and untimately help the residents push back the evil developers and save their homes.

The special effects were pretty neat and are the best part of the story. The plot after a promising beginning begins to wear thin after a while and the movie drags when the little UFO's aren't around.

There are a few laughs and some cute moments. Overall a nice movie to watch with the kids but there is some rough language in places. July 17, 2008

Batteries Not Included

This movie has a bit of everything in it. Drama, humor and anything else you can think of that delights you. Of course Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy were the best anyway and wouldn't have done anything that they did not consider to be total entertainment. There are too few movies anymore that are of this class. Violence now seems to be all anyone makes anymore. Not the case here. Just wonderful entertainment and something okay for children to watch too. July 2, 2008

Enjoyable SF fantasy

I really enjoyed this movie. There is some truly good acting involved in what could have easily been no more than a silly movie. I leaves you with feelings much like those engendered by Anne McCaffery. You're pretty darn sure there are no dragons of Pern, but you really, really wish there were. Well worth the price. Parents and kids (very much including teen-agers) can watch this movie together. June 26, 2008

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