Did you people see the same film I saw?

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Fairly dreadful 'old-fashioned' fantasy, representing the tail-end of both the cute old folks-cycle and the cute alien beings-cycle, has an ethnically-diverse group of residents in a New York City tenement that's been marked for destruction gaining help from two intergalactic beings--his and hers miniature flying saucers. Opening with a blast of jazz music and a montage of 'vintage' photographs (both fraudulent), this noisy, cluttered film, executive produced by Steven Spielberg, is an overachiever. Lost somewhere between "Cocoon" and "E.T.", it never finds an appropriate tone--although its aim is to be weepy-eyed whimsy, with both wet eyes firmly on the box office. *1/2 from ****

Apartment block tenants seek the aid of alien mechanical life-forms to save their building from demolition. My first impression: From an artistic standpoint, there were some plot elements and character developments I didn't think were totally needed. They do however drive the story, which seemed to be their purpose, so I can accept them. My second impression: It will bring you to tears and make you laugh. My third impression: The acting is very effective. And finally, my fourth impression: This kind of sentimental character piece needs a tight focus so all of the nuances of the characters shine through. The characters in this film have a lot of depth, and that makes all the difference.

At age 30, I just watched this for the first time the other day, and I have to say, I know why I wasn't into it for as long as it's been out. There's something a bit less-than-family-entertaining about senile old people just trying to get by as a local gang of ruffians attempts to beat up tenants and muscle them out of comfortable living. Even a huge former boxer was afraid of these guys at some point, and then he turns out to be a 1-2 brawler out of nowhere. And for some reason, the story needs to hang onto the story of an artist who's courting a resident pregnant woman with no support for her in sight. It's chaos!So out of nowhere comes some magic that patches the entire motley crew together. Must be nice! Where were you creatures in the 2012 movie? I won't give away what the movie poster doesn't give away already: a tiny spaceship is involved. The magic element of this spaceship (and possible other magic powers?) is what makes me groan all the way through the movie. I personally cannot stand watching a magic element at the beck and call of a rundown community.The movie was fun at times, watching the spaceship animation in composite shots; I like watching older movies that still shot like this for special effects because they still seem a lot more "real" than CGI does. The story is very blah: it relies on the special magic forces that fix everything a little too much. Jessica Tandy and Tom Aldredge really took the acting duties for this one, mainly because the other characters were a bit bland. The gang that followed the one main Latin dude reminded me of most bad 80's gangs, almost like the rat gang in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?.Overall, I wasn't very impressed by it. I didn't have any childhood moments other than the dated special effects (good, but dated). The villains were there simply as a plot point without much background as to why these people had to leave this shamble of a building. Why would they stay? It's a hazard for god's sake! I would recommend it to those feeling nostalgic, but not for modern kids nor adults. It wasn't that entertaining.

Aliens are not often benevolent creatures in the movies. They tend to want earth or earthlings for food or some other devious end. But sometimes you meet nice aliens at the movies, like E.T. or the guys from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and it's refreshing. "*Batteries Not Included" may have the most munificent extra-terrestrials since the alien that didn't blow us up in "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951). They are robotic saucers from outer space, about the size of a hub cap. It is unclear whether they are biological or mechanical or both. They can be fixed by toaster parts but they can also give birth. Strange little fellows.The story is set almost entirely in a condemned apartment building where various residents have resisted the buy-outs from an evil real estate developer. Though their homes are invaded and vandalized by hired street thugs, the long-time tenants of the building refuse to leave. These tenants include Frank Riley (Hume Cronyn), an old man whose whole life has been wrapped up in this building. He raised his family in this building and he owns a small diner on the first floor that has been his livelihood. His wife Faye (Jessica Tandy) is fading mentally, appearing to have a mish-mash of Alzheimer's and post traumatic stress disorder. Another tenant is Mason Baylor, a struggling artist who thinks the building has historical value. He brings a city examiner to assess whether the building is worth preserving and she promptly tells him it's in such a despicable condition she can't help him.Enter the little guys. The saucers show up exactly when the tenant's situation looks to be most hopeless. They arrive at night and start lurking about the apartment building, plugging into electric sockets and fixing small things. Soon the tenants begin to notice that someone (or something) is doing renovation work on their building. They fix unfixable things like broken glass and tarnished wood. When it comes to pass that the tenants find out about these creatures, they understand that the saucers are here for their benefit and soon they become mutual allies.What's so fun about "*Batteries Not Included" is seeing how these strange saucer robots actually become like real neighbors to the tenants. They help out at Frank's diner and aid in scaring away the neighborhood thugs. We get to see the saucers start a family and deal with tragedy and witness how their neighbors help them through. Essentially, the saucers become characters just as real as the tenants. And they're always fixing, fixing, fixing.This is a good family film. At times it's a little scary and speaks to some dark truths (there is a robot miscarriage, which is weird, but touchingly sad). Ultimately though, it is a movie about the importance of community and about being a good neighbor, the sort of message that should be in a family film. Also, I should note, the last shot of the film is bittersweet and wonderful.Rating:On a scale of one to Casablanca, this film is a "The Secret of NIMH" (1982)Rationalization:When it comes to family entertainment I think its very important to have films that enlighten children not only to the wonders of existence, but also to the more fearful and sad side of things. Its also equally important to create stories that are complicated and engaging enough to keep the attention of adults. I suppose what I'm getting at is that a lot of family entertainments merely anesthetize everyone who watches them. It's good to seek out some good intentioned films like "*Batteries Not Included." Yes, its no masterpiece, but who cares?