jdhb-768-61234 *batteries not included is a wonderful little film. It's not a great award winner but it is a very good film. It's the story of a little man who fights against a rich bully who wants to take his home away for a massive mid-town development; it has pathos, romance, humour and great acting, especially from its aged leading couple, Hume Cronyn and his real life wife, Jessica Tandy.Cronyn finds himself assisted by a family of tiny aliens which appear in the form of little flying saucers. They settle down in Cronyn's property and help out in almost magical ways, repairing damage caused by those who are trying to get their hands on the building. Sub-plots revolve around the young pregnant lodger (Elizabeth Pena) and the artist who falls for her, and also the dementia suffered by Jessica Tandy's character who believes that the principal troublemaker in their lives is actually her dead son. Everything is handled sensitively and with great style. The little aliens are cute, adorable and utterly believable; the story is, of course, nonsense but it's not meant to be anything else. It's a film that leaves me with a warm glow, a feeling that the little man can win against all the odds, without recourse to cgi special effects or the possession of super powers. Above all, it's a film that I enjoy watching and have done many times. In the grand scheme of things, it's a '9' in its class, but perhaps a 7.5 overall; as 0.5 isn't allowed, I'll give it an 8.

mark.waltz This is one of those sweet movies (with a touch of city toughness) that remains as charming today as it did 25 years ago. Called a rip-off of "Close Encounters", "E.T." and "Cocoon" (did anybody dare call "E.T." a rip-off of "Close Encounters"?, which it lightly emulated), "Batteries Not Included" is a family film with an adult touch that is gripping, intense, charmingly corny and a tribute to the love between old people that time cannot tear apart.Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy are the two oldest tenants of a small walk-up and run a diner. They are being bullied by real-estate developers, and a money-hungry thug (Michael Carmine) is determined to get them out so he can get a huge cash settlement from the greedy people who have been paying him off. Other tenants break down and sign the relocation agreement, but the stubborn Cronyn refuses. As the threats get worse, Cronyn, Tandy and their fellow tenants get a little help from somewhere in Steven Spielberg's mind. He didn't direct this, but his production company did produce it, and there is the obvious touch of his hand within the special effects.Tandy's character is suffering from dementia and obviously believes Carmine to be her long dead son. This creates for a touching twist when the film explodes into its dramatic conclusion and gives Carmine some truly multi-dimensional layers to add to his character. The fabulous Doris Belack has an amusing small role, her memory from tons of T.V. soaps (as well as "The Golden Girls" and dozens of movies including "Tootsie" and "She-Devil" embedded in your mind) and the shot at the end is a sign that even in the ruthless corporate world of a metropolis like Manhattan, the meek will inherit the earth and good will ultimately rule over evil.

Leofwine_draca I'm guessing that following the success of COCOON, Hollywood producers saw the potential of mixing old-timers with aliens, hence we get BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED. Despite the presence of the geriatrics in the cast, it's a children's film through and through, an old-fashioned fable about tenants in a run-down housing block trying to hold out against greedy developers and the little aliens that come to help them.I don't usually 'do' sentimental films, but I'll make an exception for this one: it's a solid piece of entertainment that quite often reaches magical levels. Certainly the aliens themselves are wonderful creations; little UFOs who whizz around the screen and commit all sorts of mischief. The special effects are exemplary and hold up to this day, even by modern standards.The cast are faultless; Jessica Tandy is a given, but kudos to the producers for hiring SHADOW OF A DOUBT's Hume Cronyn, who has a kind of crusty charm all his own. The highlight, for me, is Michael Carmine's villainous Carlos, who's given much more characterisation (and who elicits far more sympathy) than you might expect from a Hollywood bad guy.Yes, BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED is twee, sentimental and silly, and totally unrealistic with it. Needless to say, Spielberg's fingerprints are all over it. Nevertheless, it still works when you watch it, even today, as a touching fable. One of the things I liked most about it is that it has great characterisation for an effects film; all of the people living in the apartment block have their own story arcs. Plus, the inclusion of the dementia sub-plot gives it an adult, bittersweet taste missing from your usual kid's flick.

everanju I saw this film for the first time back in the mid 90's when i was just a kid. And that led me searching for this movie for good 13 or 14 years coz I couldn't remember the name and only thing I knew was that Spielberg did it. Back then I was living in a area where the technological advances were minimal and very low recourses and very little international exposure. But I knew Spielberg because of E.T and Indiana Jones which I watched before this film. And just like those this one garbed my childhood imaginations and became one of the favorites. Yes its not a great movie if you compare it with E.T or a Dark knight... But every genre or every type of creation has its audience. It might not win the hearts of the judges at CANNES or Oscars but defiantly it will win hearts of those kids and people who are young at heart and who can enjoy a sweetness of a film. I rate it a ten coz I loved it so much and coz I searched it for years and I was so happy to find it.