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To me, this movie is perfection.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

In looking at other reviews I was amazed how many first saw "*batteries not included" as kids. I was 33 years old in 1986, and I got it on Beta, then LaserDisc before I bought the DVD. This is a movie you watch when you're in the doldrums because it will definitely cheer you up.Yes, all the performances are great. Yes, the model filming by ILM is perfect - reality trumps computer generated images hands down; just look at the pudgy ENTERPRISE in the CBS "updates" of "Star Trek." Where I disagree with some reviewers is in the plot. I think it is substantial enough to get you involved in the story, and using your brain and heart. Most of us don't need to be spoon-fed with too much detail; in fact data overload can rob you of the chance to imagine.While I too love Spielberg's films, it would never have occurred to me to rank any of them as "not good," especially this one. While "Schindler's List" is amazing, honestly, can you watch it several times a year? Probably not, because it's just too intense. "ET" is one of those movies we can lip-sync the dialog while watching, we've seen it so often. But "*batteries not included" always seems new and fresh.Next time you watch, see how the demolition/construction workers interact with the residents of 817 East 8th Street.I would be more likely to recommend this movie to adults, although children can get the basics of it.

Elderly couple Frank (Hume Cronyn) and Faye Riley (Jessica Tandy) who is suffering from dementia run a small diner in an old apartment building. The NYC neighborhood is being torn down. Thugs led by Carlos hired by property developer Lacey and his henchman Kovacs (John Pankow) are pushing the tenants out. The tenants include pregnant Marisa Esteval (Elizabeth Peña), former boxer Harry Knoble (Frank McRae) and starving artist Mason Baylor desperate to save the building. The cops refuse to help. A couple of small UFOs arrive and change everything.This definitely has the tone of an old Disney family film. Like those movies, this is strictly family fare which does tackle some slightly darker issues. The tone can be a little awkward at times for modern audiences but it absolutely works for this film. The special effects are terrific for the time. This features Brad Bird who contributed to his first theatrical screenplay in this.

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.

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.