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 movie will definitely make you suspend reality and take a trip inside some imaginative fun, where five tenants faces eviction when their beloved apartment is about to be demolished. The developers hire a local gang to force them to leave, but, visiting outer space aliens in the form of miniature flying saucers visit the tenants and use their powers to help them.I remember watching this movie on and off when I was a kid and really enjoyed seeing those miniature flying saucers mingling in with the humans and helping them in any way they can. The special effects team did a great job in making the aliens believable and Matthew Robbins did a pretty nice job directing, keeping the story going at a fairly fast pace, though, the plot is pretty basic with few twists.Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy had great chemistry together and made great character leads. I did, though, wished more emphasis were placed on Michael Carmine and Elizabeth Pena and wished there were a little more action coming from the aliens. It would have made the plot a bit more exciting.But, overall, this is still a pretty nice film and is fine for the entire family. It is imaginative and out-of-this-world, but will make you have faith in miracles.Grade B-

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.

Steven Spielberg plays executive producer for this cliché-laden, family-friendly sci-fi fairy tale, and it's got his fingerprints all over it. Loaded with plucky working class heroes, cute anthropomorphic critters, moments of agonizing forced charm and stereotypical corporate villainy, it still might have worked under a craftier director. Instead, a second-rate cast extracts every ounce of ham from a very dimly-written script while they flounder around a slow, dull storyline. The effects work is good for the period, a must since the real stars of the picture are the small, hovering mechanical aliens that drive the plot, but beyond that it's weak sauce even for a kids' picture.