Aliens in the Attic

Plot synopsis:
A meteor shower rockets through open space. Four glowing pods are seen hiding behind the meteor shower. Suddenly the meteor shower makes a hard right and heads towards a distant planet Earth.
In a Chicago suburb, Stuart Pearson (Kevin Nealon) and his wife Nina (Gillian Vigman) head a family that includes 7-year-old Hannah (Ashley Boettcher), 17-year-old hormonal sister Bethany (Ashley Tisdale), who has just come back from a secret outing with her boyfriend Ricky Dillman (Robert Hoffman), and 15-year-old techno-geek Tom (Carter Jenkins) whose high school grades are low. Deciding the family needs some good old-fashioned togetherness, Stuart takes them to a holiday home in the middle of nowhere. Joining them is Nathan "Nate" Pearson (Andy Richter), his 14-year-old son Jake (Austin Butler), Nana Rose (Doris Roberts), and identical 12-year-old twins Art (Henri Young) and Lee (Regan Young). Ricky also arrives unexpectedly and talks his way into staying overnight, by giving them the impression that his car has broken down and needs to be repaired so he can spend time with Bethany, plus saying he is 18 years old.
That night dark storm clouds swirl around the house. Suddenly, the four glowing pods land on the roof. An alien crew emerges, made up of Skip (J. K. Simmons), the tough commander, Tazer (Thomas Haden Church), a muscle-bound dude armed to the teeth, Razor (Kari Wahlgren), a lethal female alien soldier, and Sparks (Josh Peck), a four-armed techie, who is the only non-threatening intruder. Since the aliens knocked over the satellite dish Ricky and Tom are sent to fix it. Ricky then reveals to Tom that he lied about his car breaking down, and his age; Ricky is actually in college and is 21 years old, five years older than Bethany. Ricky makes Tom fix the satellite dish by himself but it is beyond repair. Investigating further, Tom and Jake (who unexpectedly shows up on the roof) discover the aliens. Ricky is captured and implanted with a mind control device. The aliens, called "Zirkonians", lay claim to the planet. Like a puppet, Ricky grabs the boys – but Tom and Jake break free and get back in the house.
It is not long before all five kids have seen the aliens, with the exception of Bethany. Tom takes charge and they discover the mind control device doesn't work on children, giving them a fighting chance. They realize they have a responsibility to protect the adults by keeping the aliens' existence a secret. The kids create makeshift weapons, like a homemade potato spud gun. They repel the first alien attack from the attic and obtain Ricky's remote control and turn him against the aliens.
The kids orchestrate a scheme to get the adults out of the house and then ambush the aliens as they try to reach the basement, causing the gentle tech Sparks to become separated. He meets Hannah and they become friends. Unlike his alien cohorts, Sparks hates battle; he just wants to return home to his family, and he helps by making weapons for them. He also reveals the aliens want a device hidden under the basement which will make them grow giant. The kids forgot about their grandmother, and the aliens mind control her, which gives her superhuman strength and agility, and she fights with Ricky in a scene reminiscent of a fighting video game. However, the aliens manage to capture Jake and hold him hostage in exchange for Sparks, whom they need to complete their mission.
The kids finally reveal to Bethany the events that are taking place. Ricky then breaks up with Bethany because she always talks about feelings and family and leaves. The five of them rescue Jake, but Skip succeeds in using the enlarging machine, growing to 30 feet tall, and calls the Zirkonian invasion ships. They defeat him and shrink him again. Tazer and Razor flee, while Skip is shrunk to a tiny size by the machine. Sparks calls off the invasion and returns home. The rest of the vacation goes back to normal, except the kids grew closer to each other during their adventure. In the distance, Skip appears, bent on revenge, but meets his demise when a crow flies over and grabs him.
In a mid-credits scene, Bethany and Tom take revenge on Ricky for breaking up with Bethany by making him look like a fool in front of his new girlfriend, using the alien mind control device. Bethany comments "I am so keeping this".

Tags: entertaining

Review:
I've never seen my daughter (the 3 year old) laugh so much or sit so still at a movie.As a grumpy adult, I couldn't ignore the irrational plot line.
Stuart Pearson (Kevin Nealon) heads with his family to spend a summer vacation in Creek Landing, Michigan, with his brother Nathan Pearson (Andy Richter) and his sons and their mother Rose (Doris Roberts) in an old lake house they had rented.
When the television has trouble with the image, Stuart's son Tom (Carter Jenkins) and the arrogant boyfriend of his sister Ricky Dillman (Robert Hoffman) go to the attic and then to the roof, where Tom meets his cousin Jake (Austin Butler) and they find the antenna dish totally destroyed.
Now they need to a find a way to force the adults to leave the house and discover the vulnerability of the invaders to plot a defense plan to save our planet."Aliens in the Attack" is an underrated and funny family entertainment.
I laughed a lot with many moments of this enjoyable story, especially with Robert Hoffman that is hilarious when the kids decide to get even with him using the alien control.
But over all "Aliens in the Attic" is far from the worst kids movie you have ever seen.
Yes the story is run of the mill seen before stuff but it was well put together and flowed well enough, it certainly took me back to my childhood and the weekly trip to the video shop with my dad to rent a family film for the night, and can only imagine it would be great for kids (unfortunately ours is not old enough yet to appreciate anything other than tellytubies).
I went to see Aliens in the Attic with a bit of distrust,in sight of all the modern family films which are full of special effects,whose screenplays completely lack of any energy or intelligence and whose direction is completely mercenary.However,during the first minutes of Aliens in the Attic,my bad expectations started to disappear because the chemistry between the actors was good and the humor was a bit above the standard of what we are accustomed to see on this kind of film.Besides,during those first minutes,I dared to think that this movie was going to capture the spirit and tone of films like Gremlins,Critters or Small Soldiers,where a group of kids and teenagers also used their intelligence and ability in order to fight against creatures with doubtful intentions.Although Aliens in the Attic did not reach the heights of the previously mentioned movies,I cannot deny it entertained me.The cast from this film was very well selected.Kevin Nealon and Andy Richter are funny in their roles,while Tim Meadows is credible and very enthusiastic.From the young actors,I think the best one was Robert Hoffman as a teenager who is kidnapped by the aliens.The screenplay from this movie has various fails,like for example,the lack of logic in its premise (if aliens can control people,why did they not start with someone who is powerful,instead of an anonymous family?),but it tells the story at a speed which makes Aliens in the Attic impossible to be boring.However,although it never bores,the film looses some energy near the ending,where director John Schultz generates a forced suspense,at the same time the story brings its obligatory message.In spite of its various fails,I cannot deny I had a good time watching Aliens in the Attic,so I think this film deserves a recommendation as a good family entertainment..
But if you think you might, then I'd recommend giving it a try, because I was a little unsure but I thoroughly enjoyed it.The plot is pretty simple: while vacationing in a large rental house over the Fourth of July holiday, the Pearson family is forced to stop an advance team of four aliens from bringing eternal enslavement and/or instantaneous death to the human race.
The alien technology allows them to control the adults (leading to a lot of slapstick comedy, some of which will be funny to adults, but all of which the kids will enjoy), so it's up to our hero Tom (17 years old or thereabouts), his siblings and his cousins to stop them.I thought the acting was quite decent.
All of the kids do a great job, and the voice talents behind the aliens bring a lot of personality to those characters in only a few scenes.
Ashley Tisdale's Bethany doesn't start out as a particularly sympathetic character, especially when taken with her sleazy boyfriend, but she soon shows herself to be a good role model, demanding that her boyfriend respect her and her family.I laughed plenty – even the jokes which were easy or cheap didn't make me groan or roll my eyes.I would definitely let my kids watch this movie.
We thought certain scenes were very cute and funny, there was no foul language, and my children enjoyed this film.
It's just a fun kids comedy with plenty of slapstick to keep them amused throughout.Overall, this movie was decently acted, with some very funny moments (and I'll admit I laughed a few times myself).
The CGI aliens are pretty poorly done unfortunately and the characters are nothing new; however, if you see this film for what it is- mindless entertainment- you just might enjoy it.
i personally went to see this movie with my 8yr old and the movie is really a children's movie first off if you go to see the movie expecting great cgi don't bother but if you want a decent movie to watch with your child then its good enough its a better choice than g force for sure.
I am not one of those people that are go watch a movie with low expectations but this one was not a total let down there are jokes and scenes that your kids will find funny because it appeals to their understanding and plus the movies make a lot of reference to video games so if u are not into those then you'll not get most oft the jokes but i must admit it is a bit corny.
Ignore all the bad reviews on here this is a really great movie for kids and teenagers to watch.
I am not going to spoil anything but I am going to say if you want to have a good Sci-Fi movie which both kids and adults can watch i would recomand this film..
the movie tells the story of a very dysfunctional family that rent a house on the lake for their vacations, what they don't know is that the house is already habit by a group of aliens looking for a device to invade and conquer the Earth.
I think that it is already time for Ashley Tisdale to leave behind the roles of the spoiled high school teenager and the kids were good enough specially the little girl Ashley Boettcher.
In conclusion, Aliens in the Attic is an entertaining and enjoyable movie specially for kids, then if you don't have kids or you're not one avoid it or wait for it until its on DVD..
It was also very nice for the parents not to look completely stupid like some kid movies try to portray adults..
The Aliens are a bit useless to be honest hence plenty of slapstick type humour.I didn't think the effects were to bad personally but I was not expecting to see an Oscar winning movie.
Aliens in the Attic is never going to win any awards for technical brilliance or olivieresque acting but my kids were after popcorn,laughs and a little bit of action and thats what we got.8/10.
Great Movie lots of laughs and a fun time!.
Good dialogue, solid plot and moral compass of needing to come together as a family more.A father (Nealon) takes his wife and three kids to a lake house and meets up with his brother (Richter) and mother (Roberts).
I had a fun time watching the film and think they should make more like this.
The part where the kids control that guy was pretty funny for a few minutes.To be honest, this is one of those films where the developers said "Comedy first, everything else later." and this really shows when looking at the story line, CG, acting (especially for the adult characters) and the writing.
The movie was very funny and the acting was very good children's film.
The acting is pretty good, Ashley Tisdale shines in this movie along with comedy moments from Robert Hoffman (Step Up 2.) I advice all young kids to see this movie !.
It was perfect bonding time because this film was about a bunch of cousins!Sure it had all the kid-movie clichés (e.g. grown ups are too dumb to realize anything is wrong), but it was fun, it was genuinely funny, and for a movie called "Aliens in the Attic" it had a surprising amount of character development.
Ricky Dillman(Robert Hoffman) is the only character that made this movie even remotely watchable and he is the supposed bad guy, maybe because he looks like a product of Abercrombie.
On summer vacation the Pearson family go to a lake house to spend some family time where the kids especially Carter Jenkins character constantly complains about and I started to wish he was born in Africa with no clothes on his back because that is how annoying he was.
The only entertaining part about this film is the parts where where they remote control the humans, in fact my favorite part of the movie was the fight scene between Ricky Dillman and Nana Rose Pearson(Doris Roberts) while they are being controlled.
In conclusion young kids might like this movie, but people above the age of 10 won't enjoy it as much, except for a couple of scenes shown in the trailer.
You know the story; central character Tom Pearson (Carter Jenkins), a troubled misfit teenager is a brainbox at school (and ceremoniously dubbed a "Mathletic" by his younger, but bigger cousin) isn't happy—he's smart but he isn't cool, and he never gets the chance to show off what exactly he's good at.
Things begin to look up for young Pearson however when a group of aliens from the planet Gremlin-R-Rumpel-Stiltskin-Zus land on Earth and invade—you guessed it—the attic of Tom's family vacation home.
Instead of treating viewers to a smart and original splash of light-hearted comedy, Aliens in the Attic strives to be more fun and cool than smart or, you know, good and in turn will readily disgruntle viewers more than amuse them.
Parents aside, we have Tom Pearson (Carter Jenkins) and his cousin Jake (Austin Robert Butler) leading the charge, together with Tom's little sister Hannah (Ashley Boettcher) who's in this reminiscent of Drew Barrymore's turn in ET, and twins Art and Lee (Henri and Regan Young respectively), as kids are immune to the alien's mind-control weapons.In a mix of CG and live action, the CG aliens' lack of size makes for situations for laughter.
Thankfully though the best and funnier parts got kept under wraps, and credit goes to Hoffman for doing some really crazy antics that would likely leave you in stitches.The plot's pretty straightforward and lightweight as well besides the fact that it's very much a predictable fare suited for a family outing, with positive messages to take away such as cooperation, and obeying your parents (told you this was a film targeted at kids).
The film's aliens are non-original and as flat and annoying as any other character in this dreadful Kid's trash movie and should be a video game as opposed to a 45 million dollar feature.
A retitled version of this movie (perhaps if it were redistributed on the aliens' planet, Zirconia) would be "Losers in the House." A computer geek with teen angst, who hacks school computers to change his grades (a rip off of War Games) is our main "hero" in a family of annoying people.
The littlest alien and the youngest sister Hannah are nice enough, and the remote control bit is funny (but overused).Fast forward through the first 20 minutes or so; the movie has a few good moments after the terrible start..
Then tiny little aliens come to enslave humanity and retrieve something from the basement.The 'kids' (Carter Jenkins, Austin Butler, Ashley Tisdale) are an energetic bunch who are slightly older than their characters.
Every once in a while its good to see a film that makes you feel like a kid again.
It appeals to them because in the movie that kids are the heroes SPOILER ALERT who stop the aliens, outsmart the adults and save the world.
You can tell they really mean FAMILY film when 10 of the characters are named Pearson.
They are Nana Rose, her 2 adult sons Stuart and Nathan, Nathan's wife Nina, their kids Bethany, Tom, and little Hannah, and Nathan's sons Jake and twins Art and Lee. The story is told mainly from the perspective of Tom (Carter Jenkins), a geeky mathlete who, as the story starts out, is regretting his decision to bomb this semester's high-school classes so he can concentrate on trying to be cool (unlike his dad), an uphill battle.The Pearsons converge on a big old lake house in Creek Landing, Michigan, for a week's relaxation.
I can't in good conscience say it's a movie that all SF&F fans owe it to themselves to see, but it's at the top of my up-to-you range (4-6).The dialog is fairly witty but believable in context, the little girl is a sweetie, the cousins all pull together as a team, the twins (both inveterate video gamers) have a blast with Rick when the controller falls into their hands, and Doris Roberts makes one hell of an impression as Nana when she goes into kung-fu mode.Kids will love it (not at all scary, Roadrunner-level pratfalls), and adults will like it.
There's a girl one (voice by Kari Wahlgren), one who turns out to be nice and helps out the kids (Josh Peck), and two whom the movie didn't even bother to give personalities or real dialogue to, so naturally they are played by the best actors in the cast (Thomas Hayden-Church and J.K. Simmons).Why are the aliens here on Earth?
The leader of the kids (Carter Jenkins) is flunking school, much to the shame of his clueless parents (Kevin Nealon and Gillian Vigman), and his sister (Ashley Tisdale) is dating an older guy who's a jerk (Robert Hoffman).
They meet more family members like Jake, Art, and Lee. When Bethany's boyfriend forces Tom to the roof, they see the aliens who want to take over the world.
This movie is fun to watch and has Doris Roberts playing the grandma which was funny.
Also, the "no gravity" parts and the part where Sparks makes the girl's hair stand up were pretty interesting to watch.Overall, Aliens in the Attic was a clean, tween film.
Aliens In The Attic is a fun family affair, that kids and adults alike, can enjoy.Performances.
As far as summer kids' movies go, ALIENS IN THE ATTIC may be remembered as fondly 20 years from now as GOONIES is recalled today--IF lots of the cast members go on to become big stars.
There is at least one kid character in ATTIC for nearly every age group, and the scenes of the film are divided fairly evenly between them.
It is a kids movie, but adults like me are sure to enjoy it.
All in all it was fun and entertaining, a sequel would be cool, but the first one was good enough.9/10 for Aliens in the Attic.
About, poor between feet the American look after for the girl, will get to it under the full program.As to actor's structure … lovely children (especially, the little girl) which have not bad played in a film.
An alien invasion begins within the attic of the Pearson vacation home and a band of kids struggle to ward them off.
The adults are completely unaware of anything going on in the attic or anywhere else in the house as they want the kids to spend their time fishing and getting out and about.
Hannah gets close to Sparks, the one alien that doesn't seem nasty at all, and the other young characters come to trust him as well, as he hates the battle going on, and he wants to go back to his home world and to his own family.
The cast is fine, the special effects are relatively good, and it is a simple story that can be enjoyed, what made it great fun were the inventive and ridiculous jokes, such as the slapstick fight sequences, and the pop culture references, and especially the mind control moments - with Hoffman's silly faces, both the children and adults watching will love it, a hilarious and fun science-fiction fantasy adventure comedy.
Tom knows nobody will believe him, but it turns out all the kids (except Bethany) have to join together to combat the aggressors, especially when it turns out that the aliens can fire a dart which makes people from Ricky's age upwards (which excludes the kids) controllable via a video game controller.This is essentially a kids' film, although I watched it with my wife - she is nearly 62 and I am her 59 year old toyboy - and we laughed out loud frequently.
The CGI wasn't all that good, but still an enjoyable movie.It is a children's film, so I doubt any adults are gonna see it unless they have children who think it looks good.
Family on vacation, kids find aliens in the attic.
The only real good thing about this movie is Ashley Tisdale, with her streamlined nose, as Bethany Pearson.
The action is funny and entertaining with the boyfriend going from alien control to control by the kids.