Aliens in the Attic (PG)

Time Out says

Tue Aug 11 2009

The scramble to keep kids entertained over the summer months continues with this underwhelming spin on ‘ET’ and ‘Gremlins’. Dragged off to a remote mansion for the summer months, precocious teen Tom (Carter Jenkins) and his self-obsessed sister Bethany (Ashley Tisdale) uncover a devious alien plot to launch a worldwide mind-control invasion from their loft.

There’s not a great deal to recommend: a few decent one-liners, some inventive anti-gravity slapstick and a brief but enjoyably bonkers remote-controlled kung-fu battle between one of the kids and Tom’s brain-zapped granny. But such fleeting charms are largely outweighed by an unexceptional script, a brace of shabby performances (from both kids and adults) and some dismal CG effects: the aliens appear almost transparent, like animated transfers barely clinging to the screen. ‘Aliens in the Attic’ will probably prove an effective distraction for undemanding pre-teens; their parents might find it more of a chore.

Author: Tom Huddleston