Rating: 
Summary: A bigtime disappointment
Review: I wanted to see "Bats" as soon as I saw the previews over a year ago and I finally got to see it awhile ago. It wasn't anything like what I thought it would be. I was expecting it to be a good horror movie with great special effects. "Bats" turned out to be the worst horror movie I've seen in a long time.A new breed of bat that was created by a man is terrorizing a small town in Texas. The bats kill everybody they see, so it's up to a wildlife zoologist (Dina Meyer) and a sheriff (Lou Diamond Phillips) to try and get rid of the bats before it's too late. "Bats" might have had better success a few years ago, but with the great horror movies that have been made lately, "Bats" just can't stand up to them. Sometimes the camera in the movie just goes in circles to where you can't see anything. There's not much plot to the movie other than to get rid of the bats. Finally, "Bats" was made in 1999. It's pretty bad when a movie made in the late 90's doesn't even have good special effects. The only thing that I did like about the movie was that the bats looked pretty cool. Some people might like "Bats," but for me, it just wasn't what I was expecting it to be. Therefore, unless you really really want to see it, I wouldn't recommend watching it.
Rating:
Summary: Bad bat, bad! (But fun...)
Review: Scientist Sheila Casper (Dina Meyer) works in rural Texas with the local sheriff Emmett Kimsey (Lou Diamond Phillips, donning a drawl) to stop the spread of genetically mutated bats. Sheila is a bona fide bat-lover, so she does everything in her power to ensure the little bloodsuckers don't come to any harm - but the trigger-happy U.S. Army has very deadly plans for the winged menaces. A guilty pleasure... once.
Staci Layne Wilson
Author of Staci's Guide to Animal Movies
Rating: 
Summary: I'm a scientist, that's what we do
Review: When you have a line like the one above in a movie, that means you created a really dumb thing, which is going to try and destroy the human race. It also means you know exactly what kind of movie your getting into. So realistic horror movie fans beware, this is not Jurassic Park. This is..........Bats.
The director of this movie, Louis Morneau, doesn't exactly have a gleaming resume. His movies include Hitcher II, Soldier Boyz, Carnosaur 2, and Aftershock. So Bats, by far, at least in my opinion, is his best movie. He does have a very well chosen cast for this movie that helps make it entertaining.
Dina Meyer plays the main character, a scientist who knows everything about Bats (you knew there had to be one of those in this movie). She has a fabulous resume, including the upcoming movie "Saw", as well as Dragonheart, Birds of Prey (TV Series), Starship Troopers, Johnny Mnemonic, and Beverly Hills 90210 (TV Series). She plays her character very well.
Lou Diamond Phillips plays the local sheriff in mid Texas. He does an exceptional job. His character is also brought along nicely (not too strong). His repour as the only named actor in the movie doesn't take away from his role or the movies plot. The director did a good job balancing Phillips persona, and not over doing it.
Leon Robinson (Ali, Little Richard, OZ, Above the Rim, Cool Runnings, and Colors) plays the comic relief character who works w/the Bat scientist, but hates bats (you knew there had to be one of these characters in the movie also). He was very well done, and a delight on the screen.
As a whole, I really enjoyed this movie. Were there some cheesy parts? Yes, the movie is called Bats. There were also some intense parts, fun parts, and cheesy parts. All spectrums covered. Better then expected.
Grade: B
Rating: 
Summary: A Movie Wrapped in Stupidity.......But Still Fun??!
Review: I love all types of Horror films, from the A productions like "Freddy vs. Jason" to cult favorites like "Bad Taste" to just plain stupid like "Ice Cream Man". So, last night I watched "Bats", and boy was it stupid. The storyline about genetically altered bats terrorizing a small texas town was stupid. The computer animated bats looked awful, but what was even worse was the rubberized, halloween decoration puppet bats with little gargoyle faces! Then you had Lou Diamond Phillips trying to keep a striaght face through all of this while chomping on a Boss Hogg size stogie. Leon plays the comic relief of the film by spouting off things like "I'm going to Antarctica...I did the research...not one bat in Antarctica". So yes this is one stupid movie, but I was still entertained. Inadvertant or not, the movie is funny, and if you don't find yourself chuckling as the citizens of the small town panic and destroy almost every building in sight, the you don't know funny. It doesn't have the charm of "Tremors", but it's not a snoozefest like "Skeeter" either. And let's face it, if you are even contemplating buying "Bats" you are not looking for "Shakespeare in Love", you most likely, want some dumb, mind numbing entertainment which "Bats" does provide. And I see used copies listed here for under $3, so for less than a rental you can actually own some grade-b, Hollywood cheese.
Rating:
Summary: BATBUSTERS
Review: A young couple are having a small disagreement; they are parked in his car on the outskirts of town. He gets out to grab a brew, and when he comes back, they are attacked by something horrible and they are horribly mutilated. Suddenly the CDC is called in, and determine that the killers were bats, giant predatory bats. Enter Dina Meyer and Leon as bat researchers, who are asked to aid in the investigation. Joining in is the local sheriff (Lou Diamond Phillips), and the two doctors who reveal their connection with the bats...genetic experimentation of course. Now the rush is on to find and capture the two leaders, but of course they carry a virus which has affected the other bats, and now we have millions of bats on the loose.
BATS is one of those guilty pleasures, but credit the movie for its frenetic pacing, laudable special effects, even with the puppet bats in close ups. They still manage to frighten. The bats attack Gallup in an extended scene that packs a punch.
This felt like going to a drive in on a Friday night in the fifties or sixties. A good fright flick and no guilt in the morning.
Rating:
Summary: It ain't Gone With the Wind, but . . .
Review: Is this movie great? No. Is it watchable? Extremely. I enjoyed the movie. There is some cheesy dialogue, sure, but I don't get the extremely harsh 1 star reviews. This is a fun, fast paced movie that kept my attention the whole way through. I especially liked the commentary track with Lou Diamond Phillips. It is one of the most relaxed, enjoyable commentaries I have heard, and I have listened to just about every commentary track of every DVD I own (1000+).
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