Bimini Code (1983) Movie Review

Bimini Code is a 1983 action adventure movie directed by Barry Clark and written by Gabrielle Rivera and Barry Clark. It stars Vickie Benson, Kristal Richardson, Rosanna Simanaitis and Frank Alexander. It's one of those movies that spawned after the success of Indiana Jones at the box office that features treasure hunters, mixed with some old school sea adventure but with female leads. The film is now sort of obscure, rarely seen and badly reviewed; it's hardly a popular flick and the available copies are of bad quality.

Stacy (Vickie Benson) and Sheryl (Kristal Richardson) are two thrill-seeking adventurers who are tasked with finding a kidnapped boy, they realize what's at stake when evil rich countess Magda von Cress searches for Mayan power stones at the Bermuda Triangle.

While this is a satisfying flick, the procedures are mostly TV-level in their execution with very crude shots lacking style and a static camera work that reveal the background of the filmmakers but also give the film a simplistic and precise nature that strips down to the bare essentials the elements that it features, focusing on the characters and the plot.

The storytelling is a bit wonky because of the way the film is structured it presents itself more like a random episode of an on-going TV series rather than a proper movie with introductions and character moments or arcs for them, it unfolds as such through most of it as it has very little regard for tapping into the dramatic potential of the scenario, instead just presenting some action sequences and brief moments of intrigue strung together without much to really glue them together as a story and even less emotional substance. Maybe that's why it had a small lifetime on TV or home video since it barely registers in your mind after watching it.

The action is swift and well done, the constant array of fun and cheesy comic book peril sequences involving scuba diving around sharks and karate fights do give the movie not only a charming aura of lite entertainment but also add to the fast pace and the easygoing attitude it has and that the carefree characters also embody. The main girls are lovable and have some nice moments as friends and partners, they have a solid bond and chemistry but it's all obscured by the rather pedestrian script. The cheesy villain is too over-the-top but I honestly loved that about her. We don't have enough malicious ladies with eyepatches doing evil schemes anymore.

Not a hidden gem but an easygoing and watchable piece of obscure adventure cinema that can only be recommended to B-movie fans who wanna get into some uncharted territory. 

The Lost Empire (1984) Movie Review

The Lost Empire is a 1984 fantasy action adventure movie written and directed by Jim Wynorski. The film stars Melanie Vincz, Raven De La Croix, Angela Aames, Paul Coufos and Angus Scrimm. Wynorski is kind of a legendary B-movie director now with over a hundred films to his credit but he started writing films like Sorceress (1982) and Screwballs (1983). However, he wanted to move on to directing and got a theater owner to finance his debut film, which was originally going to be tax write off but the producer liked it so much he actually released it. For years it was sort of obscure but recently got a proper release on home video.

When her brother is hospitalized by ninja robbers who steal a magic jewel, Inspector Angel Wolfe of the L.A.P.D goes on a fantastical quest along with her native american friend Whitestar and the rowdy convict Heather McClure. The three infiltrate a religious cult located in an island fortress and fight the ghoulish forces of evil.

When it comes to B-movies that throw everything at the wall to see what sticks, I think The Lost Empire is simultaneously the most well known example of this but also the one that embodies the disjointed feeling you can expect from such a description the least. What I mean is that there is a cohesive throughline in this film, not only when it comes to the plot but also when it comes to the tone and the passionate spirit that you feel while watching it. You can tell this was made by a fan of overtly exploitative and lurid pulp fiction of the cheesy variety. Wynorski himself said that he thought this was going to be his only chance at making a movie so he threw in everything he wanted to see in a feature film. This includes ancient wizards who turn into creatures, ninjas, a prison mudfight, gorillas and a lot of busty women. A lot of odd elements that would come up in his extensive filmography from time to time.

The main trio of actresses are very good in their respective roles, considering this is a Wynorski film you usually assume that they were chosen for their physical attributes instead of their talent but these girls manage to be very loveable and embody their characters with charm and grace, highlighting subtly the archetype they are without overdoing it or coming off as bland. They are perfectly balanced when it comes to their delivery and their demeanor, ending up as believable and more than a caricature. All of them are also badasses and engage in some fearsome combat sequences. Wynorski makes them daring and skilled, having some nice chemistry and a palpable sense of comradery in some of the action sequences.

A good amount of the effects of this film fits very well with the unreal and stylized pulpy atmosphere it creates, some good practical and optical effects that look campy enough to fit but also technically adept enough to impress for the craft or just for the endearing nature of those obsolete tricks. The cinematography is also very solid, this was shot with care for the frame and the space in the shot by Jacques Haitkin, who adds some technical refinement to the sleazy and extravagant images Wynorski came up with.

Some people might have issues with the pacing but it's really not a very long film, it starts off very action-packed and carefully constructed enough to intrigue you even if you are aware that the film engages in some sort of understated self-parody, right from the intentionally silly (in a sly way) opening crawl. I don't think the film feels like a drag but you can sometimes feel like the shots go on for a little too long or that the movie doesn't have enough of a drive or even a proper exploration of a central character to hang onto, but those worries are dissipated by its virtues. 

A highly recommended piece for those who like adventure camp with some exploitation vibes. Fun and deranged flick.

Lady Snowblood (1973) Movie Review

Lady Snowblood is a 1973 action period (Jidaigeki) film directed by Toshiya Fujita written by Norio Osada and based on a manga by writer Kazuo Koike and illustrator Kazuo Kamimura. It stars Meiko Kaji, Kō Nishimura, Toshio Kurosawa, Masaaki Daimon, Miyoko Akaza and Eiji Okada. The film became a cult hit overseas and was also well known by western audiences for being one of the top influences for Quentin Tarantino when making Kill Bill volumes 1 and 2 (2003-2004). It also had a sequel titled Love Song of Vengeance (1974).

In Japan during the Meiji era, a woman was sexually abused and witnessed the murder of her husband and son at the hands of criminals, she was then imprisoned after stabbing one of the thugs. Years later she gives birth to a baby girl, Yuki Kashima, while captive and passes away. Yuki is trained by a priest to be an expert assassin and once she reaches adulthood sets out to kill the people who destroyed her family in cold blood.

While this film is mostly known as a huge influence on Kill Bill, because of the fragmented narrative with a heavy use of flashbacks, the swordswoman heroine looking for revenge and the great bloodshed as well, there are some key differences. The non-linear storytelling aspect serves in Lady Snowblood to further expand the background of the protagonist, this is similar to Kill Bill in that regard since that movie also reveals important information needed to understand following scenes every time it goes back in time, but in Snowblood the motivation and what the flashbacks reveal isn't nearly as mapped out and the two timelines that we go back and forward from are not as blatantly utilitarian and are more impressionistic, whereas in Kill Bill it's all very functional. Tarantino does a very decent job and structuring that film dramatically, but it's all according to the machine that is the script. Snowblood allows for more nuance and more time to think about the dramatic scenarios.

Both films also have some stylistic flourishes with their formal exaggerations, but the fixation on the saturated hue of the blood and the extravagant choices in framing, composition, angles, music, the zooms, the sound effects and movements all ring more cohesive and are less exhausting in Snowblood than in Kill Bill, which is too slap-dash and eclectic. In Lady Snowblood every shot simply joins into a unity, a flow that is controlled and mediated by the director quite skillfully, and every hyperbolic element is simply a very expressive manifestation of the emotional intensity the story requires, arriving at a more concrete and precise tone that organically emanates from the storyline as opposed to being implemented outside of the story as an eccentric whim.

Related to the description above is the fact that every confrontation set-piece is a masterclass in vigorous action as every editing choice is just as punctual and necessary for the development of the sequence as every maneuver and motion the actor does in these fantastic choreographies. The almost pictorial quality of the movie is never really overdone as in other movies that try to show off only to come off as sterile, when we see the image of white snow contrasted with bright red blood we don't really think this is a fake and forced visual but it comes out so beautifully natural that it reaches a very lyrical dimension successfully. This is very hard to achieve, especially because the film never overexplains itself. The rapid insert shots of the main character remembering things appear briefly and without any bombastic music or sounds to announce it, you have to do the work and infer the intensity of the significance of the image through the montage and the clues you are provided.  

This is, as usual, a very nice production by Tokyo Eiga (a Toho subsidiary) with good production values and a convincing recreation of 1800’s Japan. This setting is also taken advantage of by the writer as it becomes a critique of Japan's imperialistic tendencies as well as this point of convergence between post-feudal Japan, its modernization and its westernization that eventually ended up as its colonization by the USA in the 1900’s but all explored in a particular period of transition that turn this into a more mythical story than a contemporary fad or something more current. 

Soothing music aids the entirety of the film, this beautiful soundtrack features some dramatic melodies of melancholy by Masaaki Hirao and the songs Shura no Hana and Urami Bushi performed by leading lady Meiko Kaji are now legendary. However, the film mostly knows when to use the music for a better effect and when to use silence accordingly, so it never overdoes it, always austere.

A mandatory swordfighting action film from Japan that any fan of Kill Bill or the entire subgenre should enjoy. If you have never seen it then I can absolutely recommend it for all cinephile audiences.