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wilhelmpatrick
Reviews
Living Free: Please No More Pain (2022)
Strong Start
Season 2 is off to a really good and strong start. The only thing holding it back is how entrapped it seems right off the rip, but the camerawork, writing, and acting are all incredible and just as, if not more, thought out than the first season's.
Infinite. (2018)
Barkhoff Does A Great Job With It
With his debut film, Mike Barkhoff apparently wanted to show us his brilliance with the world and everything happening within it. It's also great to see the roster of (super) familiar faces contained within - a notable trait of Barkhoff's loyalty to friends and family who have surrounded him throughout his comeuppance.
Infinite. finds a world where censorship is lacking, and the youth is largely effected by that. Unlike Barkhoff's previous works, a majority of which were simply short films or installments into web series, this is a full length film that goes over the thirty minute mark that he had beforehand set as his maximum. Notable about this project is it's usage of "Parts" and the commercial breaks inbetween each part, which add to the fun youthful effect to viewing the film.
Seeing someone as committed and talented as Barkhoff work this hard for a work this grand this early in their career is A. never before seen, B. highly respectable, and C. inspiring.
Barkhoff does a great job with it, too. As best as he could with the budget, time, and resources he had. And the mindset behind the project and all of the plotlines, themes, and hidden messages he installed within to represent a sense of mortality tucked under a layer of labyrinth that houses the entire concept behind the world within Infinite., a world we may never may know, is highly reputable.
Candlelight (2017)
Barkhoff's Most Memorable Release! (So Far)
Candlelight is at the tip of the faucet for the grand beginning to director, writer, and editor Mike Barkhoff's second life of his career. Prior to this, he invested his time in sole short films - at times spanning upwards of thirty or so minutes - and a few web series. Ones that, for someone his age, were undoubtedly impressive, but ultimately, nowhere near the brilliance of this.
In what I would declare Barkhoff's most memorable release (so far), Barkhoff bends every expectation the audience had for his return from a fairly lengthy standstill of a hiatus. His last releases, installments in Bond P Batman and a Porking Badger short film, both fell into his wholesome lineup a mere month apart, but over a year to the release of this film. And his official return, which featured in The Moderate Gatsby and an Into The Wild trailer, was superficial for him at that point and highly gravitating in comparison to how he left us to deduct his total skillset, but Candlelight is yards away from both of the aforementioned named attempts.
For starters, Candlelight's run time is just over three minutes, but is named by many - almost all - of Barkhoff's audience as being his magnum opus. It was written under an hour, filmed under six, and, the most impressive feat, had major swift changes during production due to planning falling apart. All of those combined make the turnout of Candlelight, again, not only impressive, but also entirely noteworthy.
Windfall (2020)
Appreciate the Commitment of Dream Chasing
This film is unique in a manner that makes it balance itself seriously but also with a dark comical backbone. It reminds me of classic gangster films having found balance with the same riff tone humor from classic comedies. The pacing, however, is unmatched and unlike anything. The closest I can compare that would be to modern television shows centered on laws, their firms, and their clients. When it paces upwards towards it's next pivotal story, however, it becomes beyond insane.
You have to keep in mind - this film is a low budget film from a group of friends just hitting that adult cornerstone. At that length, it's highly impressive. To turn and compare it to everything else that has millions of dollars tucked in it's lining for all angles of production is unfair. Everything I wrote above I mean wholly, but I'm afraid audiences beyond me won't agree with. That's for the simple fact that they expect to see a film that catches their interest and has all areas covered with hundreds to thousands of dollars. For me, however, having the privilege to see a talented filmmaker at such a young age pursuing it this much is undoubtedly the fun aspect. The director, Mike Barkhoff, was 18 upon filming and 20 at time of release, and already has a colossal resume, reaching from numerous short films to numerous web series to two films (this being the second). If you can't appreciate the commitment of dream chasing, you're inhuman. If you can, great! You'll enjoy Windfall, like I, for what it is. I just hope that if you do, you too, like I, can say that it honestly is a far superior film than it potentially could have been.