Cansposed

If you watch the demo of this you'll be extremely excited, and yes it does look like a miracle...but that's because there was something important left out of the demo vid that you won't find out until after you own the effect: contrary to what they claim, the spectator does NOT have free choice of any drink.

The first part of this routine (and the part conveniently left out of the video) is the part where the spectator "chooses" the drink from a prepared list of possibilities (and you can see where this goes from there). Then you proceed to make the drink appear out of a Coke or whatever. There is no "pick any drink you can think of" walk up like they do in the video. While this might not set some folks off on the effect, it's something that should have been shown rather than misrepresenting the entirety of the effect.

Next is the gimmick. You are given enough for 15 performances, after which you buy refills (don't try to make these yourself). Then there is a good amount of prep work done before you perform, but that's to be expected. Just be careful because the prepared drink can and will leak if you don't keep it upright. And the spectator cannot hold or inspect the can during or after the effect.

There is actually an easier way to prepare the can that doesn't involve the gimmicks and actually plays bigger and safer because the spectator could actually open the can and pour the drink out. I won't give away the secret of "Cansposed", but for a non-gimmicked version let me just say concentrate on the bottom of the can and the idea will probably open up to you.

On the plus side, the gimmick could be used for other effects. It's easy to see where this could be strong for several things if you use your imagination.

Mash Pack by Garrett Thomas

This is literally a one-trick pony. You can "vanish" a card box and have the deck appear, then have the box reappear if you'd like. Unfortunately, the deck cannot be used for a trick itself as the sides are marked too much for use. Garrett does a good job of showing how to ditch the deck for one you can move into with your act, but you'll need to be wearing a jacket in order for this to be effective (deck switch only as he shows it...you can do the disappearance of the box without it). It seems a little limiting for a card trick like this.

The follow up using the other included deck isn't much more impressive, though in its defense it is an effect you can slip into your routine as a closer (since the entire deck has the card box's face on it). You could use the deck for any other trick after the "transformation" though, because the backs are identical even if they are different from what the spectator is used to seeing.

There are two things I don't like about this. First, the price is far too steep for something like this. While you do get two decks and a DVD, I feel this could easily have gone for $20-$25 and been more in line. Second, the performance on the DVD is less than impressive. At one point he's going to vanish the deck into a hat and have it switch places with the box. Unfortunately, while he's holding the box and deck in the same hand he's got it positioned so it plainly shows the marks of the deck parallel with the box (making it painfully obvious to the spectator and us what's going on). Likewise, his performance with the other deck is unimpressive. He does the effects with two different audiences, and the two ladies he chose to use in the pool hall are completely under-whelmed at everything. They look like they know they're supposed to be acting impressed, but are either too nervous to act natural or just aren't impressed with what's going on. I'm not asking for some Criss Angel crowd screaming and fainting here, but he might have done better using a more enthusiastic pair.

This isn't the worst effect I've bought this year, but it's definitely not one I'd feel comfortable performing.

Catch!

Just watching the demo video gives you an idea of how incredibly visual this appears to be. It really does happen as the video shows, but contrary to their claim this is most definitely not impromptu.

You have a spectator select a card and put it back into the deck, then you spring the cards into the air and grab their card out of mid air in the midst of the fluttering cards. It's not a bad effect, but you definitely need to be prepared ahead of time for it.

First of all, you have to be wearing a jacket. The spectator needs to be back a little way from you. You cannot let them examine the card you have plucked from the air. You cannot do this with a signed card. You must be able to do a card force, and for safety's sake you must be able to control the card and palm it from the deck before you spring it into the air (otherwise it could land face up at your feet while you're supposedly holding the one they chose). You cannot repeat this trick with another card (unless you have very roomy sleeves and two gimmicks). Once finished, you must walk away to get rid of the "caught" card because you can't lose it in front of the spectator. If you've got all that covered, you are ready to perform "Catch!".

Does this sound like a lot more work than it should be for an "impromptu" trick?

The gimmick takes a few minutes to put together, but it's nothing major. Once it's done it'll last you quite a few times if you are careful. I have to give this two stars simply because it is indeed very visual. Done in a stage environment this would be an excellent closer. In a street magic scenario it's not as practical because you have 51 cards scattered to the wind around you, leaving you with a lot of cleanup after the payoff.

The DVD is very well done and the effect is taught clearly. Creation of the gimmick is also very carefully explained and easy to do. This isn't for everyone, but for the right magician in the right environment it can make you look impressive.

Emotional Intelligence (E.I.)

I wish I could say something really spectacular about this video, but it is at best mediocre. I have to give Jermay credit in that he didn't edit this thing down during the performance because he could have and we would have understood why. When the person you're performing the trick for on the video actually looks bored and keeps looking around as if to say, "When will this be over?", it's time to get another trick. That being said, this is an incredibly long video with a lot of teaching on it. Even though it's only one routine being taught, the teaching can be applied to other mentalism effects.

This is basically a three-phase effect that is supposed to supply perhaps 15-20 minutes of material for you. If you choose to do this, however, you are going to bore your group to tears unless they really find you fascinating or are simply really good friends. Jermay seems to go on forever before actually beginning the effect, and then unnecessarily explains to the spectator how the first letter of the cards form the words "THE SCAM". After talking about fake psychics, then mentioning "THE SCAM", the spectator is then supposed to believe you can read emotions and minds for real? Nope, not gonna happen.

Derren Brown has performed an effect very similar to this, but his pacing is much faster and it serves to streamline the whole thing. I'm not saying you should rush through the effect, but I AM saying you should "trim the fat" on the presentation given herein. Jermay has some nice ideas on cold reading that you can apply to other work if you want to.

I do like the fact that you get to involve another spectator during phase 2 so this becomes a little more interactive for others. Also, if you can somehow get phase 3 to work flawlessly for you, it ends with a bang. That's going to take some practice though, and you're going to miss it a bit in the beginning.

Fundamentalism

As long as you can keep in mind you're not seeing Max Maven in action here, you'll probably enjoy the simple effects available. Some of the mentalism offered is straightforward and plays well to a small group or even two individuals. The "ESP with Playing Cards" routine plays well for a layman audience, but it won't fool anyone with even a beginner's experience in magic until you get to the sandwich effect at the end. That pays off well, I'll admit.

"Flip Flop" is so complicated it almost confuses the spectator in the video. The "Hoy Book Test" and "Pick-A-Date" are old routines that are probably on several other videos out there (Ross Johnson's "Simply Psychic" has a better version of the book test that involves describing entire paragraphs rather than a single word, and the video costs half the price). To be fair, David's method does allow a certain impromptu handling if you're at a party and you know someone is going to ask you to do some magic for them.

"Grey Elephants in Denmark" really blew the audience away...in 1995 when Max Maven did it on "World's Greatest Magic". Unfortunately, since then it's been so over-used you can't even consider trying it any more. My 13 year old son came home from school trying to pull it on me because his friends had taught it to him. You might fool a few folks with it, but it's a risk.

"Jumbo 8 Card Brainwave" is probably one of the best effects on the video. It can be adapted for regular Poker size cards if you don't want to play it big for stage. His handling is good on it and for the effect it doesn't take much practice (one move is all you have to learn). He also does a couple of routines using ESP cards that you might consider. It should be mentioned that they can be adapted for use with regular playing cards if you tweak them a little. That would allow you to throw in a little mentalism in the middle of your card routine if you wanted to.

So all totaled we have one killer routine, two fairly good ones, two that can be tweaked to be useful, and four that probably shouldn't have been used. If you're just getting into mentalism, you might consider this, but if you have any experience with it you can skip it.

Frozen

If you watch the demo video for this, you're going to immediately freak out and think this is real magic. Hey, it's about as real as you could hope for! You borrow a spectator's quarter, and proceed to freeze it with your breath like Superman.

In theory this is one awesome effect. It's a lot better than the other "Frozen" effect out there that came out years ago (the signed coin appears in a block of ice in the magician's hand), but both fall victim to the same problem: impractical set-up.

This is not an effect you are going to do impromptu. As a matter of fact, there is a very tight window between setup and performance of the effect. You can't leave home thinking you'll do that trick today and wait an hour to actually try it. You've got at most 15 minutes to get it done after you set up, and that's pushing it. Adam Grace does give some pointers on packing it to go, but it's going to require fairly roomy pockets.

There is another setup he shows you that does allow you to do this the trick impromptu. Truthfully, I doubt he ever does this himself though. You might love the idea, but it didn't seem practical to me.

And finally the biggest problem: I've never gotten the effect to work. I use the exact same items he does on the video, I set them up the exact way he describes, and I've never had the effect work once. Forget 15 minutes, I'm trying it within 2 minutes of the set up and it still won't work. That may be just me, but I can't remember the last time I couldn't get an effect to work at all no matter what I tried.

You may get it and you may love it, but for me it's just too limited to be practical. I have to say though that if it works for you like it did on the video, you'll blow the spectator's mind.

Precognition Deck

If you put a little bit of your own touch on this, you might make a decent trick out of it. However, if you're going to go strictly by the directions you're heading into dangerous territory. For one thing, handing these to the spectator to count out will make you sick to your stomach the whole time they have them. One wrong move on their part (such as turning the deck to the side to see the backs) and you're busted.

Second, the kicker isn't a kicker at all. You're supposed to have done this amazing effect and you end with a very weak laugh at best. There's no way this makes sense.

If you want to salvage this effect, then YOU handle the cards and skip the countdown. Instead, do an instant ribbon spread and have them search for their card quickly. They won't find it, you scoop up the deck and slip it into your pocket or the case (and switch it out at the end for a normal deck if you want it examinable). The trick can end there (it's just a full-deck Princess Trick at that point). As an alternative, pull out the envelope and do that horrible "52 on 1" ending, but finish by pulling the card out of your wallet, shoe, pocket, or whatever. The unique build of the PD allows you to only have to carry a few cards on your person at a time. When they tell you the card they thought of, you just have to remember where you're holding that particular card.

Just come up with something on your own. Don't let the limitations of this deck keep you from performing some small miracle or another.