Extreme Burn 2.0

If you've ever become jaded with magic and just can't appreciate that "WOW!" moment the spectators feel anymore, then this is the effect for you. In all honesty, I've watched the change happen dozens of times and even though I know how it's being done, it still blows my mind each time. "Extreme Burn 2.0" is easily the most "magical magic effect" I've seen this year.

You read the copy of some tricks saying it'll even fool you and such, but this one really can. With the 2.0 version, Sanders has taken every weak spot of the first presentation (and there weren't many) and fixed them. Now you can hand out the bills when you are finished with the transformation and have no fear of anything being discovered or said since you are handing the normal, ungimmicked money. You can perform this effect completely surrounded if need be, though the best changes are the ones you can do with the spectators in front of you.

And speaking of changes, Sanders offers you more than you'll ever use. He even updates some and adds a few more from the original. No matter what your performance style is, I promise you there's one in here to fit it. This will require a lot of practice to begin with, but just watching the demo video will show you how worth it the practice will be.

The gimmick is fairly easy to construct and will take you about 15 minutes or so. If you treat it well, it will last you a very long time. The gimmick construction will depend on the amount of money you're wanting to change ($1 to $20, or $1 to $100, for example) but nothing is permanent you can you spend the cash later if need be.

I'm usually not a fan of pricey DVDs with only one effect on them (and the gimmick here would cost you less than a dollar at a hardware store), but just the wealth of information on this makes it worth it. Sanders takes this amazing effect apart piece by piece and gives you everything you need to adapt it to your style of performing.

I promise you when you get this down smoothly and perform it for the first time, you'll keep this one close forever. This truly is as close to real magic as you'll ever get as far as your spectators are concerned.

In Half

I really like Andrew Mayne and he has some cool stuff every once in a while, but it seems like most of his bigger stuff is created for the sole purpose of a video and lacks any real-world appeal. "In Half" is one of those effects.

A one-man sawing-in-half illusion is a big sell for a concept, but execution is where you have the problem. The set-up involves cardboard boxes, making this seem almost impromptu (which is the idea). Unfortunately, it also stops the effect from making any sense to those watching it.

You have two cardboard boxes that are closed, next to another one that is open. You walk behind the closed boxes, then open them up after you are "inside". The bottom box shows your legs and shoes, the top box is your torso. Then you move your torso to one side, leaving your legs behind. After moving the torso box on top of the empty one, you lift your torso showing it completely free of the bottom of the box. Then you slide back to your legs, close all the doors and step out from behind the boxes.

If you're working an elementary school assembly, this will kill. Anyone above age 9 or so will be able to tell you immediately what you're doing. Watch the demo video and if you haven't figured the method out after one viewing you probably weren't paying attention.


Here are the problems that keep the effect from being believable:

1) Most magicians step into an open box to demonstrate there are no gimmicks, then close it after they are in for this type of effect. In this one, everything starts and ends closed (and better stay that way after the effect is over or you're busted).

2) When you lift up the torso, you are floating in the box and can see the back of the box...which begs the question, "How did you get into the box if it's solid in the back?" That leads the thought processes naturally to how the effect is accomplished.

3) The angles are horrible. Dead-on, you're going to be awesome. Let anyone stand past 10 or 2, and you're busted.

4) Nothing can be examined before or after the effect--not even you. If you have a stage show where folks can't reach you, you're all right. If you try to do this in some controlled street environment, you'll spend the rest of your show hoping the wind doesn't blow a box door open, or that someone doesn't walk behind your setup...or that someone doesn't look at your clothes too closely.

You know, if this effect appears on Mind Freak the crowd will go screaming away and you'll think this is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Criss pays his television crowds well for this "spontaneous" reaction. But if you buy the trick and try it, you'll realize this isn't something you could ever use.

To Andrew's credit, he's only charging $25 for the DVD, which seems fair if you really want to know the secret. You'll have to put together the props (not hard), and as with Mayne's "Shrinker" effect you'll have to do some clothing modification. Less than an hour or so and you're ready to perform. If you're desperate for a stage type effect on a budget, this could fit the bill for you. Otherwise, this isn't real world in the least.

Escape! Volume 1

I have been looking at lockpicks lately so the timing of this video's release couldn't have been better! Danny Hunt has put together a DVD explaining lockpicking and escapes in a very organized, user-friendly method.

This first volume deals mostly with padlocks and handcuffs, and how to escape them using tapping or using lockpicks. He does show how to use shims as well for padlocks, but some of the newer locks are made to defeat this method so it may not work if you try it at home.

Because Danny is from the U.K. (and the video was filmed there), some of the locks he demonstrates are not going to be familiar to an American audience. It's still interesting to see how they are defeated though.

Danny takes you step by step through each type of lock and how to defeat it. He shows you which lockpick is perfect for each individual type of lock just before he tears into the lock itself. He does a bang-up job of beating each one within seconds.

I haven't watched the second volume so I can't attest to how good it might be, but this one is great for anyone interesting in putting an escape routine into their performance (or if you just want to know how to pick a lock for fun). There aren't any real stage performances here, and I think Dixie Dooley has a better set of DVDs strictly for those grand stage illusion escapes anyway.

Is there anything here you won't find on YouTube from some kid breaking locks in his basement? Well, there's a little, yes. He shows you how to make your own gimmicked handcuffs, which is a nice little bonus. You also get some thoughts on performance and structure in escapes. Volume 2 reaches more into the stage escape area, so it might be a little stronger for a magician. Still, if you're interested in picking locks, this is a well-taught DVD on the subject. The only annoying thing is the swimming text title shot just before each segment. Sometimes the segments are less than a minute long, so you have that title shot flowing at you quite often. It's a minor thing though, so don't let that keep you from buying this!

Mercuring

This is a fun little throwaway trick that you can instantly do when someone finds out you're a magician and says "Hey, do a trick." The ring the spectator sees and handles is a normal ring, so they can inspect it as closely as they want and they'll never see a thing. There is, of course, a swap involved along the routine, but Jay's handling allows you to start and finish clean.

If you decide to do this on the spectator's finger, you'll just have to keep an eye on the angles. It can appear a miracle to them, but if a crowd is standing around you it's going to be a little tricky. There are a couple of moves you can implement that will allow you to do the trick surrounded, but it will make the way you're holding the ring look a little suspicious.

This is one of those effects that will really mess with the spectator's mind, but won't impress many magician friends. I should say though that the rings are top quality for the price. You won't be wearing them around town or anything, but they don't look like cheap plastic or something. It's a solid metal ring to the spectator, and it handles that way.

This is a great trick either as an opener or even solo for those "apparently impromptu" moments (that really aren't impromptu).

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.

Believe

For a visual card change, you would be hard-pressed to come up with something more impressive than "Believe". The spectator chooses a card and signs it, the card is lost and another pulled out. After tearing a corner off and placing it on the table, the magician suddenly changes the corner of the indifferent card into the corner of the chosen card--without ever apparently touching it! The torn card is turned over and it is seen to be the signed card...even though the spectator saw it as a different card just before it was laid down.

I'm not usually very high on one-trick DVD's that cost $20 or more, but I have to make an exception here. The change is so visual that there's a good chance you'll hear your spectators actually gasp when it occurs.

Joel Paschall does a great job of teaching this effect and the moves involved. Even the clean up is relatively easy and of course it's ready to go at a moment's notice. Understand something: this will take practice. There are 2 key moves you'll have to have down pat before considering this, and Joel's one-handed double-lift (yeah, you read that right) alone will take some time. Once you have it down though, I guarantee it'll be the only double-lift you use.

This will require a table to perform properly, so this isn't really a stree magic effect. If you're into table-hopping though, this is something you seriously need to consider. Actually, it's something every serious card worker should consider.

Simply Psychic

I was hesitant to purchase this video since it was so cheap and I'd never heard of Ross before, but I'm so glad the salesman at Tannens talked me into it. This is a wonderful video and goes into the theory of mentalism and doesn't just show you effects and moves on.

I have to say the first few effects aren't that great. They're more demonstrations than any kind of mentalism. Stick with it though, because things really get good as it goes on. I found five routines I used almost immediately, and that's almost unheard of for me! Most of the time I'm lucky to find 2 effects on the same DVD I actually want to use, but Ross has put together some incredibly simple mental magic that is easy enough for a beginner but that blows away even seasoned magicians if done properly.

Don't get me wrong: you aren't going to fool everyone every time. And since this is mentalism it's going to depend on you to be the showman and sell the effect, but for the amount of practice and effort you have to put into them (not to mention the fact that ALMOST all of these have no chance of failure if done properly), you can't beat it.

The only major change I immediately saw was Omar's Prophecy. As Ross does it, there is that chance of messing up at the beginning just to prove a point...but there's no reason for it. If you apply the last two principles to the first one you have zero chance for failure. He even mentions doing this in his explanation, but still feels his way works best to show the "1 in 3" on the paper. I adapted the handling for parts 2 and 3 into part 1 (which eliminates the chance of missing with your prediction) and have never had anyone question it. Other than that, you're pretty much ready to go out of the box with this video. Awesome magic at an incredible price!

Nothing DVD Set by Max Maven

The premise is simple: Max Maven spends a few minutes in the supermarket and comes out with a complete act. And believe it or not, that's exactly what happened.

If you're into mentalism, then you've heard of Max Maven. Actually, even if you aren't, you've probably heard of him. Max is somewhat famous for his sinister-looking appearance, which actually covers an incredibly intelligent man with a passion for magic. This DVD set shows you exactly what can be done when you have to come up with something quickly and can only use the items on hand.

There are several effects taught here, and the amazing thing is that the teaching DVD (the second in this 2-DVD set) is so in-depth you'll know every nuance of Max's routine and why he chose every particular action. This isn't just "here's how it's done", but is more like "here's why it's done"--which helps you as a magician to create your own effects later.

Most everything here can be done within a few minutes of watching it. While you probably won't do his complete routine, you'll probably find parts that immediately resonate with you. He does a sort of book test with magazines that I particularly liked.

This is an expensive set, but worth it.