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 Falling For You - Reviewed by Derek Merdinyan [2:57m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Ups:
- New Plot!
- Easy to make
- Pretty darn creative
- No thread or any of that nonsense.
- Lots of room for creativity with this new idea.
- Spectator could do it if you encased them in a glass box

Downs:
- Card only flies out a maximum of 2 feet
- If spectator does it, they handle gimmicked card(s).

Bottom Line:
I was ecstatic when I read about this effect and even more excited at the method: it’s easy, practical, and awesome!

If you are a magic dealer and are interested in carrying this product, you can contact Murphy’s Magic Supplies at 916 853 9292 or visit them on the web at www.murphysmagicsupplies.com.

Booklet, Card Magic, Close Up, Mentalism, Street Magic, Visual | View Comments

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 Real Ghost - Reviewed by Derek Merdinyan [2:56m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Ups:
- You can create some pretty deceptive and spooky effects with this device.
- The device is remote controlled and the button is very easy to find and activate from the outside of your pocket.
- 1 yr warranty included
- You can put a great deal of distance between yourself and the ‘touched’ volunteer – and remember, the timing of the touch is under your control.
- Very fair conditions for performing on stage; can be performed in more intimate standup or close up situations without much restriction.

Downs:
- Instructional videos must be retrieved from the internet – I would have greatly preferred a DVD, but you get enough instruction from the online videos to get you going. That said, I would have liked to see more applications for this $300 device explained.
- The remote is made from a cheap feeling plastic but should hold up well if properly cared for.
- Device requires a bit of fixing up every dozen performances or so. Nothing you can’t handle though and most of the supplies are included for your first dozen tune ups.

Bottom Line:
If you are looking to take your PK touches routine up a notch or want to dive head first into this spooky classic of magic, the Real Ghost may be your ticket (if you can afford a $300 ticket).

If you are a magic dealer and are interested in carrying this product, you can contact Murphy’s Magic Supplies at 916 853 9292 or visit them on the web at www.murphysmagicsupplies.com.

Effect, Mentalism, Standup/Stage | View Comments

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 Control - Reviewed by Derek Merdinyan [2:48m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Ups:
- Completely impromptu. You don’t need to do anything or carry anything around with you. There isn’t even a get ready.
- This will play in almost any venue you can think of. Wayne teaches you a handful of ways to make this play in intimate close up performances or for an audience of hundreds without anything extra.
- There are zero health risks when performing this effect. There’s a better chance of having an airplane filled with cyborg monkeys crashing into your venue than… well, you get the point.
- Extremely thorough teaching and excellent production quality.

Word of Caution:
Despite the apparent ease in working this effect, I’m afraid too many folks are going to dive right into performing this one. The majority of the work here is selling the fact that your heart is stopping – and while that is not too technically demanding, it is imperative that you TAKE THE TIME to master your performance to sell this effect.

Bottom Line:
Whether you’re looking for an awesome impromptu ‘street’ effect, a startling close up miracle, or a bizarre wonder for the stage, Control is going to be the one they’ll be talking about.

If you are interested in picking this up for yourself, you can checkout Theory11 at www.theory11.com.

Close Up, DVD, Mentalism, Street Magic | View Comments

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 Trio - Reviewed By Derek Merdinyan [1:23m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Bang, right there in that book are three complete, powerful, 30 minute, 1-man mentalism shows that require some very basic setups (if any at all).

Each of these acts was designed for one of three ‘specific’ performance settings. Of course, you could easily take any of these well thought out effects and add them singly to your own repertoire, or add some of your own favorite effects into these routines.

One of the things I really liked, particularly about the ‘impromptu’ show and the intimate close up show was just how light they are – you can carry these acts with you in your pockets and be ready to go for a 30 minute set. This is great whether you intend on performing this material or come into some sort of bind and need some good reliable material to get you through your performance.

If you are a magic dealer and are interested in carrying this product, you can contact Murphy’s Magic Supplies at 916 853 9292 or visit them on the web at www.murphysmagicsupplies.com.

Book, Mentalism | View Comments

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 Invisible Touch - Reviewed by Derek Merdinyan [1:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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The routines on this DVD have the potential to play for crowd of three to an audience of hundreds. Each ‘touch sequence’ is well rehearsed and clearly explained.

What makes these routines great is that the ‘touches’ are excellently incorporated with a metal bending routine of some sort, giving more purpose to the ghostly touches.

There was one segment of the DVD where the sound was simply non existent, but came back after a few minutes. During those few minutes, it was still possible to somewhat follow along with the actions that were going on. Luckily, the section that was affected will not compromise your ability to learn these routines.

Also included on this DVD is Lior’s 10 card poker deal which he has made into a successful segment of his trade show repertoire.

If you are a magic dealer and are interested in carrying this product, you can contact Murphy’s Magic Supplies at 916 853 9292 or visit them on the web at www.murphysmagicsupplies.com.

Close Up, DVD, Mentalism, Worker Material | View Comments

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 Hemispheres Reviewed by Derek Merdinyan [1:28m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Right off the bat, I have to say this DVD is long; there’s a lot of content on this single DVD and, assuming most of the effects are good (most are), that equals a great value for you.

I seriously couldn’t get over the amount of content put on this one DVD. There are some really clever effects here that I can see people using. Jay’s got some new ideas/moves here that have the potential to become classics like his full view switch.

If you are a magic dealer and are interested in carrying this product, you can contact Murphy’s Magic Supplies at 916 853 9292 or visit them on the web at www.murphysmagicsupplies.com.

Close Up, DVD, Mentalism | View Comments

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 Influence U2 - Reviewed by Derek Merdinyan [1:34m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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The second effect in the ‘Influence U’ series is finally here and really kicks things up a notch.

Like the original Influence U effect, Influence U2 comes with everything you need, including: all the props, a bonus ‘Demon Deck’ (not required for the effect but can be used), and a great presentation. Workings of the effect are relatively simple and quite clever.

Unlike the original I.U. which was designed as an impromptu effect, this one is aimed more for more traditional performances (although this one can be performed nearly impromptu).

NOTE: This review is for the North American/Canadian version of the effect. At the time of this writing, the International Edition has yet to be released.

If you are a magic dealer and are interested in carrying this product, you can contact Murphy’s Magic Supplies at 916 853 9292 or visit them on the web at www.murphysmagicsupplies.com.

Card Magic, Close Up, Effect, Impromptu, Mentalism, Standup/Stage, Worker Material | View Comments

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 UFB - Reviewed by Derek Merdinyan [1:32m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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As far as clear forcing bags go, UFB is the most natural looking one – that I have seen.

The bag has a fairly rigid construction. I have it quite a few good strong tugs to test the durability. I think this one will last the workers a good deal of time.

That said, I think the quality of the ‘seams’ could have been better (more straight) – but because the bag should only be in play for a short amount of time, I wouldn’t worry about it too much.

Also included is a sheet with a good list of ideas to get your creativity going.

If you are a magic dealer and are interested in carrying this product, you can contact Murphy’s Magic Supplies at 916 853 9292 or visit them on the web at www.murphysmagicsupplies.com.

Close Up, Mentalism, Utility Device | View Comments

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 Eliminator V2.0 Reviewed by Derek Merdinyan [1:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Yes, this effect has been released before, this is just a rerelease with an instructional DVD.

The effect is simple enough to perform and all the highlighted sellers points on the ad copy are true.*

The DVD covers all the details of performing this routine and gives owners of this effect the keys to taking this deck and alternative effects outside of the basic selected-cards-produced-from-pocket-routine.

*One of the points made on this effect is that you can fairly show the front and back of the deck. The word ‘fairly’ is subjective. Some may say “fairly” means clearly spreading through the deck and showing without a doubt that every card is different and normal, others may say that just gleaning through the faces is good enough. If you’re stuck and this is some sort of deciding point for you, I’ll say there are “ways” of showing the deck to be legitimate – particularly since you shouldn’t need to draw attention to this aspect in the first place.

If you are a magic dealer and are interested in carrying this product, you can contact Murphy’s Magic Supplies at 916 853 9292 or visit them on the web at www.murphysmagicsupplies.com.

Card Magic, Close Up, Mentalism | View Comments

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 Houdini Book Test - Reviewed by Derek Merdinyan [1:58m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Top to bottom, this is one is quite easy. It is a book test that utilizes the included paperback Houdini book and another book of your choice.

I found it funny how the instructions say to bring out a stack of books and one of the ones you use is a book written by Harry Houdini. This reminds me of the classic magic coloring book designed with a magic theme to it and has made little attempt to look like a legitimate (‘normal’) coloring book. Still, I suppose you could use multiple books on the history of magic so this one blends in.

I would feel safe letting a spectator flip through this book but I probably wouldn’t let them keep it for longer than a few seconds. It took me a while before I noticed anything funny. This is a real book so you can read it front to back, hence the reason it looks so natural. The first words or lines on each page don’t repeat at all.

One of the other nice features of this book test is that it gives you a lot of freedom as to what sorts of things you can instruct your spectator to think of. You can predict the first word of a page, the first line, the contents of a paragraph, or even the summary of an entire page.

Black’s Magic did a nice job on this one.

If you are a magic dealer and are interested in carrying this product, you can contact Murphy’s Magic Supplies at 916 853 9292 or visit them on the web at www.murphysmagicsupplies.com.

Effect, Mentalism | View Comments

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 Declassified V1 and 2 - Reviewed by Derek Merdinyan [1:38m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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The Declassified Series was designed for beginners looking to take their magic to the next level – and I have to agree, if I was a novice magician, I would be satisfied by the effects presented over the course of these two DVDs.

Explanation of the effects goes at a nice pace. I didn’t feel like I was being dragged along behind a boat and slowly sinking under; which is great considering this DVD was designed for beginners.

The effects here are fairly easy to pick up but I personally question teaching metal bending to beginners. It’s not that I don’t think we can’t trust them with the secrets, but metal bending requires a certain level of performing experience to really sell the effect. Still, the work on this subject is adequately explained.

This DVD isn’t super flashy like a lot of beginner magic DVDs, but the overall quality is pretty good. Again, if I was a beginner magician, I would have even a greater appreciation for these DVDs and be eagerly anticipating future installments.

If you are a magic dealer and are interested in carrying this product, you can contact Murphy’s Magic Supplies at 916 853 9292 or visit them on the web at www.murphysmagicsupplies.com.

Beginner, Card Magic, Close Up, DVD, Mentalism, Street Magic | View Comments

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 Accidental Discovery - Reviewed by Derek Merdinyan [1:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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The primary method for this effect seems like it would be the obvious solution for this kind of trick. It seems like this effect works most of the time, but in the event of a screw up, I think switching over to the secondary method is going to make the effect more realistic and less obvious.

I think $25 is a tad high for the price of this DVD, especially considering this effect has seen publication already. Nevertheless, Accidental Discovery is an effect that can take advantage of the environment in which you perform the effect – performing this in someone’s house or on a mid-sized theme-decorated stage is going to be much stronger (an more fun) than performing this in a traditional close up theater or on a big stage.

If you are a magic dealer and are interested in carrying this product, you can contact Murphy’s Magic Supplies at 916 853 9292 or visit them on the web at www.murphysmagicsupplies.com.

Card Magic, Close Up, DVD, Mentalism | View Comments

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 Thought of Cards Across Project - Reviewed by Derek Merdinyan: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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This short booklet teaches three Thought of Cards Across routines that are all impromptu meaning you can perform this with anyone’s shuffled deck without anything extra.

The three routines are of a moderate difficulty level and have a nice streamlined feel.

At times the instructions were a little confusing and took a little rereading, but it was nothing compared to the horrible instructions that typically plague most cheap packet tricks.

Honestly, not too much to say here, the effects are simple, straight forward, impromptu in nature, and yet they are perfect for real worker magicians.

If you are a magic dealer and are interested in carrying this product, you can contact Murphy’s Magic Supplies at 916 853 9292 or visit them on the web at www.murphysmagicsupplies.com.

Booklet, Card Magic, Close Up, Impromptu, Mentalism | View Comments

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 Outside the Conventional - Reviewed by Derek Merdinyan [1:46m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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The close up mentalism effects on this DVD will not only find favor amongst mentalists, but also by bizarrists and even traditional close up performers alike. Not only are these effects performed in front of a lay audience, but they are often presented through story – good logical presentations which enhance the effect.

Most of these effects require some sort of setup or advanced preparation and when possible, the idea of using certain effects in walk around performances is discussed (regarding reset options). Otherwise, these effects can run in a wide variety of close up/standup performing situations. Because of the intimate way these effects are constructed, I feel that some of these effects will need restructuring if you desire to perform them in anything that resembles a stage or a larger audience; for example, one of these effects essentially changes the coin in a spectator’s hand – not exactly something visible for larger crowds.

For a two disk set, I would have liked more than 8 effects (which could fit on one disk), but because you also get some rich presentations to go along with these effects, you may find some good value here.

If you are a magic dealer and are interested in carrying this product, you can contact Murphy’s Magic Supplies at 916 853 9292 or visit them on the web at www.murphysmagicsupplies.com.

Close Up, DVD, Mentalism | View Comments

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 Optical Delusion - Reviewed by Derek Merdinyan [2:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Optical Delusion is a specialized effect designed to help promote your services as a performer.

Setting up this effect is going to test just how tech savvy you are. Preparation requires filming the video to use in the effect – so you’re going to need a video camera. Furthermore, you’ll need some sort of video and photo editing software. Aaron lists several free downloadable programs that will get the job done. For those of you with little to no video editing experience, Aaron takes you through the process step by step of how to construct the key elements of the video to be played on your phone.

There are so many different cellphone designs these days and naturally, there are going to be some phones that just won’t work for this one. The four key requirements to performing OD with your phone are:
1). The ability to take digital photos
2). The ability to view video files
3). The ability to transfer video files from your computer to your phone (via USB, Bluetooth, SD card, etc…)
4). A fairly decent sized viewing screen.

In addition to the basic routine, several additional effects are taught without the use of a deck of cards.

One of my favorite features of the DVD was the ‘Patterson Force’ – a super simple force that really kicks the crap out of older versions of similar forces. There is a little preparation involved, but once you have the setup in the deck, you can use the deck for anything you please.

Overall, I was pleased with this DVD. I think if you have the knowledge and ability or the confidence to learn how to prepare for this effect, it will be more than worth the $35 price tag for all the gigs this will get you.

If you are a magic dealer and are interested in carrying this product, you can contact Murphy’s Magic Supplies at 916 853 9292 or visit them on the web at www.murphysmagicsupplies.com.

Card Magic, Close Up, DVD, Effect, Mentalism, Restaurant, Street Magic | View Comments