Torn Too - Daniel Garcia

Torn Too. Daniel Garcia makes sure not to call this Torn 2, as in a sequel, but to have it called the equivalent to Torn Also. It makes sense, because it isn't really a sequel. It's not tearing sections of the card and restoring them; it's only one. The video is full of Daniel Garcia's weirdness and funny jokes. The video is easy and entertaining to watch - even the explanations. It really steps you through everything you need to do. It even provides a little practice session with some good music with a great beat to practice to. This video allows you to see all the angles and as many tips as Daniel can come up with. Honestly, this is an excellent product.

The effect here is that a card is freely chosen, placed in the deck, and it then rises to the top. No one can see how this happens. The reason is explained because the card was marked, or crimped. To illustrate how a crimp can't be viewed by the untrained eye, the card has a corner torn off. It is explained that this type of modification to the card is not noticable to the untrained eye. The torn section is placed either on the spectator's hand or on the table. The tear is shown to be very helpful in finding that card, since it's the only torn card. Then, the little piece of card is placed on top of the torn card, and with a swipe of the thumb the card restores. The deck can be spread to show that there aren't any corners of cards anywhere to be seen in the deck.

Ok, let's break it down a bit more. The effect claims that it is Instantly Repeatable. YES! You can! Strolling close-up magicians, this is one for you! Perform, and when you're ready to do it again - it's ready too!

The handling is simply genius. I've seen other torn cards with a similar technique with the tear, but none as good as the restore (No loose pieces to be careful of). The restoration DOES take some practice. Once you have it down, you will say it is really easy. Daniel Garcia says that if you can spread the cards, that you can do this trick. It's pretty much true. Once you get it down, it's going to be as easy as cutting or spreading cards.

What I really like about this effect is that you can do it with a signed card. All of us card magicians know what kind of treat it is to "prove" our magic. The routine outlined in the video is good. It doesn't quite fit my personality, but modifications are do-able with this. This is definitely an effect I can make my own, and I highly recommend any close-up, strolling magician to get this one. Even if you just perform magic as a hobby for friends and family - this is a must have.

The only downside is that the spectator's can't examine the deck. After such a presentation, they probably won't want to. This is probably a good reason to make sure to spread the cards after performing, so that they can see all the cards spread out. Spreading seems to be enough examination, but if they are grabby spectators, they will find out how this works.

One last thought - again - a portion of the restore DOES take some practice. Don't feel like this will be one of those effects you'll get and perform within 10 mins of getting. There is some initial setup that takes a bit of time, and maybe a shopping trip if you haven't got all the necessary materials. The video does a great job stepping you through everything you need to know for the preparation, performance, and even how to handle the reactions.

Royal Road to Card Magic with Rudy Hunter (4 DVD Set)

Magic books can be hard to follow. You might really delve into a chapter to figure out what it's talking about only to find that the sleight you have learned sucks. Or maybe you aren't doing it right, but based upon the description and the picture it seems like you have it right. Books can sometimes be a bit of a let down.

FORTUNATELY!!! Someone went through all the hard work and put together a video!! YAY!! This is one book I own, and the video is MUCH better than the book. Not often is a movie better than a book, but in this case it is!! It really steps through the book, and for the most part nails everything in the book. The video gives the disclaimer that it left a few things out, but after 4 DVDs you won't notice... haha

Like a foreign language, if you put down the cards for a while, you get a bit rusty. This is a great set to brush up on skills and improve. There are some good tricks in this set. All of them are classic, and whether you're a beginner or not - this is a good addition to your library of magic videos. It suggests to practice along with reading from the book - however I didn't see that necessary.

I recommend picking up this set if you want to master card magic essentials. You really will see your familiarity with the cards, how to handle them, and ways to perform increase through practicing while watching this DVD. It's like having a college course of card magic on video. It's really good.

Flow by Dan Hauss

Wow, this is truly amazing. I really love this trick! Ok, so basically the bottle is turned upside down, and by the magician's "power" the water is kept from coming out of the bottle.

Don't get me wrong at all.. the method is truly genius! This trick is just not practical unless you perform outside. It also requires some preparation. It doesn't take long to prepare, but it can't be done with other's looking. The video gives you some ideas of how to get into the trick. I really love this video. The only downside is that I can't perform it table hopping or strolling, unless I'm outdoors - and I really don't want to pack a ton of prepared water bottles. This is a good one to show friends and family at a picnic or family event outside.

One good thing about this is that the bottle is absolutely examinable after the effect. They can take it home with no risk of being caught. The replacement "gimmick" is easy to find and easy to replace, and very cheap. This really is a genius "piece of strange" as Paul Harris might put it.

Search and Destroy by Aaron Fisher

I'm not usually disappointed by magic I find on Penguin Magic, nor Ellusionist.com. However, with this piece, wow - I was amazed it is actually for sale. I believe this was produced by Theory 11.

First off. Aaron Fisher loves to talk. He loves to hear himself talk. He also doesn't think you can come up with your own patter/jokes during a routine. Let's put it this way.... The video is about 1 1/2 hours long for about a 5 minute trick. Talk about JIBBER-JABBER!!

Let's just say the "Nowhere Pass" isn't a pass at all. It's not invisible - the spectator does it. He challenges you to find it, and bets you can't. I did - it was easy! Basically, a pass is placing the top half of the deck under the bottom half, or the bottom on the top. The "Nowhere pass" is asking the spectator to cut the cards and complete the cut. I wouldn't call that a pass. I call that a cut! Sorry to give away this important detail. I'm really hoping no one wastes their money on learning the "Nowhere pass" and being disappointed that it is just asking the spectator's to cut the cards.

I'm sure if the whole routine was shown on the demo, that any magician could figure it out. Basically, I figure that Aaron Fisher was sitting down one day, took about 5 mins and made up a cute little trick. Then, thought that he should sell it for $30 and blab about it forever on video. I seriously feel bad for the camera man who had to listen to his garbage for as long as he did.

Honestly, I've sat down and put together better tricks than this, and I'm not selling them for $30! This does not bring anything new into magic. It uses ideas already being practiced. This might be a better piece of magic if the magician actually did the pass invisibly in their own hand. This product may be worth the price if it has about 10 tricks of the same calibre on the same DVD (Hint: Ellusionist.com has the Ninja series DVDs loaded with sleights and effects for less than this).

Save your money, find something better than this. I do not suggest to get it - in fact I recommend steering clear of this! If you want to know how the trick works.. turn two cards upside-down.. one placed a few cards from the top, and the other a few cards from the bottom. Cut the deck, and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about. It's not magic I would perform for people who aren't under the influence of alcohol. If they have a working mind, they will see very clearly how this trick is done... HORRIBLE EFFECT!!

Sick by Sean Fields (Coin swallowed, comes out arm)

Sean Field's is an awesome magician, and illusion creator. I really enjoy his work. Sick is no exception. If you've seen Criss Angel perform this effect, you know how devestating the reactions can be. This really can't be performed for the faint of heart.

What I really like about this video are all the tips with blood. Not only does this video give excellent tips, but also gives a fairly good recipe for it.

I love the handling. This is a very deceptive trick. All the motions are covered by larger motions. There is no way anyone will know how this is being performed if you practice and really go through all the preparations of this trick.

The video was entertaining - Sean did jibber-jabber a bit, but it does not destract from the pure awesomeness of this effect. I fully recommend this item for anyone who likes "geek magic." Even if you won't perform it, as a magician it's still cool to know how it's done.

Prohibition - Magic - Cap through Bottle

Prohibition - Watch the video of the effect here!

As I have said before about this trick, this is the best cap through bottle trick I've seen. The method is so clean and easy. Whenever I've performed this trick, people are amazed and have no idea how it is done.

The video is easy to follow and goes through all the ins-and-outs that you need to know for each bottle type. It gives tips on performances, and even shows performances. Each move is broken down to be very simple. After watching the video I was performing within 15 mins of practice.

Cool points about the trick:

The magic is very visual. The cap actually appears to be slammed through the bottom of the trick

The sounds of the effect go in line with what you see. As the cap slides out of the bottle and is smacked on the bottom - the sounds match how it would actually sound, and the visuals along with the sound make the effect very convincing.

People actually believe that a way has been found for an object to penetrate the glass, but then also know that glass will not allow a solid to pass through it. So it leaves people astonished. I highly recommend this trick!

Loops by Yigal Mesika - Levitate anything!

Most of the magic I buy, I am usually pretty happy with. This particular product was a let down, every step of the way.

First, I opened up the package to see the loops. They were a bit thicker than I imagined. I have used invisible thread before, but these loops were quite easy to see, I thought.

Then, I tried practicing some tricks from the book I purchased along with it. The loops broke! I went through like 2-3 loops just on one trick, and I hadn't hardly done anything at all to break them!

Now, I only had a couple of loops left, so I decided to try a trick I had practiced out on someone. I showed a trick, but the spectator saw the thread just as easily as I had suspected. All the literature says that no one will look for it, since they don't know it is there... but come on - if someone is levitating an object, most people are going to try and notice anything holding it up.

The loops are not invisible, and were quite a disappointment. The dark color showed up easily against the cards I used. Loops are a waste of money. You might find more success with them than I did, but I've seen other's comments in forums about the loops, and a lot of people don't like them. I prefer invisible thread, but - all in all, I'd rather learn some sleight of hand instead.