Price$30.00
Media TypeDVD
CategoryClose Up, Mentalism
Date AddedDec 18, 2010
Modern Mentalism Vol. 1
Mello, Matt
Paper Crane Magic
(Based on 1 review)
Volume 1
:: Serial :: An on-the-spot serial number reading, requiring nothing more than a borrowed dollar from your spectator.
:: Coffee Melt :: Imagine if you could touch a straw and make it melt and bend at your command, being able to control everything from speed to how far it will continue to bend. Well, with Coffee Melt, you'll be able to do just that, and you'll be able to do it seconds after learning it!
:: Photographic :: If you could really memorize a long string of code in seconds, it would probably look something like this.
:: Lottery :: This is Matt's version of the add-a-number routine, using the lottery as it's theme. It uses no switch pads or gimmicks, and as a bonus, Matt also teaches a way to do this effect with absolutely nothing on you but a pen and paper.
:: Stop :: A demonstration of suggestion and influence during a simple game with cards.
:: Handy Prediction :: A spectator is asked to hold their hand up, and then drop any amount of fingers. A card the performer is holding predicts the spectators actions.
:: Any Card at Any Number :: Forget about complicated math and card counting and all of that, and get ready for one of the simplest solutions to the "Card At Any Number Plot". With only a deck of cards and a prediction, you'll be able to perform one of the easiest, most baffling effects imaginable on your spectators.
Running Time Approximately: 60min
Reviews
(Top ▲)
I really wanted to like this. There are some good ideas, and I like the idea of a sort of beginner’s crash course on close up mentalism, but Matt is not the person to pull off a project like this. He’s not that strong of a performer, he’s not an extremely gifted creator, and he’s not that great of a teacher. There are segments that are plenty clear that he repeats several times, and there are really important things he skims over or simply doesn’t address.
While there are some decent ideas, there aren’t nearly enough to justify the asking price, and some of the methods and routines are so flawed it’s astonishing. Just a few examples are:
- A memorized deck routine where the spectator never shuffles the packet you apparently ‘memorize’.
- A ‘one out of four’ prediction effect where the prediction is removed from your pocket, AFTER the choice is made, and your pocket is not shown empty afterwards.
- A ‘new’center tear where the pieces go out of sight behind your fingers… several times.
- A Smash and Stab routine with home made props, and a method that strongly depends on the lighting conditions you are in. This is probably the single most unsafe method for this effect I’ve ever seen.
The presentation and scripting on all of these effects are nonexistent. I got the feeling that he wants to be Daniel Garcia, without the charm, doing bad mentalism on the street. The whole thing is shot with a ‘gritty Blaine’ style, which gets old after fifteen minutes. Oh, and there is a smudge on the camera lens during some segments. Why couldn’t the camera guy ask to stop tape for a moment to clean it off?
There are so many better ideas that are over seventy years old, and they can be found in the classic books for a quarter of the price of these DVDs. Read those books, and stay away from this.
One Star
While there are some decent ideas, there aren’t nearly enough to justify the asking price, and some of the methods and routines are so flawed it’s astonishing. Just a few examples are:
- A memorized deck routine where the spectator never shuffles the packet you apparently ‘memorize’.
- A ‘one out of four’ prediction effect where the prediction is removed from your pocket, AFTER the choice is made, and your pocket is not shown empty afterwards.
- A ‘new’center tear where the pieces go out of sight behind your fingers… several times.
- A Smash and Stab routine with home made props, and a method that strongly depends on the lighting conditions you are in. This is probably the single most unsafe method for this effect I’ve ever seen.
The presentation and scripting on all of these effects are nonexistent. I got the feeling that he wants to be Daniel Garcia, without the charm, doing bad mentalism on the street. The whole thing is shot with a ‘gritty Blaine’ style, which gets old after fifteen minutes. Oh, and there is a smudge on the camera lens during some segments. Why couldn’t the camera guy ask to stop tape for a moment to clean it off?
There are so many better ideas that are over seventy years old, and they can be found in the classic books for a quarter of the price of these DVDs. Read those books, and stay away from this.
One Star