Sinful did a great job letting us know the effects, and what comes in the box – I want to review the strength and usefulness of the effects – from my perspective.
Disc 1
Twilight Angels
“An angel disappears from one side of a card, and appears beside the other” Seeing this effect reprised reminded me that I have overlooked this gem for years. I remember a friend telling me he did this for a lady, and she said, “You shouldn’t do this effect, if you don’t want to instantly sleep with the girl you do it for” – it can be a very romantic and/or powerful effect. I love the ideas they offer, instead of using a mirror – like a shiny Zippo, far more natural a prop. The only downside – you only get 4 of the gimmicks you need. They say signing it is an option, but with an effect this powerful, you SHOULD WANT to give it away as a keep sake. All in all – the first effect was a great kick off to the set. 9/10
BackLash 2
This is an interesting effect – I am not sure if I like it yet, as I am unsure how to present it. In short, a spec signs the front and back of a card – this card goes in your pocket – it appears to come back to the deck when they see their signed card reversed in the pack – but then they are shown that is impossible, as their card is in your pocket. The kicker – the card in your pocket – one signature then changes to your own. Honestly, this effect is constructed well – I just think that it is one of those effects where I will struggle to come up with a reason for any of it happening. Again, I haven’t spent much time thinking on it, as I just watched the first video last night – but I can see this effect playing well. I just hate doing magic that happens because I can do it – rather than a reason to do it. Regardless, a great regular deck effect that will have you wasting a few cards each time you do it – but it has STRONG potential in the right hands. 7.5/10...if I can think of a presentation, perhaps more.
New Leaf
A torn leaf restores...yep...but you have to be outside to do it...then get the person to walk away from where you did the effect so they don’t find the “gimmick” – in short, this effect is well constructed, but still a bit impractical to be used more than once in your life. I am not going to rate this one, I can see it playing large for Big Foot, if you were stranded in the woods with no clothes and he asked to see something.
Cheng’s Change
Did you see the effect in shade where someone flicks 5 random cards and it changes to a royal flush? Gimmicked out the yahoo – Cheng’s Change – same thing, but no gimmicks. You end dirty, but he gives you ways to end clean – I like it better than the gimmick version, but have found it a bit knacky so far. I can’t see myself using this for any reason, but it would look great if you were put on the spot and needed something on video or for a TV clip. Looks as good as the gimmicked version, just don’t know if I would ever use it in a working situation. So, this ranking is based on that – not how good it looks, cause it looks like a 10, but – 6/10
The Big Tiny
Another effect I am unsure of – A spec writes their name on the side of the deck – the cards are mixed and placed into four piles – at the end – audience picks a pile, and it is revealed their random pile has their name written on it, in small...as do the three others. Honestly, I don’t find this effect impressive enough to waste a deck every time – however, PH gives a tip in his Phootenotes that may be stronger. Where they write the name on the side, legitimately shuffle, then you call out cards until the deck is reassembled in another order – and then display their name on the side in big....like a one phased Unshuffled, but shuffled...if that makes sense??? NO? Well, how much sense does it make to ruin a deck with someone’s name on it for this kind of effect? 7.5/10
Easter Eggs
Butchered Bunny Bill
A simplified version of the Bunny Bill. If you do it, or wanted to – this is much easier than the original.
Jeff’s Jump
A very cool flourish that you have seen on the trailers, where the card jumps to the pack when being dealt – it looks like camera tricks...it isn’t.
Son of Cellophane Surprise
A lit smoke is push through the cellophane plastic. The hole is seen easily, but the magician then restores it. A neat bar idea – if you have smokes...can light one...and the spectators don’t overly examine things at the end. Again – not my thing, a bit impractical for most settings, but well constructed. 6/10
In conclusion – I found Disc 1 of TA to have a lot of “neat” ideas on it. All the magic was constructed very well. However, I found much of it impractical to working magic, and geared towards creating that one moment, which is in line with PH style. I do see potential in Twilight Angles, BackLash 2 and The Big Tiny...and playing with Jeff’s Jump is fun to say the least. Cheng’s Change looks sick in his hands, and I am sure we will see it on every Youtube vids in the near future. The Interviews on this disc were great, it was cool to hear Blaine talk about his connection to PH’s work. Although I didn’t find any off the press workers gems on disc 1, I am very happy with the quality of magic on disc 1.
If you don’t own this, hope this helps you understand what you get for you buck...if you do, love to hear more about your thoughts on disc 1.
Look for disc 2 review within the week!
Disc 1
Twilight Angels
“An angel disappears from one side of a card, and appears beside the other” Seeing this effect reprised reminded me that I have overlooked this gem for years. I remember a friend telling me he did this for a lady, and she said, “You shouldn’t do this effect, if you don’t want to instantly sleep with the girl you do it for” – it can be a very romantic and/or powerful effect. I love the ideas they offer, instead of using a mirror – like a shiny Zippo, far more natural a prop. The only downside – you only get 4 of the gimmicks you need. They say signing it is an option, but with an effect this powerful, you SHOULD WANT to give it away as a keep sake. All in all – the first effect was a great kick off to the set. 9/10
BackLash 2
This is an interesting effect – I am not sure if I like it yet, as I am unsure how to present it. In short, a spec signs the front and back of a card – this card goes in your pocket – it appears to come back to the deck when they see their signed card reversed in the pack – but then they are shown that is impossible, as their card is in your pocket. The kicker – the card in your pocket – one signature then changes to your own. Honestly, this effect is constructed well – I just think that it is one of those effects where I will struggle to come up with a reason for any of it happening. Again, I haven’t spent much time thinking on it, as I just watched the first video last night – but I can see this effect playing well. I just hate doing magic that happens because I can do it – rather than a reason to do it. Regardless, a great regular deck effect that will have you wasting a few cards each time you do it – but it has STRONG potential in the right hands. 7.5/10...if I can think of a presentation, perhaps more.
New Leaf
A torn leaf restores...yep...but you have to be outside to do it...then get the person to walk away from where you did the effect so they don’t find the “gimmick” – in short, this effect is well constructed, but still a bit impractical to be used more than once in your life. I am not going to rate this one, I can see it playing large for Big Foot, if you were stranded in the woods with no clothes and he asked to see something.
Cheng’s Change
Did you see the effect in shade where someone flicks 5 random cards and it changes to a royal flush? Gimmicked out the yahoo – Cheng’s Change – same thing, but no gimmicks. You end dirty, but he gives you ways to end clean – I like it better than the gimmick version, but have found it a bit knacky so far. I can’t see myself using this for any reason, but it would look great if you were put on the spot and needed something on video or for a TV clip. Looks as good as the gimmicked version, just don’t know if I would ever use it in a working situation. So, this ranking is based on that – not how good it looks, cause it looks like a 10, but – 6/10
The Big Tiny
Another effect I am unsure of – A spec writes their name on the side of the deck – the cards are mixed and placed into four piles – at the end – audience picks a pile, and it is revealed their random pile has their name written on it, in small...as do the three others. Honestly, I don’t find this effect impressive enough to waste a deck every time – however, PH gives a tip in his Phootenotes that may be stronger. Where they write the name on the side, legitimately shuffle, then you call out cards until the deck is reassembled in another order – and then display their name on the side in big....like a one phased Unshuffled, but shuffled...if that makes sense??? NO? Well, how much sense does it make to ruin a deck with someone’s name on it for this kind of effect? 7.5/10
Easter Eggs
Butchered Bunny Bill
A simplified version of the Bunny Bill. If you do it, or wanted to – this is much easier than the original.
Jeff’s Jump
A very cool flourish that you have seen on the trailers, where the card jumps to the pack when being dealt – it looks like camera tricks...it isn’t.
Son of Cellophane Surprise
A lit smoke is push through the cellophane plastic. The hole is seen easily, but the magician then restores it. A neat bar idea – if you have smokes...can light one...and the spectators don’t overly examine things at the end. Again – not my thing, a bit impractical for most settings, but well constructed. 6/10
In conclusion – I found Disc 1 of TA to have a lot of “neat” ideas on it. All the magic was constructed very well. However, I found much of it impractical to working magic, and geared towards creating that one moment, which is in line with PH style. I do see potential in Twilight Angles, BackLash 2 and The Big Tiny...and playing with Jeff’s Jump is fun to say the least. Cheng’s Change looks sick in his hands, and I am sure we will see it on every Youtube vids in the near future. The Interviews on this disc were great, it was cool to hear Blaine talk about his connection to PH’s work. Although I didn’t find any off the press workers gems on disc 1, I am very happy with the quality of magic on disc 1.
If you don’t own this, hope this helps you understand what you get for you buck...if you do, love to hear more about your thoughts on disc 1.
Look for disc 2 review within the week!
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