Boondock Mental is a DVD that different people are going to like for different reasons.
I liked four of the routines for different reasons. Devils’ Peak has a wonderful method, Easy Canasta will be an amazing effect with the right patter, Voodoo Bill is a great visual effect and There is No Spoon routine is really well thought out metal bending routine.
I love the way Kranzo thinks. Kranzo has an amazing ability to take complicated effects and simplify the handling by using some brilliant thinking. I saw him lecture at Marc DeSouza’s a couple of months ago and just loved some of his material like Diction, Two Fly/Three Fly and his work with a Mene Tekel Deck. You see a lot of that type of thinking in this DVD. As a result of simplifying the handling of his effects, Kranzo has made these effects truly worker.
I think a lot of magicians are going to like the impossibility of the effects and the fact that the effects all are very visual magic that occurs in the spectator’s hands. Although I like to build my effects with strong patter, these effects are so strong and so visual you don’t have to say much at all. I can also see these effects going into a walk around or table hopping performer’s arsenal. They are simple, quick and strong.
Devils' Peek
I love the method here. It won’t fool a magician, but it will astonish your spectators. I can see myself using this method. However, I think that the provided presentation falls short in two areas. First, there is no justification for the cover move. I can’t be more specific without hinting at the method. I think this could be remedied by adding some patter or by using the effect for two spectators. Second, the effect as performed comes across as a “stunt” where you can think of the word they wrote down on your business card. Kranzo suggests using a name of a person and then jokes at the end about calling the person to see if they felt anything. I think that presentation leaves the spectator wondering how did he do that. This method can be used for more powerful presentations than that. The effect will require you to make a trip to the office supply store to get envelopes to put the prediction into.
One of the subtleties that Kranzo leaves out is if you are revealing a name, don’t get it exactly correct right off. If it is Will, say it as “William or Bill… no that’s not quite it… it is Will.” Kranzo does this in the performance but doesn’t touch on it in the explanation.
Chi Break
This was a cool trick. I love the method used in having the spectator select the “correct” matches. However, one of the moves has no justification and there is little in terms of presentation provided for this effect. I can see other magicians liking it and using it because it is a strong effect that happens in the spectator’s hands. I’ve filed the selection method away to use in another effect, but I don’t see myself performing this effect. There is some minimal set-up involved to perform this effect.
Easy Canasta
So I watching the DVD liking the ideas but not finding anything that I would use and then BAM, Kranzo hits me with this. A couple of minutes into the explanation I had my “this is so freaking devious” grin on. I had a hunch for part of the method, but the other part floored me. This is classic Kranzo. It is an amazing effect for the spectator but as a magician the thinking is just freaking brilliant. I like the idea of talking about mirroring somebody’s actions but would take it a lot further – mirrors are powerful objects and could really provide a strong presentation for the effect. In my opinion, this is the best effect on the DVD. It requires some minimal set-up but the performance is almost foolproof.
Spent / Spent Transpo
Both are pretty cool tricks, but not something I would perform. I like the idea of producing smoke in your hands from unlit matches but I can’t see how it would fit into my presentation style. The thinking behind these two tricks is amazing and I can see how they will get great reactions in a walk around or table-hopping situation. There is some set up involved and you will need a gimmick which you should already have.
Voodoo Bill
I really liked this one. The magic is very strong and the thinking is classic Kranzo. I like how this effect has two phases and where the second phase is substantially stronger than the first. The magic happens in their hands with a borrowed signed bill. The routine is really, really well thought out with all of the secret moves happening as part of natural movements. Kranzo also give you a lot of subtleties on how to perform this routine. Some set up and sleight of hand required.
There is no Spoon
This is very well developed routine. Again, the thinking excellent as is the justification and timing of certain moves works naturally with the built in misdirection of the effect. If you want to learn spoon bending, then this routine is worth the price of the DVD. It is a three phase routine where the spectator ends up with an amazing souvenir. I think the explanation of this routine was the best on the DVD. I haven’t done spoon bending before, but this routine has me seriously thinking about it. There is no set up required. The first phase requires IET. Spoons not included.
Stiletto
Another strong effect with a brilliant method. I can see myself developing this into something with a different presentation. I would be interested to see if you could have the spectator stab the deck with the knife. However, I would want to use this with some stronger patter to justify using a knife to find a card. I suspect that most people would be content with the shock of pulling out a knife and stabbing the deck. There is some pre-show work required to build a gimmick but the gimmick can be reused multiple times.
Credit Card Vanish
Again, this a great handling of the vanish and is a clean visual vanish. For me, I’m not sure where I would use the vanish in a performance, but I suspect it would be a cool trick to do when paying a bill.
Overall Impressions
The teaching on the DVD is very thorough, almost too thorough. For me, all the details seemed to be overkill, but to a beginning performer the DVD covers everything you need to know.
I think this DVD will appeal to people at different levels. It is good that it has a variety of effects on a single DVD. For those that want some short visual tricks that can be performed without a lot of patter you will love this DVD. For those that like to see brilliant thinking – it is on the DVD. If you need effects for a walk around or table hopping routine, this is a must have DVD.
I liked four of the routines for different reasons. Devils’ Peak has a wonderful method, Easy Canasta will be an amazing effect with the right patter, Voodoo Bill is a great visual effect and There is No Spoon routine is really well thought out metal bending routine.
I love the way Kranzo thinks. Kranzo has an amazing ability to take complicated effects and simplify the handling by using some brilliant thinking. I saw him lecture at Marc DeSouza’s a couple of months ago and just loved some of his material like Diction, Two Fly/Three Fly and his work with a Mene Tekel Deck. You see a lot of that type of thinking in this DVD. As a result of simplifying the handling of his effects, Kranzo has made these effects truly worker.
I think a lot of magicians are going to like the impossibility of the effects and the fact that the effects all are very visual magic that occurs in the spectator’s hands. Although I like to build my effects with strong patter, these effects are so strong and so visual you don’t have to say much at all. I can also see these effects going into a walk around or table hopping performer’s arsenal. They are simple, quick and strong.
Devils' Peek
I love the method here. It won’t fool a magician, but it will astonish your spectators. I can see myself using this method. However, I think that the provided presentation falls short in two areas. First, there is no justification for the cover move. I can’t be more specific without hinting at the method. I think this could be remedied by adding some patter or by using the effect for two spectators. Second, the effect as performed comes across as a “stunt” where you can think of the word they wrote down on your business card. Kranzo suggests using a name of a person and then jokes at the end about calling the person to see if they felt anything. I think that presentation leaves the spectator wondering how did he do that. This method can be used for more powerful presentations than that. The effect will require you to make a trip to the office supply store to get envelopes to put the prediction into.
One of the subtleties that Kranzo leaves out is if you are revealing a name, don’t get it exactly correct right off. If it is Will, say it as “William or Bill… no that’s not quite it… it is Will.” Kranzo does this in the performance but doesn’t touch on it in the explanation.
Chi Break
This was a cool trick. I love the method used in having the spectator select the “correct” matches. However, one of the moves has no justification and there is little in terms of presentation provided for this effect. I can see other magicians liking it and using it because it is a strong effect that happens in the spectator’s hands. I’ve filed the selection method away to use in another effect, but I don’t see myself performing this effect. There is some minimal set-up involved to perform this effect.
Easy Canasta
So I watching the DVD liking the ideas but not finding anything that I would use and then BAM, Kranzo hits me with this. A couple of minutes into the explanation I had my “this is so freaking devious” grin on. I had a hunch for part of the method, but the other part floored me. This is classic Kranzo. It is an amazing effect for the spectator but as a magician the thinking is just freaking brilliant. I like the idea of talking about mirroring somebody’s actions but would take it a lot further – mirrors are powerful objects and could really provide a strong presentation for the effect. In my opinion, this is the best effect on the DVD. It requires some minimal set-up but the performance is almost foolproof.
Spent / Spent Transpo
Both are pretty cool tricks, but not something I would perform. I like the idea of producing smoke in your hands from unlit matches but I can’t see how it would fit into my presentation style. The thinking behind these two tricks is amazing and I can see how they will get great reactions in a walk around or table-hopping situation. There is some set up involved and you will need a gimmick which you should already have.
Voodoo Bill
I really liked this one. The magic is very strong and the thinking is classic Kranzo. I like how this effect has two phases and where the second phase is substantially stronger than the first. The magic happens in their hands with a borrowed signed bill. The routine is really, really well thought out with all of the secret moves happening as part of natural movements. Kranzo also give you a lot of subtleties on how to perform this routine. Some set up and sleight of hand required.
There is no Spoon
This is very well developed routine. Again, the thinking excellent as is the justification and timing of certain moves works naturally with the built in misdirection of the effect. If you want to learn spoon bending, then this routine is worth the price of the DVD. It is a three phase routine where the spectator ends up with an amazing souvenir. I think the explanation of this routine was the best on the DVD. I haven’t done spoon bending before, but this routine has me seriously thinking about it. There is no set up required. The first phase requires IET. Spoons not included.
Stiletto
Another strong effect with a brilliant method. I can see myself developing this into something with a different presentation. I would be interested to see if you could have the spectator stab the deck with the knife. However, I would want to use this with some stronger patter to justify using a knife to find a card. I suspect that most people would be content with the shock of pulling out a knife and stabbing the deck. There is some pre-show work required to build a gimmick but the gimmick can be reused multiple times.
Credit Card Vanish
Again, this a great handling of the vanish and is a clean visual vanish. For me, I’m not sure where I would use the vanish in a performance, but I suspect it would be a cool trick to do when paying a bill.
Overall Impressions
The teaching on the DVD is very thorough, almost too thorough. For me, all the details seemed to be overkill, but to a beginning performer the DVD covers everything you need to know.
I think this DVD will appeal to people at different levels. It is good that it has a variety of effects on a single DVD. For those that want some short visual tricks that can be performed without a lot of patter you will love this DVD. For those that like to see brilliant thinking – it is on the DVD. If you need effects for a walk around or table hopping routine, this is a must have DVD.