FIVE Review by Zachmonky.
Hello all! In honor of the release of FIVE tonight, I decided to write a review for you guys considering buying it.
Now I am sure some of you are thinking, "How could I consider a review for a product which just released?". The answer that that question is that JB sent the DVD to various staff and friends for their views and consultation before sending to the duplicators.
I have had this DVD for a few weeks, and am excited to share with you my views on it. It is quite a nice little gold mine
This review may not be 100 percent thorough, as I will not be going through the menus, case, box design, etc. The reason being? I watched the 2nd draft of FIVE, and I am sure there have been some changes to that sort of stuff since. However, the tricks are the same- and that is what I will be going over. I have performed all the effects excluding the lone card trick.
Stairway-
Effect:
This is an incredible version of a Dan Harlan trick. As you can see from the video, 2 bands are hooked on the fingers, and a bill is placed and secured onto the bottom band. Slowly it rises up the strands, one at a time. At the very top, it visual descends back to the bottom. Great effect.
What I think:
This trick is definitely a keeper, for me anyway. If you already have rubber bands on your wrist for crazy mans handcuffs, you will love performing this. All you need is a borrowed bill and a paperclip. I keep the clips in my wallet, but if you'd rather not, you can simply have someone hold onto the end of the bill, which(depending on your view) could be much stronger. I have also found this effect works great using a pen instead of a bill, hooking it on with the cap clip(is there a word for that thing?). That way you do not have to borrow a bill, which some people might be reluctant to give. Plus, rubber bands and pens are some very common objects in school and the workplace. Very practical.
Difficulty:
Very easy. Once you know the method, it is easy to understand, and should be no problem to perform. The teaching is also very easy to understand. Also pretty angle proof.
Overall:
Very fun, easy effect. Practical, and magical. I performed this multiple times at the Market Jam, and the Magic Castle junior meeting, and it fooled almost every magician. The reactions are great, and it is a great lead in or closer to crazy mans handcuffs. I did a workshop at the castle with this trick, and had a card selected and lost in the deck. I then took a random card, and folded it in half lengthwise. I then did stairway with said card, and after the effect, the card changed to the selection. As you can see, there are endless possibilities. Alright maybe not endless, but lots. 9/10
Raw Linkage:
Effect:
The bands link. And link. And unlink, and unlink. Words don't do this justice. The effect is the BEST band linking effect i've seen. Remember how insane Slink looked? This is like that, but on steroids. And a bit harder to grasp.
What I think:
I used to do slink as a follow-up to crazy mans handcuffs. The visual phases are great, but the angles are bad. And it's a bit hard to see. Now, slink has been replaced by Raw Linkage. This effect is just as visual, if not more so, and is almost entirely angleproof. The set up is a bit hard to learn at first, but once you grasp it, it is very easy to do. I LOVE this trick, and have done it quite a bit lately, reactions are great, and it has fooled a bunch of magicians i've performed it for. Again completely impromptu!
Difficulty:
Pretty easy once you know the setup. Again the set-up is a bit confusing at first and took me 30 minutes or so to get a firm grasp on it, had to re watch a few times. Once you know the setup, it's a breeze.
Overall:
I love this trick. This and Stairway are my favorite effects on this DVD. Makes me want more Marcus Eddie. Again, angle proof, relatively easy, looks great and is much more open than slink. 9/10
Fresh Scent
Effect:
Coin in Tic Tac box. Coin won't come out. Legitsauce.
What I think:
Really great effect. Not gonna dive into this one that much as there isn't much for me to say, I have only performed this once, and it got a good reaction. The effect itself is pretty good, the method is great. You end totally clean, no palming. You will love the method. Pretty practical, but as far as giving out the box with the trapped coin, you can do it, but tic tacs ain't cheap. Just my opinion though. Angles are a little iffy, but I like it.
Difficulty: Mucho easy. 1 time setup, 1 move. Pretty easy, though you have to watch your angles.
Overall:
I like this effect. Doesn't strike my interest as much as the band effects, but other people might like more than me. 5/10
Mint Condition
Effect:
You predict the number and/or color of the tic-tacs dumped into the spectators hand.
What I think:
The effect is pretty straightforward. They dump out mints, you predict how many, or if it is the type of tic tacs with 2 colors per box, you predict something like "2 orange, and 3 whites". The effect didn't strike my interest too much, however the method made me love it. The method is so clever, I almost pooped myself. The set-up takes a few minutes to make, but it's a one time thing. And it is so fun to perform, I giggle inside because of the brilliant method that is fooling people. There is also a bonus trick by Garcia which you dump out some white mints in your hand, pick on out, put it in your mouth, it changes colors, and the rest of the mints in your hand change colors. Same method, but I like the idea, and the change in the mouth is cool.
Difficulty: Self working. Though you may need some audience management skills.
Overall:
Love this trick. I love the method more than the effect though. You may get some people figuring it out if you do not use your words correctly. This is all explained in detail on the DVD. 7/10
Daleys Revenge:
Effect:
A bit hard to explain. You show the 4 tens. The reds are place into the center of the deck. You flip the blacks face up, rub them together, and they turn red. Take the reds, shake them and they turn right back to black. Cut the deck, and the two reds reappear. A bit like inTENcity, but different.
What I think:
I like this effect. The type of thing I would perform spur of the moment, if someone asked to see a trick. Very quick, visual phases, and very magical. Easy to do, and pretty much angle proof, with the exception of one move. I think a lot of you will dig it.
Difficulty: Easy.
Overall:
Very cool. Not overly original like some of the other effects, but i like it. 7/10
Well thats about it. I really like this DVD, and think a lot of you will enjoy it. The teaching is great, the effects rock, the bloopers are funny as hell, and the mini lectures in between the effects are nice. Over all- 8/10, I don't think anyone will be disappointed by this. A little something for everyone.
Thanks,
~Zach
Hello all! In honor of the release of FIVE tonight, I decided to write a review for you guys considering buying it.
Now I am sure some of you are thinking, "How could I consider a review for a product which just released?". The answer that that question is that JB sent the DVD to various staff and friends for their views and consultation before sending to the duplicators.
I have had this DVD for a few weeks, and am excited to share with you my views on it. It is quite a nice little gold mine
This review may not be 100 percent thorough, as I will not be going through the menus, case, box design, etc. The reason being? I watched the 2nd draft of FIVE, and I am sure there have been some changes to that sort of stuff since. However, the tricks are the same- and that is what I will be going over. I have performed all the effects excluding the lone card trick.
Stairway-
Effect:
This is an incredible version of a Dan Harlan trick. As you can see from the video, 2 bands are hooked on the fingers, and a bill is placed and secured onto the bottom band. Slowly it rises up the strands, one at a time. At the very top, it visual descends back to the bottom. Great effect.
What I think:
This trick is definitely a keeper, for me anyway. If you already have rubber bands on your wrist for crazy mans handcuffs, you will love performing this. All you need is a borrowed bill and a paperclip. I keep the clips in my wallet, but if you'd rather not, you can simply have someone hold onto the end of the bill, which(depending on your view) could be much stronger. I have also found this effect works great using a pen instead of a bill, hooking it on with the cap clip(is there a word for that thing?). That way you do not have to borrow a bill, which some people might be reluctant to give. Plus, rubber bands and pens are some very common objects in school and the workplace. Very practical.
Difficulty:
Very easy. Once you know the method, it is easy to understand, and should be no problem to perform. The teaching is also very easy to understand. Also pretty angle proof.
Overall:
Very fun, easy effect. Practical, and magical. I performed this multiple times at the Market Jam, and the Magic Castle junior meeting, and it fooled almost every magician. The reactions are great, and it is a great lead in or closer to crazy mans handcuffs. I did a workshop at the castle with this trick, and had a card selected and lost in the deck. I then took a random card, and folded it in half lengthwise. I then did stairway with said card, and after the effect, the card changed to the selection. As you can see, there are endless possibilities. Alright maybe not endless, but lots. 9/10
Raw Linkage:
Effect:
The bands link. And link. And unlink, and unlink. Words don't do this justice. The effect is the BEST band linking effect i've seen. Remember how insane Slink looked? This is like that, but on steroids. And a bit harder to grasp.
What I think:
I used to do slink as a follow-up to crazy mans handcuffs. The visual phases are great, but the angles are bad. And it's a bit hard to see. Now, slink has been replaced by Raw Linkage. This effect is just as visual, if not more so, and is almost entirely angleproof. The set up is a bit hard to learn at first, but once you grasp it, it is very easy to do. I LOVE this trick, and have done it quite a bit lately, reactions are great, and it has fooled a bunch of magicians i've performed it for. Again completely impromptu!
Difficulty:
Pretty easy once you know the setup. Again the set-up is a bit confusing at first and took me 30 minutes or so to get a firm grasp on it, had to re watch a few times. Once you know the setup, it's a breeze.
Overall:
I love this trick. This and Stairway are my favorite effects on this DVD. Makes me want more Marcus Eddie
. Again, angle proof, relatively easy, looks great and is much more open than slink. 9/10Fresh Scent
Effect:
Coin in Tic Tac box. Coin won't come out. Legitsauce.
What I think:
Really great effect. Not gonna dive into this one that much as there isn't much for me to say, I have only performed this once, and it got a good reaction. The effect itself is pretty good, the method is great. You end totally clean, no palming. You will love the method. Pretty practical, but as far as giving out the box with the trapped coin, you can do it, but tic tacs ain't cheap. Just my opinion though. Angles are a little iffy, but I like it.
Difficulty: Mucho easy. 1 time setup, 1 move. Pretty easy, though you have to watch your angles.
Overall:
I like this effect. Doesn't strike my interest as much as the band effects, but other people might like more than me. 5/10
Mint Condition
Effect:
You predict the number and/or color of the tic-tacs dumped into the spectators hand.
What I think:
The effect is pretty straightforward. They dump out mints, you predict how many, or if it is the type of tic tacs with 2 colors per box, you predict something like "2 orange, and 3 whites". The effect didn't strike my interest too much, however the method made me love it. The method is so clever, I almost pooped myself. The set-up takes a few minutes to make, but it's a one time thing. And it is so fun to perform, I giggle inside because of the brilliant method that is fooling people. There is also a bonus trick by Garcia which you dump out some white mints in your hand, pick on out, put it in your mouth, it changes colors, and the rest of the mints in your hand change colors. Same method, but I like the idea, and the change in the mouth is cool.
Difficulty: Self working. Though you may need some audience management skills.
Overall:
Love this trick. I love the method more than the effect though. You may get some people figuring it out if you do not use your words correctly. This is all explained in detail on the DVD. 7/10
Daleys Revenge:
Effect:
A bit hard to explain. You show the 4 tens. The reds are place into the center of the deck. You flip the blacks face up, rub them together, and they turn red. Take the reds, shake them and they turn right back to black. Cut the deck, and the two reds reappear. A bit like inTENcity, but different.
What I think:
I like this effect. The type of thing I would perform spur of the moment, if someone asked to see a trick. Very quick, visual phases, and very magical. Easy to do, and pretty much angle proof, with the exception of one move. I think a lot of you will dig it.
Difficulty: Easy.
Overall:
Very cool. Not overly original like some of the other effects, but i like it. 7/10
Well thats about it. I really like this DVD, and think a lot of you will enjoy it. The teaching is great, the effects rock, the bloopers are funny as hell, and the mini lectures in between the effects are nice. Over all- 8/10, I don't think anyone will be disappointed by this. A little something for everyone.
Thanks,
~Zach
