Random I-Tunes Song of The Moment: Anastasia by Slash

Five tricks, six moves, one gimmick and $35 bucks and the question of the day: should you buy this?

Effect

Well . . . they are various and sundry. Let me start by saying this . . . you'll be getting 11 moves/tricks that certainly are what they claim to be, innovative. These are fresh and new approaches to many familiar plots.

Color Mama & The Lightening Change

This is one of the most visually stunning color changes I've ever seen. The Lightening Change is used in Color Mama to create a very visual and impossible seeming version of Al Leech's classic Red Hot Mama.

Color Triumph

Here you'll find a variation on the Professor's powerful plot. A blue deck is used. Magically, the half the spectator chooses changes red. A red card and blue card are chosen. The cards are mixed blue into red. Yet in an instant, the reds and blues are separated except for one blue card in the red section and one red card in the blue section. This is a fresh approach to the plot and pretty easy to do.

The Harmony Store

This takes the coincidence plot to a whole different level. The short version is this: the spectator finds four different four of a kinds from a shuffled deck using totally random and totally free choices. That description doesn't even come close to doing justice to the power of this almost-self-working effect.

There are many more moves and effects, but those are a couple of highlights to give you a sense of the kind of material found here. Two other quick mentions are the Raikiri Shoot and The Eagle. I would be shocked if you aren't completely fooled by these two "effects" (they're really utility moves). The first one, simply: a selected card flies out of the pack into your left hand as you dribble the cards to the table with your right hand. This one is in the trailer and it really does look as good as you see it in the trailer.

The Eagle is an extremely clever and nearly undetectable method for peaking a card from a borrowed and completely shuffled deck. It's very deceptive and has a ton of applications in card magic.

Method

Well . . . they are various and sundry. Generally speaking, the methods are quite advanced knuckle-busters. However, there are also some nearly self-working effects and a good combination of both. All of the methods are so well constructed and developed, that the resulting effect is full of impossible moments, and visual impact that is very powerful. A few notes: much of the knuckle-busting stuff is a bit angle sensitive and will not come easily, so be willing to put in the work. Most of the methods are pretty practical once you've learned them, but be prepared to do your time.

Ad Copy Integrity

Well . . . you thought I was gonna say "various and sundry" again didn't you? The ad copy appears to be full of hype, but it's not. It's 100% dead on. These effects really are as visual or powerful or fooling, etc. as they claim to be.

Product Quality

Product quality. This one took a small hit. The lighting was a bit sketchy and some of the camera work was a bit sketchy, and the DVD menu was very confusing.

Final Thoughts

As you know, I typically prefer to let you see what the effect is, and then I just attempt to convince you that the product/trick is (or is not) what it claims. However, when reviewing multi-effect DVDs, it's really hard to not talk about effect. I have to explain it to you since you don't really get to see a full performance. If you're a fan of the many brilliant magicians in Spain (Juan Tamariz, Dani DaOrtiz, Ramon Rioboo, et al.), you'll very much appreciate the work of Mariano Goñi.

From this DVD, you'll very likely find something that speaks to you and you'll certainly be impressed by his thinking and methodology even if you don't use the material. There are excellent moves and material that can be used in many more scenarios than mentioned on this project.

Final Verdict:
4 Stars with a Stone Status of Gem.