Random I-Tunes Song of The Moment: Piano Man by Billy Joel
I know I'm a tough critic. There! I said it. But I also think I'm a fair critic. So far everything I've reviewed by Todd Karr/The Miracle factory has been a 4, 4.5 or 5 star product. Ironically, however, the only effect that seems to have no silver lining is this one. I really tried to make this thing work, but as you'll see, it just ain't happening.
Let's look at a couple of things:
- Product Quality
- Handling
Product Quality
You get 8 postcards (4 of which are gimmicked) a few rubber bands, and a velvet drawstring bag . . . what's the deal with Todd Karr and velvet drawstring bags? I think he must have found a warehouse full of velvet drawstring bags and is trying figure out to get rid of them by including them in all of his effects. That said, the bag and the postcards are well made and good looking props. I have nothing bad to say about them other than the fact that the black back of the postcards tend to retain and show finger print smudges.
It's all down hill from here folks.
Handling
Although the instructions look nice with the full color printing, photographs and glossy paper, they are completely confusing. Based solely on the instructions, the effect is impossible. Essentially you need to do some playing card moves with a stack of postcards (e.g., Hamman Count, a sort of half pass, etc.). However, due to the size of the cards the moves are awkward at best. They're just about impossible. I have huge hands, and yet I still could not physically hold and handle the cards as explained in the instructions. Your hands would have to be much bigger than mine for the handling to work.
However, I gave the creator the benefit of the doubt and assumed that the trick could be done somehow. Thus I decided to see if I could modify the handling. However, nothing I could think of would make the handling and displays work in a smooth enough fashion that I'd feel comfortable showing a real audience. Further, due to the material (glossy thick card stock) that the cards are made of, they don't cooperate like a nice set of air-cushion finished Bikes do. The cards tend to stick together and just overall not handle well.
Final Thoughts
Presentationally, the concept has some merit . . . some blue skies get cloudy, but every cloud has a silver lining . . . then silver coins appear. But even that seems a little fragmented and contrived. The final line of the instructions is this: "Optional Ending - Use five of the coins and four of the postcards for a unique Matrix routine!" While that's an ok idea, I think forking over $30 bucks to do a matrix with nice looking postcards might be a bit much. If you like the sound of the effect and you think you'll have more luck handling the props than I did, then you may be ok with your purchase. Personally, I think that it's no coincidence that I couldn't find a live performance of the effect online.
Final Verdict:
1.5 stars with a Stone Status of Rubble