Random I-Tunes Song of The Moment: Awake and Alive By Skillet

It's always fascinating to see another person's point of view on any one subject. It's interesting to see how different people can see the same thing in different ways. That's one of the cool things about the 'World's Greatest Magic' series by L&L Publishing. While on one hand it feels like a way to recycle product and make a few quick sales, on the other hand it's good to have all the best minds on the same plot.

If you read more reviews from me regarding the 'World's Greatest Magic' series, you will find that they all start with these first few sentences so that each review will have the same background and foundation. So on to this particular DVD: Collins' Aces.

Let's look at each performer's version for a brief moment.

Martin Lewis:

Of the group, Martin's or Elmsley's were my least favorite... I know... burn me as a heretic! Martin's was pretty straight forward, not a lot of interesting interaction with the audience, just sort of a 'look at what I can do' demonstration. He did have a couple of comedy moments, however, that were worth sitting through his performance. The spelling ending is not my favorite way to end this, but it's the most popular way that magicians seem to do this effect (although not part of the original Collins' routine). However, during Martin's performance, the audience cheered the most on this part of the routine. Chalk one up to Jeff not thinking like a lay person.

Bill Malone:

Of the group, Malone and Wagner were my most favorite. It's tough to say which one is better. Both were much more entertaining than the others on the DVD. Bill's is loaded with fancy flinging and false shuffles and color changes, cards flying out of the deck... it builds nicely and it super entertaining.

Although Malone essentially does Lewis' version of Collins' effect, he actually makes the spelling part of this routine very entertaining and fun to watch. The addition of his personality and the fancy-ness of it makes this a real show piece. It's performances like this that make it clear why Bill Malone is such a huge success. Probably the most valuable thing, however, to learn from Malone's routine is not the technique, but rather the fact that he truly has made this his own.

J.C. Wagner:

What can I say... I love J.C. Wagner. I've been a huge fan of his for many, many years. His performance of this effect is exactly why. First, unique to this version on the DVD, he doesn't change the Ace to another card, but the card itself actually vanishes. In other words, the other routines have 1 Ace and 3 indifferent cards; Then when the Ace vanishes, you have 4 indifferent cards. With J.C. you end up with only 3 indifferent cards. The forth one (the Ace) is gone.

Also, he has a bit of a different ending which dispenses with the spelling. It's very clever and entertaining. The whole routine is like a combo of Collins' aces, Open Traveler, and an Ace Assembly. His style is just so low-key and laid back... It's very casual magic. I really like it, so I'll admit that my review of his section of the DVD may be slightly biased. Plus he didn't spell. Thank you.

Michael Ammar:

I do enjoy watching Michael Ammar perform. He's a magician I respect greatly, and a guy who has really put a lot of thought into his performances and his work. Unfortunately, this was not an example of that Michael Ammar. His handling was certainly fine, but it felt very scripted a bit stiff. It was also identical (nearly) to Martin Lewis's handling and performance, including some of the lines. It would have been a good move to leave out either Ammar's or Lewis' because they were essentially the same. Ammar's was a bit more entertaining, so Lewis would have been cut had I produced this DVD.

Alex Elmsley:

This one was the worst of the bunch. Sorry guys. I love Elmsley as much as the next guy, but this was super dry and very un-entertaining. You know when you're hangin' with your buddies who know that you're a magician... one of your buddies says, 'Hey, I know a card trick.' You know you're in for the 21 card trick, but you just hang in there and humor the poor guy. That's how I felt while watching Elmsley perform. To be fair, he did have a couple of moments during the 'spelling' part that were funny.

And to his credit, he threw in an overhand shuffle and a faro and still was able to pull off the spelling... that's pretty intense card work, but overall, this was probably my least favorite performance.

James Swain:

Not bad... He seemed a bit nervous. I'm really disappointed with his Explanation. In the performance he used a four Ace production that he did not explain. Also, the final Ace was vanished in a packet of Kings rather than just indifferent cards. He didn't cover that as well. Finally, during the four Ace production, it appeared as though he messed up and produced the wrong card. He recovered nicely, but I wasn't sure if it was intentional or not.

His ending was decent. You end up with a poker deal, but it does require some bottom dealing... not a fan of that. Although, his ending could be done without bottom dealing, but it would require you to force a packet on the spectator... not bad... and he didn't spell!

Final Thoughts:

Long story short... Wagner and Malone saved the day on this one. Otherwise I'd be telling you to skip it, but it's worth getting just to see their handling and presentation. I'm only giving a 3 star because for $20.00 bucks you're getting 2 good performances and a few decent ideas from the others.

Final Verdict:
3 Stars with a Stone Status of gem (little g).