A TASTE OF CHAOS by Loki Kross:

My Review: 7.5/10

This review is based on the DVD DOWNLOAD which can be found here:
A Taste of Chaos by Loki Kross - DOWNLOAD

The DVD/DOWNLOAD is broken into two main parts, and we are taught the following effects: Legacy and Mythos. I will review each part accordingly.

LEGACY EFFECT - Visual TNR, Pure Sleight of Hand

This is a great TNR effect that is literally impromptu, meaning you don't have to have any prefolded cards to do this. If you have a deck of cards and you're willing to tear them up, then you just pick it up and go! Not too many TNR effects can be ready to perform without some "prefolding" piece in your pocket or hand. Legacy literally takes care of all that, so you literally can perform this with a borrowed or brand new deck of cards.

Likewise, in addition to not prefolding the cards prior to performance, there is no sticky tape or any other kind of pre-preparation that you need to do.

Now, I'm just going to get this out of the way right now and say, this is going to take some PRACTICE! If you're expecting to start performing this right after watching the DVD/download, you are either horribly optimmistic, or you're a from another planet!

Even Loki says on the video that the hardest part (the area that you will find needs the most practice) is the initial FOLDING and TEARING. It has to be precise in order to pull off the illusion.....but once you got that part down, the actual RESTORATION is fairly easy to do. It's just going to take some practice, especially if you've never done a TNR before.

At the end of the effect, he offers some alternative handling that none of you will probably use (like putting pieces in your mouth, pretending to eat it, and spitting it back onto the card), but I give Loki props for including them as an afterthought in case you find them useful.

After the instruction of Legacy, Loki and a friend (I can't remember his name) have a one-on-one sit down session with you. There are no second takes....no edits.....they just sit on a couch and talk about Legacy.

Bottom line - This one is going to take some TIME and lots of PRACTICE. But if you perform this, it's super visual, impromptu, and has great angles!

Pros:
- You don't need a prefolded card. The routine is constructed in a way that all the folding is performed in real time, right in front of the spectator. That means no prior setup is needed.
- Can be done standing, walkaround, street or parlor settings.
- Legacy can be performed in a loud setting (no speaking required) because the VISUALNESS of the restoration speaks for itself. If you want more of a storied effect, see MYTHOS below.
- It's good on angles. The hardest part is what I said above, but that can be perfected with practice. Once you know the "moves", you pretty much have a 180 degree angle at which you can perform for. Loki even mentions that he's performed this with people standing BEHIND him, although they must have been extremely drunk or possibly blind, because there's no way you could get away with someone looking over your shoulder.
- Very thorough. Loki covers how to do each move, and shows you a couple different angles so that you know how to hold the card.

Cons:
- I would have liked him to use opposite color cards in his instruction. I think that would have made it a little easier to follow in real-time. That doesn't take away from the effect, but it's just something I have found which is useful in teaching TNR effects.
- Believe it or not, I think the instruction is a little too FAST, which is strange because he literally walks you through it for 25+ minutes! But as your watching it, even though he is showing you the moves from two angles, you are going to have to pause this video throughout the performance in order to make sure you're following all the little nuances and handlings that he has worked into it. So while being very descriptive, I also got the feeling that Loki was plowing through the instruction, trying to cover so much information in a short amount of time (if you call 25 minutes "short"). But with multiple views and pausing the video, you can go at your own pace and learn it without too much problems.
- On the opposite side of the coin, after the effect, Loki sits down to give some further "thoughts" on the effect, but it goes on for 10-15 minutes. I'm a busy guy so my attention is easily distracted! If you like a sit-down, one-on-one atmosphere with one camera angle, and you want to learn his THOUGHTS on this effect, you will appreciate this section of the video. It's not BAD......I just don't know if it's completely necessary.
- This is me being nitpicky here.......On the "Over The Shoulder" view of the explanation, where we are being shown an exposed view to help aid us in learning the handling, Loki is wearing a fedora hat which (in my opinion) gets in the way and blocks some of the view. Nothing too detrimental, but it's just a little thing I noticed and makes the production not feel as professional as I would have liked. I probably would have removed the hat, or adjusted the camera angle better.

To sum up, I would have preferred a little more polished production of a TNR effect (one of my personal favorites is REHAB by Cameron Francis). But Loki does put a great effort trying to explain each and every move, his thought processes behind it, and I think it's going to look great when you can perform this effect impromptu with no setup or gimmicks!

MYTHOS - Inspirational TNR

This is the second TNR effect that Loki covers on this purchase. This one is wrapped around a story, and it's interactive with your spectator. This is less about the effect and more about the message. I have always been a sucker for BRINGING IN the spectator into the magical experience, and having them be a participant instead of merely a spectator.

So with Mythos, you can accomplish that goal. You perform a TNR effect, and the spectator feels like they've partaken in the magic.

After the instruction, there is another sit-down couch session at the end with further thoughts and nuances about Mythos.

Finally, the very last addition to this purchase is some one-on-one thoughts and feedback from Jeff McBride, who really has a wealth of knowledge in all things magical.

PROS:
- What I already mentioned above: inspirational, interactive, and much less handling involved since there are no visual restorations.
- The spectator can FEEL the card restoring in their hands

CONS:
- Best geared towards a sit down or parlor setting (versus a street magic performance). I don't see why you couldn't do this standing, but it's much more of an inspirational effect and not as visual as Legacy.

You can pick up the DOWNLOAD right here (the DVD won't be released for a little bit longer, so this allows you to start learning it as soon as the order is processed):
A Taste of Chaos by Loki Kross - DOWNLOAD

Thanks for the honest review.

Thank you for the review Jeff!

It is very appreciated

LokI

Outstanding review - never knew you were MJM!

Really thorough Jeff - many thanks. Wish they were all this good.

Thanks guys. I appreciate your positive feedback on my review. Even though I work at MJM, I do like to "keep it real" and give my honest opinion on things. I won't say something is good or bad just to try and make sales (that's not in my nature). I generally want people to know what I think about items, and let them make their own conclusions. I only wish I had more time to give these kinds of reviews.

Does anyone know when this releases on dvd, it appears on murphys but only as a pre-order at the moment?

Daren, you can also order direct from LokI:

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/bb_pr......er=47966

He ships as fast as any shop.

Murphy's decided to release it as a DOWNLOAD first, probably to help get it out there for people who didn't want to wait on the DVD. The DVD is being released next week. We are taking preorders for it at MJM Magic, and it will ship to those people first as soon as it arrives:

http://www.mjmmagic.com/store/a-taste-of......892.html

The final phase of this trick is one of the weakest I've ever seen. Like "Counterfeit Hollingworth" this method loses the clarity and build that classics like "The Reformation" have for the last restoration. When this thing finally gets around to the end (folding... unfolding...twisting... ad-infinitum) instead of a killer final phase, one has... an anticlimax.

The download doesn't have chapters to navigate ( Murphy's ripped it straight from the disc ). Go with the actual physical copy.

Penguin has it now:

http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/S15228

Wayne Kawamoto put up his review of A Taste Of Chaos:

http://magic.about.com/od/reviewscards/f......ross.htm

"Taste of Chaos" was a refreshing surprise that has restored my interest in the genre. There are indeed some great ideas at play and it's brilliantly executed"