Just received this and thought I'd start the ball rolling with a short review.

I really enjoyed volumes 1 & 2 and had tried to keep an open mind regarding the quality of this latest instalment. Generally sequels tend to be disappointing and rarely deliver the same impact as the original - though I'm delighted to say that James (and Russ), have once again created a rather wonderful product that certainly lives up to its predecessors!

Like the first two volumes, this DVD contains a mixture of tricks and tips/advice which make for a very entertaining and indeed educational viewing. This DVD (like the previous ones) were filmed at a restaurant where James’ regularly performs – so we get to see real-world performances of all the effects. Even just watching a pro like James perform is worth the price of admission here and I also found his suggestions on the rarely discussed subject of positioning yourself at a table to be of great value.

The tricks themselves are very good and I can see myself using several of them in my own work. I won’t go in too much detail now, but I look forward to working on Ready Teddy Go, Coin Kebab and The Bullet Concept very soon.

My only slight criticism is I felt a couple of the explanations were somewhat rushed and left me with questions I would have liked to have been answered. Though to be fair to James he does mention that anyone who needed any clarification on anything to send him a PM via The Café and he’d do his best to help.

To sum up, this is a great DVD and I highly recommend it!

Iain.

Ian, have you had a chance to try the Jennings Wallet idea? It's incredible what you can load into the envelope.

Hi Chris,

I haven't had chance to try the wallet idea yet - but I will be doing it for sure! I very much like James' mobile phone idea with it too.

Iain.

I agree some relly nice routines and ideas on the dvd, I'm looking forward to working on the bullet concept.

I already do a version of ready teady go but I do like the top hat idea as then you don't get any problems. the jeenings wallet idea is very cool again another idea that only comes from years as working as a pro to make what you already have that much better.

If you are a worker and don't have any of these dvd's I suggest you go and do yourself a favour and buy all 3 you wil not be disapointed excellant material and advice.

Thank's james for such good advice and material I'm so looking forward to useing some of the stuff in my resturant.

Just 1 question for james if you hapen to read this I got all 3 of your dvd's your card in matchbox you mentioned you buy bulk printed with your details as it is cheaper could you please let me know the best source for this thanks in advance

Magicshayne - I have sent you a PM with my details of my supplier

General notes for anyone thinking of buying matchboxes for this effect -

The best size is 42mm long x 35mm wide x 6mm deep, this is smaller than a standard shop matchbox and is the size generally given away by hotels, certainly in the UK

It may seem counter-intuitive to use a smaller box but if you actually use the matchbox effect, you will find that the biggest problem once you’ve done all the ‘real work’ is inadvertently closing the box when you put your hand into your pocket or it having shut prematurely by itself

The smaller boxes are more inclined to remain open and ready to load and give a far more impressive finish, the card only just fitting into the box

If using standard boxes one way forward is to push a small sponge ball in the back end of the box to keep it open, obviously shutting the box discards the ball and leaves you ready for the next stage
Another is to glue an extra thickness of cardboard (from another box) to the sides – this sounds a hassle but has the bonus of making the box last much longer

Do not use a solid object instead of a sponge, such as coin because this will work up to a point only - the reason being that sooner or later you will want to use the pocket to 'push back' when you shut the box, so anything solid in the sleeve will fight the closing action

Thanks to all who have bought MM1 MM2 or MM3 and any questions just PM or post

James

I think for folks that do the watch steal, this would be an incredible way to give it back. Watch steals seem to be only entertaining for the one who had their watch stolen, but taking out your wallet, removing an envelope and inside is their watch would be quite startling for the entire group.

I'm going to watch the entire DVD again this weekend and write up a proper review. But, I can tell you that I'm already using two things form the dvd and that I think it would be a great investment for anyone looking to up their game on what you do.

You can see a demo clip here on Hocus Pocus:

http://hocus-pocus.com/magicshop/inc/pro......em=11763

I know I should to an in depth review, but I keep putting the DVD on and finding new things to be excited about. I've been learning and trying things out in real time.

The Bullet Concept - Have a hole appear in a freely selected, SIGNED card.

James gave a routine with the concept called "Shot To The Heart".

I had no clue. They get to choose any court ( picture ) card and they handle the card, sign it and away you go. Bloody brilliant and a shocker to perform. James uses an imaginary gun. I opted for a miniature one and the bullet hole appearing in the card is a slam dunk fooler-dooler.

The dvd is filled with routines that will appeal to magicians as well as their audience ( no one likes performing routines they don't like, even if the audience does ).

There is another thread running in 'latest and greatest'
Please excuse the duplication, but here is the main bit from my post on the other thread:

"A report back from my strolling gig last night - a party in a function room, 70 - 80 people, from child to pensioner, and a DJ with 'turn up the volume' syndrome.

I tried roaming card once early on - a strong, solid effect, but the spectators need to be able to hear you for this one.

I did not try coin kebab - I had done the prep, practiced the method (which is not a knuckle buster), but am not yet relaxed enough to perform this in the 'casual' manner that I think is needed. Shouldn't be too long though!

Bullet concept - My planned idea for this (to tie in with another parlour routine I do) wouldn't work in a strolling environment, so I used James's 'target practice' presentation, with the addition of getting the spec. to fire a novelty 'bang' gun (the one where the flag saying 'Bang!' pops out the end of the barrel) at the target.
This played so strong - I did this about 6-7 times. It had comedy, it had a wow factor as the card was shot out of the box, and then when the bullet hole is revealed.. what a kicker. Easy to perform, super visual (done virtually without words towards the end of the night), and funny. And spectator involvement. And fun to perform...
I wasn't going to say 'just this is worth the price of the DVD'.. , so I won't. But it is, so there! "

The bullet concept / target routine really is great - it is one of the few routines that can be performed high up at chest level, is super visual (so those out of ear shot can still understand and enjoy), fun to perform.. Parlour or close up, you are only limited by your imagination.

Title: Menu of Miracles: the Main Course by James Prince
Media: DVD
Arena: Restaurant, strolling, close up

The Main Course is the third release under the title Menu of Miracles by UK based magician James Prince, and it is a good one. The Menu of Miracles is less of a series, where one tends to find filler, but separate releases under the same theme each one coming out because of the success of the previous DVDs. This is a good thing because, as I said, no filler just solid magic. James Prince is a very entertaining fellow and it is easy to see he is performing magic he has done for years. He does an excellent job with the explanations as well and inserts his thoughts on performing and presentation which I found to be valuable and informative. The quality of the DVD’s themselves is excellent and proof that if you know what you are doing and use good equipment you can film in a restaurant and have it look great. The sound is top notch as well….out friends in the UK continue to show they put out the highest quality DVDs on the market.

The material found on Menu of Miracles: The Main Course is top notch, as those who have seen the first two DVDs will be expecting. The set up of the DVD is traditional, you see James performing for real people in a real setting and then he explains the effect. The opening effect is the Bleached Deck, a nice routine with a blank deck. I found this more entertaining than most blank deck routines for some reason and I can see it being in a lot of people’s sets. Next comes Ready Teddy Go, a commercial routine that will require some set up before hand but well worth it. Basically this is a ring pull that you make up yourself with the difference being the spectator can remove the ring, I liked it and when I next go to town will be hitting the craft store to make my own up. The JP Jennings Wallet is a solid idea on making your Jennings wallet so you can easily load larger objects like rings or even a cell phone. I liked the idea and it made perfect sense as far as how James alters the wallet. Strike Three is a nice little three ball routine that uses the same balls you can use for your cups and balls if you like.
The fun continues with Roaming Card, which was one of my favorite routines, where a card moves from one stack to another to a specific point in the stack. I just liked how this one played. For odd coin people there is Coin Kabob, a routine where a coin is pierced by a kabob spear, pretty cool. For you pepper pot people there is another pepper pot routine, not my cup o’ tea because I don’t know where I would do it. The last routine is actually three presentations for the bullet hole in card concept. Basically this is a routine, or group of routines, where a card is signed by the spectator and later found to have a good sized hole in it. This is a kind of gutsy routine but it does work and if presented well you’ll leave the spectator wondering what happened.

So there you have it, good solid magic and commentary from a very experienced magician. Once more I have to comment on the quality of the production over all, I really appreciate when people put in the effort to make a high quality product. If you don’t have the other Menu of Miracle DVDs go track them down, this is a very nice set of DVDs with great magic and thoughts on magic. Very well done.

Once again, MagicSanta does a first rate job reviewing. I could learn allot form his style!

I love this dvd. I'm a big fan of James's work and this dvd has real workers on it.

Hey there
Just a word to say that I had the first and second volume but this is again very different...
In no way I felt like having again the past episodes...
All the 3 volumes are great, different and I really enjoyed all of it ...
Many ideas , moves very well explain ...
Those are some of my favorite dvds ...
Real worker, easy with strong impact and without big preparation..
Quick reset for most for the materiel...
Production is terrific as always with rsvp ...
If you don t have the last volume I will suggest to take it ...
If you don t have nay take all the trilogy ..(i am not getting any money from James ! )
The teddy ring fly is the cleanest version I have see and it s the sweetest ...
Congrats to James and rsvp for the trilogy!
Christophe