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Prager Inner circle e-Mentalism.com 1858 Posts |
Devils' Peek This is a real worker. No more crazy peek devices, impression pads or special pens. Just someone's thought. You have them write down ANYTHING and peek the information in the smoothest manner with NO gimmicks. No folds, tears or any of that whacky stuff.
Chi Break A powerful effect that happens "in their hands". A match that they choose from a pile of matches breaks in THEIR hands. Easy Canasta This effect has become a sort of HOLY GRAIL over the last few years. A shuffled deck has three cards selected and placed in three different pockets by you and your spectator. You predict the EXACT CARDS in the EXACT pockets that you and your SPECTATOR placed them in. YOU NEVER GO NEAR THE SPECTATOR. Spent A great visual quickie that can be performed with any borrowed pack of matches. You pull a match from a matchbook and squeeze it in your fist. It immediately starts to burn and SMOKE pours from your fist. Uses no chemicals or fancy gaffs. Match is shown burnt up and spent. Spent Transpo This takes the same effect from SPENT above and puts it into THEIR hands. A match placed in their hand changes places with a burning match in YOUR hand. Great magic that happens in their own fist. Voodoo Bill A strong piece of "in their hands" magic. A signed card FOLDS itself as if by Voodoo, then a borrowed bill begins to BURN inside the hand of a spectator. The burning energy transfers from the card to the bill in their hand. No one is harmed but they will be astonished. There is no Spoon Building on other famous spoon benders like Uri Geller, Ben Harris, Banacheck and Richard Osterlind.....Kranzo takes spoon bending to a new level. A borrowed spoon slowly bends as it comes in contact with a spectator's hand. It continues to bend, and then bends some more. Finally the metal of the spoon becomes TWISTED while inside of their fist. The "hands off" phase Kranzo teaches here is worth the price of the DVD. Stiletto Dangerous and sexy doesn't usually come in the form of a card effect. This one has it all. Any card can be selected. It can be signed by everyone in the room. The cards are fairly shuffled. A stilleto switch blade is produced. Asking them to concentrate on their card you STAB the knife into the deck! The knife sinks into the deck impaling the cards. A perfect cut that reveals the selected card. BONUS: Credit Card Vanish The PERFECT opener for the bar or club...or anytime your just paying your tab. Any borrowed credit card or drivers license can be vanished BARE HANDED. Both hands are seen completely empty. This one will fool the $#!% our of you. http://www.ellusionist.com/boondock-ment......nzo.html
Jose Prager
The man who knows how to amuse and mystify www.e-mentalism.com Secret products for mentalists. |
Mercury52 Inner circle Kevin Reylek 2239 Posts |
Jason over at E was kind enough to send me a copy of Nathan Kranzo’s new release, Boondock Mental. Nate’s reputation naturally precedes him, and while I’ve seen and enjoyed several of his past releases, I’ve not really seen much of his mentalism before, so I was stoked to check this out.
The DVD runs a little over 2 hours and covers 8 different effects. The market today is pretty well dominated by single-trick releases, so to get 8 effects for $30 is a pretty good bargain, even if you only wind up using a handful of effects. Production quality isn’t the best I’ve ever seen, but it’s also not bad by any stretch of the imagination. Everything is clear and easy to learn from. Most of the routines are pretty easy to achieve, without requiring any major sleight of hand. This allows you to focus on presentations, and Nate does cover a number of presentation tips and variations for each routine. Devil’s Peek - Your spec writes the name of a friend on the back of a business card and places the card into a small envelope. You then divine the name. While I wasn’t fooled by this and spotted the method straight away, I do think it’s a practical peek that will work in the real world. This is very easy to do, which is nice. Not a magician fooler, and the spectators on the DVD seemed impressed but not blown away. I could see this being a decent method to use if you don’t like messing with peek wallets, impression pads, etc. Since the peek is a utility move, you could also use this for any number of presentations, not just the one Nate covers on the DVD. While I don’t love the peek itself, Nate does give some good tips on revealing peeked info. Qi Break - A “do as I do” type effect where a wooden match mysteriously breaks inside a spectator’s hand. This one is kind of interesting, and is very easy to do. I do like that it involves a common object (wooden matches) instead of cards, billets, notepads, etc. In general, I’m a fan of impromptu-type magic and mentalism using objects from the environment. While I don’t see this getting screams, I do think it will be effective in the right kind of scenario. I’ll give it a try. Easy Canasta - This is a version of a Chan Canasta effect, also with a do as I do kind of vibe. It involves 2 decks. After a process of shuffling and trading decks, the magician and spectator each choose 3 cards. The cards are revealed for a perfect triple match. I’ve seen other variations on this idea, and remember being quite fooled and impressed the first time I saw it. While this is a strong effect, some considerations are that it does involve 2 decks, and the routine can get a touch convoluted with all of the shuffling and trading of cards. What’s nice is that the decks can be borrowed, so there are no stacks, duplicates, etc. You will need a few seconds of prep, but it’s very easy. The effect itself is all pretty much presentation after that, there are no moves or sleights involved. Spent and Spent Transpo - These are more modern type effects, very quick and flashy, with basically no patter required. There are 2 variations. In the first, you pull several fresh matches from a matchbook. You squeeze them in your hand, smoke comes out, and you reveal that they’re now completely burnt. Nate covers how to create the smoke by using a common prop that most magicians have. Alternately, you could use some sort of smoke system, such as Pure Smoke. In the 2nd variation, you give the spectator a fresh match, you hold a burnt match, and the matches transpose. You could also do this without the spectator by striking a match, blowing it out, and then restoring it back to new condition in your hand. These effects are more of my style, though I wouldn’t really classify them as pieces of mentalism. As mentioned, they’re quick and flashy, and done with matches that can be found everywhere. If your restaurant or bar permits matches to be lit, then this would be ideal for that type of environment as an attention-getting opener. Voodoo Bill - This is an interesting and offbeat effect. A card is selected and signed, and placed back into the deck. A borrowed bill is then used as a “voodoo doll” and folded several times. Inside the deck, the card is found folded up. The voodoo positions are then reversed. The bill is placed in the spectator’s hand, and the card is lightly burned/singed. The bill is then unfolded to show that is has also been burned. As with everything else on the DVD, the effect is not too difficult when it comes to moves. There are a few basic sleights, but the routine offers a good amount of built-in misdirection and cover, so overall it should be pretty easy to pull off. I like that the routine has multiple phases, and even a bit of psychology/suggestion so that the spec believes that they feel something happen in their hand. I prefer this to some of the other voodoo card routines that have been published in the past, since it has a more casual and impromptu sort of vibe. I think this is one of the stronger offerings on the DVD. There is no Spoon - A spoon animation/bending routine. A spoon moves by itself on the table or spectator’s palm. It then bends, and you end by having the spoon get a permanent twist while in the spectator’s hand. Now, I don’t have encyclopedic knowledge of metal bending, so I don’t know if there’s anything really groundbreaking in this routine. Personally, I didn’t learn a whole lot from this one. The animations and bends are pretty standard. Don’t get me wrong, everything looks very good, and this type of material plays very strongly with audiences. If you’ve never worked with moving/bending silverware before, you’ll definitely learn a few things. I’m just not sure if anything really new is being brought to the table with this routine. Stiletto - A nice card stab routine. A signed card is lost in the pack. You then stab the squared pack, piercing through several cards. The first un-pierced card is the selection. I like this quite a bit over other card stab routines. It’s quick, impressive, and doesn’t make a big mess. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a more traditional card stab routine, but this one would be better suited for certain environments, such as table hopping, since the deck stays squared and you only stab cards, not the table. What’s better, this is easy easy easy. I could see a lot of restaurant workers adding this to their repertoires immediately. Credit Card Vanish - An impromptu routine with a borrowed credit card, where it vanishes and reappears in your hands. I remember this being given out as a freebie on Ellusionist a little while back. It’s a fine little sequence, but nothing exceptional. Really has nothing to do with mentalism or mental magic, so I’m not quite sure why it’s on this project. I’d consider it an OK bonus effect. Final Thoughts - Overall, I’d say this is a worthwhile collection of effects. I don’t know if the title is entirely appropriate, because most of the effects are more “mental magic” than true mentalism, and a few effects barely have a mental aspect at all. With that said, most of the effects are strong and easy to do. I’d say this set is ideal for beginners, because they will learn some good techniques without having to worry about a lot of knuckle-busting moves. With that said, there are certainly things on the DVD that pros will enjoy and learn from. Nate has an easy-going style and is a very thorough teacher. He gives a lot of tips and performance ideas for each routine. Not every routine is a gem, but I’d say that Voodoo Bill, Stiletto, and Spent are worth the price of admission, while Easy Canasta, Qi Break, and There is no Spoon also bring some value to the table. I didn’t much care for the Devil’s Peek and Credit Card vanish, but others may get some use out of them. All in all, if you’re looking for a collection of mental magic effects with an assortment of objects and plots, Boondock Mental is a good value for the money and is worth a look.
Kevin Reylek
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RickDangerous Special user I can't believe I made 974 Posts |
Thanks for your honest review. Not so impressed with the content of the DVD.
"Finally the metal of the spoon becomes TWISTED while inside of their fist." ;) They put the word "twisted" in the ad in capital letters? Like twisting a spoon in a spectators hand has never been done before. This little thing alone seems to show where or to whom they aim this project at. Remember Rich Ferguson who really wanted to tell us that he never heard of Max Maven's "Kurotsuke"? (Even if that's true, at least someone from Ellusionist could have told him that he can't release an effect/principle that already exists on DVD.) Ellusionist aims at people who don't know the classics. And that's just wrong
"Reality is what you can get away with."
Robert A. Wilson "Think for yourself and question authority." Timothy Leary |
Amirá Inner circle MentalismCenter.com 5131 Posts |
Review: Nathan Kranzo´s Boondock Mental from http://www.amirasideas.com
Nathan Kranzo is a performer who has several magic products available on the market. Now he release a product aimed to teach some "mental magic" effects. Sadly I am very disappointed on several points on this product. Price and Description: $29.95 at http://www.ellusionist.com/boondock-ment......nzo.html My opinion: I got the download version of this video. Great quality video and one good idea in my opinion ( the technique to p**k a card), but a good idea is nothing without teaching the real important points of performance. If you read the title of the video, you can see that this video is apparently aimed to "magicians that want mental tricks" or even for "mentalist" but only 2 effects could be reference as "mentalism" in my opinion. In the performances of the effects, the lack of premise is really worrying understanding that when we learn with a DVD we instinctively imitate the performer and the beginner magician or mentalist will take this AS the way to perform this type of mental effects. Mindreading and psychokinesis NEEDS to be credible and although the techniques are OK (nothing new) , there is no process created to achieve the result, just the result. Also other classic. Ellusionist has a REAL problem with references and credits. The only 2 references that I remember from the video was in "Easy Canasta" (Chan Canasta obviously) and on "There is no Spoon" (Banachek, Uri Geller). The first effect( a way to get a peek of a business card) isn't new and Nathan should named Max Maven or Larry Becker as reference. Please authors, don't wait to the producers to just add names at the end of the credits. Finally is your responsibility to tell your buyers that you didn't create your idea from nothing. The 6 other effects are just cute magic tricks or bar tricks, nothing that really interest me. Rate: 5/10 If you are a beginner learn the basic tools that you need to have to get solid performances (how to develop a character, how to engage participants, communication skills, psychology, theatre). If you know the basics, you don't really need this. You can learn bar tricks for free anywhere. Not Recommended
Pablo
Performer and Author Mentalism Center: The best online space to get quality Mentalism www.mentalismcenter.com Arkanosophy: The Boutique for Mystery Performers www.arkanosophy.com |
MagicMaddy Special user 516 Posts |
Not a huge fan of this either....just childish magic to me. Nothing really powerful.
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alpha alex Special user 774 Posts |
It has 3 really cool effects on it.. stiletto, easy canasta and the credit card
so I think I got my money´s worth cause i´ll be playing with those ones |
Tony Iacoviello Eternal Order 13151 Posts |
$30 for a nearly 2 hour DVD, 8 routines and a course on spoon bending; it seems worth the price to me.
Personally, I have two that I will adapt, and one that will be in my back pocket, so to speak, for spur of the moment presentations. Plus I have some other neat things to play with. It is said I you get one thing you can use, it is worth the price; I got much more than that. BTW, I have no relationship with Kranzo, and panned a previous product of his. This one, I like. Tony Iacoviello |
Tony Razzano Inner circle South River, NJ 1600 Posts |
The very first effect on the DVD is a peek. Not original. It actually goes back to Dunninger. Please don't tell me that because Dunninger used slates and Nathan uses business cards it is different. It is not. The method is EXACTLY the same. Although not Nathan's, it is the only good mentalism effect on the DVD, in my opinion
The rest of the DVD was very disappointing. Some of it was not mentalism at all, regardless of what Nathan called it. The second effect, Qi Break, is a magic trick, plain and simple. It is a real stretch to call this a mentalism effect. Easy Canasta. Again, a magic trick. A card trick. I will say that its a GOOD card trick, but a card trick none the less. Again, its a stretch to call this mentalism. Spent and Spent Transpo. And a transposition is mentalism because...??? Voodoo Bill. Mr. Bill was more entertaining. Supposedly a bizarre voodoo effect. Of course with a playing card and a dollar bill, what else!!!???. How about using something arcane for what is supposed to be an arcane effect. Pull-ease! There is No Spoon. As mercury 52 said, nothing new. Oh wait, there is. Dropping the spoon. First of all, its crass.I can see me in a five star hotel dropping the spoon to the floor than handing it to the spectator to examine. secondly, audiences aren't stupid. Stiletto. A card stab routine. Again, not mentalism. Credit Card Vanish. Again ( wearily) not mentalism. I am sure Nathan is a good magician, but as a mentalist, in my opinion, he has a LOT to learn. If you are an experienced mentalist, it is not worth your time. If you are a novice, let me tell you right off that this is poor mentalism if it is mentalism at all. There are better sources from which to learn. I have nothing against Nathan, I am sure he is a very nice guy, but in all honesty, don't waste your money. Now I know that I will get flamed for this, especially from Nathan, but, as Rhett said to Scarlett...
Best regards,
<BR>Tony Razzano, Past President, PEA Winner of the PEA"s Bascom Jones and Bob Haines Awards |
Doctor D Special user 563 Posts |
I'm surprised no one has yet mentioned the sloppy editing: during the explanation of at least one effect, the viewer can actually hear the director/camera guy talking to Nathan on what to further say.
Despite him saying "action", the camera has been running the entire time. A sloppy and unscripted shoot, but no one has bothered to fix it during editing either. And it happened TWICE! |
dan the man Loyal user 216 Posts |
I noticed that too! At first I thought it was a joke, but after it happening twice I really couldn't find any reason why they would do that.. very unprofessional IMHO
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Zombie Magic Inner circle I went out for a beer and now have 8733 Posts |
What does "Boondock Mental" mean?
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deputy Inner circle USA 1041 Posts |
It is named after the cult movie Boondock Saints
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Zombie Magic Inner circle I went out for a beer and now have 8733 Posts |
Thank you deputy.
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markhitton Special user 964 Posts |
Nothing really amazing,standard type effects.
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John C Eternal Order I THINK therefore I wrote 12945 Posts |
The thing about Kranzo, I've noticed, is sometimes his stuff doesn't go anywhere at all then other times he hits it out'a the park in a big way like the new magazine test. I think it's a real winner.
J |
magicology New user 62 Posts |
I absolutely loved Kranzo's "Boondock Mental" DVD. Especially love his Voodoo routine. I've had the pleasure to perform the routine for people over the last few weeks-- reactions are through the roof!!
I was also super impressed with Kranzo's on-screen presence. He's charismatic and his spectators seem to genuinely enjoy his performances. Based on the "Mental" title I was expecting only mentalism, however was pleasantly surprised by the range of material. Great work. Definitely check it out!! ~Josh |
Nathan Kranzo V.I.P. 2955 Posts |
Quote:
On 2012-03-21 07:04, magicology wrote: I like this guy JOSH!!! Thanks so much for seeing the light Some people just like to complain....and not perform. Go out and have fun Josh. All the best, Kranzo
check out MINDZILLA VOL. 2!!! Brand New Effects. Instant Downloads. Watch Demo Videos. Click below!!!
KranzoMagic.com |
magicology New user 62 Posts |
Re: the disembodied voice that comes in once or twice, you could have cut/fade that out, but it really didn't mess up the flow at all. You really didn't pause a beat. The cameraman/director kept his interjection minimal. But tell him to shut his mouth next time
btw, I actually own Ben Harris' 'Mad Fax', which you incorrectly cite-- how DARE you!! ~Josh |
Zombie Magic Inner circle I went out for a beer and now have 8733 Posts |
I don't have this DVD, but the last trick, the credit card vanish, Nate teaches for free on his site. If you like it and will use it, you can poke around the site and pick something else up:
http://kranzomagic.myshopify.com/product......oad-page BONUS: Credit Card Vanish The PERFECT opener for the bar or club...or anytime your just paying your tab. Any borrowed credit card or drivers license can be vanished BARE HANDED. Both hands are seen completely empty. This one will fool the $#!% out of you. |
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