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UnbiasedMagicReviews
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Magic Review - Spidey Penguin Live Lecture

My Unbiased Magic Review

https://youtu.be/loXBhGAkjjs

Cost:$40
Skill Level: Intermediate
Type of Magic: Magic Lecture, Close Up Magic, Mentalism
Overall Rating: 3.0/5
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Stunninger
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I thought Spidey's lecture was excellent and very much enjoyed it. The routines taught are workers and the reactions from his live audience were very strong. I found Spidey to be a very entertaining performer and a great teacher.

For me, the routine Ouija was worth the price of the lecture by itself. Fantastic routine, especially for Halloween.

There are thirty seven 5 star reviews on penguin from people who bought the lecture, and, at the time of this posting, not a single negative review.

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RiffRaff
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Quote:
On Jul 30, 2022, Stunninger wrote:
There are thirty seven 5 star reviews on penguin from people who bought the lecture, and, at the time of this posting, not a single negative review.
.


While I cannot comment on this particular lecture, I have noticed that almost all of the reviews on Penguin are 5 star reviews. Therefore, for me, the Penguin reviews are irrelevant.
Stunninger
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You haven't looked at many lectures on Penguin then. There are quite a few with many one, two and three star reviews. Same with products. Penguin does not hold back negative reviews and their reviews are very relevant. I find the Penguin review system to be trustworthy and valuable, mainly because they publish both positive and negative reviews.

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UnbiasedMagicReviews
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Quote:
On Jul 30, 2022, Stunninger wrote:
I thought Spidey's lecture was excellent and very much enjoyed it. The routines taught are workers and the reactions from his live audience were very strong. I found Spidey to be a very entertaining performer and a great teacher.

For me, the routine Ouija was worth the price of the lecture by itself. Fantastic routine, especially for Halloween.

There are thirty seven 5 star reviews on penguin from people who bought the lecture, and, at the time of this posting, not a single negative review.

.


My review was neither super positive nor super negative. The routines in general were superficial and simple in presentation. I touched on some of the highlights of his lecture. There are much better mentalism lectures on penguin. The positive reviews on Penguin are laughable. I have reviewed a myriad of products that are complete rubbish that have had all 5 star reviews on Penguin.

I recommend anyone serious about mentalism skip this one. It will be sold at $8 in a year and given away for free during Christmas.

One last thing - If you read the comments on my review you will see that the VAST majority who also picked this up.... agree with my assessment.
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Stunninger
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For someone who claims to be "unbiased" you come across as very opinionated. You have your opinion, great. So do others. And 40 (as of this post) people who actually purchased Spidey's lecture disagree with you.

Penguin is my go-to magic company. I've purchased many products and lectures from them over the years. I know with certainty their review system is above board and honest. It's what I rely on often when I am unsure.

I've purchased most of the mentalism lectures on Penguin over the past 5 years or so. A few were outstanding (Ross Johnson, Banachek, Richard Osterlind, and several others). For close-up mentalism, or the casual performer, I rank Spidey's lecture as being on the short-list of those I would unreservedly recommend.

It's very odd that many of the comments on your youtube channel were negative about this lecture. In particular when that is the complete opposite of what the verified purchasers of this lecture felt by their 5 star ratings. It makes me wonder how many who commented on your channel actually bought the lecture. I would guess not many.

BTW, I've never seen Penguin sell a lecture for $8. They do offer a 5 for $99 promo at Christmas, but they won't be giving this away for free. It's too good.

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UnbiasedMagicReviews
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On Aug 1, 2022, Stunninger wrote:
For someone who claims to be "unbiased" you come across as very opinionated. You have your opinion, great. So do others. And 40 (as of this post) people who actually purchased Spidey's lecture disagree with you.

Penguin is my go-to magic company. I've purchased many products and lectures from them over the years. I know with certainty their review system is above board and honest. It's what I rely on often when I am unsure.

I've purchased most of the mentalism lectures on Penguin over the past 5 years or so. A few were outstanding (Ross Johnson, Banachek, Richard Osterlind, and several others). For close-up mentalism, or the casual performer, I rank Spidey's lecture as being on the short-list of those I would unreservedly recommend.

It's very odd that many of the comments on your youtube channel were negative about this lecture. In particular when that is the complete opposite of what the verified purchasers of this lecture felt by their 5 star ratings. It makes me wonder how many who commented on your channel actually bought the lecture. I would guess not many.

BTW, I've never seen Penguin sell a lecture for $8. They do offer a 5 for $99 promo at Christmas, but they won't be giving this away for free. It's too good.

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I don't think you really understand the purpose of my review channel so let me help clarify for you. My channel is not designed to be a promotional channel for magicians and it is also not another advertisement for magic products. There are plenty of these "review' channels on youtube. I am in a fortunate position where I can purchase magic/mentalism and give a completely open and honest review. I'm really not sure where you are coming from and why you are so upset regarding my review. I was more than generous in my review. The truth of the matter is that the material Spidey presented was very simple, awkward, and the presentations were not engaging at all.

Lets take another quick look at this lecture to help those who may read these comments and wonder

1. Match Match - The execution of this is horrible and the main idea of using this gimmick as a prediction with matches is not even Spideys. I've seen this exact routine before somewhere. I'm SURE I could hunt down the original and you know I could! I made a much better recommendation in my review.
2. Elementary - The absolute worst routine on the project. Who is going to try to perform this?? Trying to pretend like something has been stolen and is hidden and you use the spectator's watch to help them find the location. Why would the spectator even care about this?? It's not engaging at all. The worst use of a Sven pad that I have ever seen.
3. Connection 2.0 - This routine isn't bad but the execution again is horrible. Why would you try to use blank sided playing cards and a card control to do mentalism??? It's sad to see that Spidey doesn't even have a business card peek of his own for this. This would be 100x better with any simple business card peek. His handling looks suspicious at best to anyone who has seen any card magic, not to mention that the peek is obvious.
4. Heroes - The premise of this effect is lame and the structure is also flawed. I'm sure that tons of people on here would love to perform a mental effect and have to do a M*$%#@ turnover! LMAO. (More card magic for your mentalism routine where there is no motivation for the move). You don't see any top mentalists performing this type of joke effect. The whole premise of the effect feels like it should be performed at a child's birthday party.

5. ESP Match - I loved the presentation but who is going to buy 2 ESP decks to perform this the exact way Spidey does?? I mentioned in my review that the presentation of this effect was great.
6. Quija - This is the only decent routine on here worth performing as is.

I would have to say that 2/6 routines that are decent does not make the lecture worth buying. I wasn't surprised at all by all the negative comments on my channel about this product. I will be doing another mentalism lecture review this upcoming week. You will see a stark contrast in every aspect - Presentation, Premise, Engagement, Structure of routines, Mentalism theory, and of course Mechanics.

The people who watch my reviews and pick up the material I recommend keep messaging me again and again thanking me for recommending good magic and mentalism. I'm glad that I can be the voice of reason as I do not need any followers, subs, likes, etc. Nor do I need any affiliations with big magic companies. That's all nonsense. Magic review channels who are receiving magic for free are completely biased and just give out promotional advertisements.
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Stunninger
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I don't think you understand at all where I'm coming from, so let me try to help clarify. You seem to think that because you paid for an effect, or in this case a lecture, that doing so somehow makes your review more valid or accurate, and that other reviews or review channels must somehow not be as "completely open and honest" as you.

Well guess what? I paid for this lecture, just like you. I even paid the full $40 because I didn't pre-order. You know why? Because I waited for a few reviews to come in first. After I bought and watched the lecture, I gave it a completely open and honest review: 5 stars. Do you know why I gave it 5 stars? Because I genuinely feel it was a fantastic lecture, well worth the money, even a bargain. That's my opinion. Open and honest. So I left a review accordingly.

And as it turns out, the overwhelming majority of others who bought this lecture and left a review (verified buyers) also paid for the lecture and left a review. And 100% of the buyers left a 5 star review. Each one of those individuals could have left any review, good, bad or indifferent. And they could post their real name, or leave their review anonymously. But guess what? 100% of the reviews -- from people who paid for the lecture with their own money (just like you) are positive reviews.

You are one person. Just like every other one person who bought this lecture. Your review is just your opinion. It is not any more valid (or invalid) that mine, or any other person who has an opinion. What I object to is your position that your review is someone how more honest or accurate than others.

It's not.

You are just one person. With one opinion. That's all.

When I look at all of the reviews by people who bought the lecture, and see how they are overwhelming positive (100% 5 Stars) and then look at your review, I wonder what you don't get? You didn't like the lecture. Ok great. But you are in the small minority. And that's okay.

Regarding the veracity of Penguin reviews, I have paid for a number of lectures over the years where I was really disappointed with the content. In some cases I left a one star review. In others a two star review. Some a three star review. And at least one I gave a 4 star review. Guess what? All of those reviews were posted by Penguin. Every single one. I've bought lots of effects and lectures from Penguin over the years and have seen my reviews published exactly as I wrote them. With the exact rating I gave. Every single time. So I know the review system is genuine and honest.

What I object to is your attitude that somehow your reviews are more "open and honest". They aren't. You are just one person. With one opinion. I paid for the lecture too. And I loved it. So did the vast majority of verified buyers.

When I look at all of the overwhelmingly positive comments from people who bought this lecture, and then read your comments, it just seems very odd. It makes me wonder what unconscious biases may be at play.

.
UnbiasedMagicReviews
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Quote:
On Aug 1, 2022, Stunninger wrote:
I don't think you understand at all where I'm coming from, so let me try to help clarify. You seem to think that because you paid for an effect, or in this case a lecture, that doing so somehow makes your review more valid or accurate, and that other reviews or review channels must somehow not be as "completely open and honest" as you.

Well guess what? I paid for this lecture, just like you. I even paid the full $40 because I didn't pre-order. You know why? Because I waited for a few reviews to come in first. After I bought and watched the lecture, I gave it a completely open and honest review: 5 stars. Do you know why I gave it 5 stars? Because I genuinely feel it was a fantastic lecture, well worth the money, even a bargain. That's my opinion. Open and honest. So I left a review accordingly.

And as it turns out, the overwhelming majority of others who bought this lecture and left a review (verified buyers) also paid for the lecture and left a review. And 100% of the buyers left a 5 star review. Each one of those individuals could have left any review, good, bad or indifferent. And they could post their real name, or leave their review anonymously. But guess what? 100% of the reviews -- from people who paid for the lecture with their own money (just like you) are positive reviews.

You are one person. Just like every other one person who bought this lecture. Your review is just your opinion. It is not any more valid (or invalid) that mine, or any other person who has an opinion. What I object to is your position that your review is someone how more honest or accurate than others.

It's not.

You are just one person. With one opinion. That's all.

When I look at all of the reviews by people who bought the lecture, and see how they are overwhelming positive (100% 5 Stars) and then look at your review, I wonder what you don't get? You didn't like the lecture. Ok great. But you are in the small minority. And that's okay.

Regarding the veracity of Penguin reviews, I have paid for a number of lectures over the years where I was really disappointed with the content. In some cases I left a one star review. In others a two star review. Some a three star review. And at least one I gave a 4 star review. Guess what? All of those reviews were posted by Penguin. Every single one. I've bought lots of effects and lectures from Penguin over the years and have seen my reviews published exactly as I wrote them. With the exact rating I gave. Every single time. So I know the review system is genuine and honest.

What I object to is your attitude that somehow your reviews are more "open and honest". They aren't. You are just one person. With one opinion. I paid for the lecture too. And I loved it. So did the vast majority of verified buyers.

When I look at all of the overwhelmingly positive comments from people who bought this lecture, and then read your comments, it just seems very odd. It makes me wonder what unconscious biases may be at play.

.



I LOVE how you don't try to debate me on the specific points I made about the lecture. Your argument is this - Since everyone else likes it, then it must be good. That really makes sense!? LOL

Whereas my argument is -- Here are the reasons why it is not half as good as you think. At least I am giving real reasons behind my grading of this lecture.

My review is objective, honest, and open. In FACT - I am the ONLY review channel on youtube that has an objective review system that assigns points to specific parameters of a magic product. This is designed to help the consumer make an informed decision about the product.

You can't silence my review. People can make up their own minds. I don't care if you don't agree - too bad. You can't call me biased. I am not saying that I don't like the lecture because I don't like the person. I am judging the material with clear reasoning. I am saying clearly that there are FAR superior mentalism lectures that people should instead focus on.

My viewers will benefit from the valid points I made and this will help them to make an informed decision of whether or not they should buy this.
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magicbrady
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Wow! I’m surprised with the negative review. As a professional magician and mentalist, I find Spidey’s thinking here to be out of the box and exciting. His use of card magic and sleights as related to mentalism are controversial, but to be honest, they are awesome. Most people won’t recognize the moves as card moves since the “cards” are double blank and seem to most to be index cards. People get way too caught up in “you can’t use card magic as a mentalist”. I completely disagree. Do what you do, but why limit yourself. I do what makes people respond (whatever that may be at the time). I’ve performed a few of the routines at The Magic Castle with excellent results and feedback. I feel like this video was worth every penny and I’m happy to give it a positive review. I’ve not seen much of Spidey’s work in the past, but I was blown away with A.B. See and could not wait to get my hands on his lecture. Both come with high words of praise from me.
Josh Burch
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I get the feeling you were looking for something very specific here and the lecture didn't quite cover the specific thing you were looking for. All of the routines on this feel like workers. All of them seem very practical, very strong for a real-world audience, and reasonably easy to do.

It feels like we watched completely different lectures here. I'd like to look at your breakdown.

Quote:
On Aug 1, 2022, UnbiasedMagicReviews wrote:
1. Match Match - The execution of this is horrible and the main idea of using this gimmick as a prediction with matches is not even Spideys. I've seen this exact routine before somewhere. I'm SURE I could hunt down the original and you know I could! I made a much better recommendation in my review.


You're making claims here you can't substantiate. If you believe this was published somewhere else please show some evidence.

As to the alternative you suggest from Anneman, it's a good trick, but it's WAY more contrived in the Jinx. In Spidey's trick they count the matches one at a time, then the magicians does and they match. That's pretty straightforward.

The Jinx routine is utterly convoluted. Here it is more or less...Ask the spectator to remove some matches and place them in their pocket, then count the remaining matches, now remove a match for each digit in the remaining matches, now I can tell you how many you have left...

What even is the effect there? It's not a prediction about how many matches they removed, that's for sure.

Quote:
On Aug 1, 2022, UnbiasedMagicReviews wrote:
2. Elementary - The absolute worst routine on the project. Who is going to try to perform this?? Trying to pretend like something has been stolen and is hidden and you use the spectator's watch to help them find the location. Why would the spectator even care about this?? It's not engaging at all. The worst use of a Sven pad that I have ever seen.


I can't wrap my head around your comments here. In the video you make the claim that the best part about the sven pad is that you can hand it out to someone and have them choose the item yet you fail to understand that Spidey's application allows you to do this and have the added convincer that this is a static list that cannot be altered. You can add the number and make any svenpad routine better.

You don't even have to add the number, you could add a date, and show the dates before and after the selected dates using Spidey's principle.

In the video, you seem to have an issue with analog watches, the only watch I wear is an analog watch. Spidey asked his audience for an analog watch and he received one, no problem. In professional shows I'm usually able to find an analog watch with a second hand without a problem. I have a routine in my walk around set that uses an analog watch. I use it regularly.

If you don't like the story about having things stolen, then you can easily say that you have hidden something and that they are going to find it. That seems bland to me but if it fits you then it's an obvious solution.

Quote:
On Aug 1, 2022, UnbiasedMagicReviews wrote:
3. Connection 2.0 - This routine isn't bad but the execution again is horrible. Why would you try to use blank sided playing cards and a card control to do mentalism??? It's sad to see that Spidey doesn't even have a business card peek of his own for this. This would be 100x better with any simple business card peek. His handling looks suspicious at best to anyone who has seen any card magic, not to mention that the peek is obvious.


Spidey explains why he uses blank cards and it makes sense to me. It's a stack of index cards that handles better than a stack of business cards. That makes sense to me. You can use card stock or blank business cards if you'd like obviously, it wouldn't affect the routine. Most lay people have never seen a blank deck of playing cards, so when the magician says they are index cards they have no reason to think there is something suspicious about them.

Even if they know that they are a blank deck, it doesn't make the mentalism better or worse. The effect is still that the magician named the thought of object, and the spectator found it.

Not sure what you are saying about the peek being transparent, I didn't see it in the performance portion of the video, and thought it was subtle and clever in the explanation.

It sounds like you were bothered by the use of blank cards here and couldn't get over that. I'm not sure whay that would bother you.

You mention that the location force is a Jay Sankey idea. It's not, it predates Jay Sankey. It's in 202 Ways of Forcing and was in use before that book. It's in the public domain. Spidey doesn't claim to have invented it, and neither does Jay. It fits well in this routine.

Quote:
On Aug 1, 2022, UnbiasedMagicReviews wrote:
4. Heroes - The premise of this effect is lame and the structure is also flawed. I'm sure that tons of people on here would love to perform a mental effect and have to do a M*$%#@ turnover! LMAO. (More card magic for your mentalism routine where there is no motivation for the move). You don't see any top mentalists performing this type of joke effect. The whole premise of the effect feels like it should be performed at a child's birthday party.


The amount of disrespect you have for the people you review here is awful.

"You don't see any top mentalists performing this type of joke effect."

There are plenty of top mentalists that have presentations with superheroes. Colin McLeod closed his performance for the Queen of England with a superhero reveal. Atlas Brookings has a great super hero effect he teaches on his Penguin Live Lecture. Mathieu Bich has a great effect where a spectator thinks of a super hero. Jeff Stone is a well-respected mentalist, he performs a super hero chair test. Jay Sankey has a super hero trick he teaches on his YouTube channel. Morgan Stebler performs several Superman themed effects.

It's a common enough theme, that people who like superheroes can relate with.

His tips on the PATEO force here are fine. If you are scared of a Mexican Turnover that's fine but I wouldn't consider it any kind of a difficult move. It's a common card move in mentalism especially.

Quote:
On Aug 1, 2022, UnbiasedMagicReviews wrote:
5. ESP Match - I loved the presentation but who is going to buy 2 ESP decks to perform this the exact way Spidey does?? I mentioned in my review that the presentation of this effect was great.


This was a great routine. I agree that the presentation was interesting. He recommends getting Michael Murray's ESP deck. It's my favorite ESP deck for sure but it's a bit expensive.

For $15 you can get everything you need here on Bicycle cards that you need to mark yourself: https://www.penguinmagic.com/p/13895

Or, for $15 you can get everything you need on a premarked deck:
https://www.penguinmagic.com/p/16011

The routine is good, and probably worth the investment in my opinion. I'm sure I'm not the only person reading this that has a deck of 50 matching ESP cards, but even if I am for less than $20 you can get everything you need for a great professional routine.

Quote:
On Aug 1, 2022, UnbiasedMagicReviews wrote:
6. Quija - This is the only decent routine on here worth performing as is.


Yeah, this is a great routine.

One funky thing you mention in the review is card magic. There's no card material on this lecture. If someone wanted to do mentalism with playing cards they should not get this lecture. The lecture does include several billet routines using card moves and Spidey prefers to use a blank deck instead of a 3x5 card, or a buisness card. This isn't card magic any more than a false transfer with a billet is coin magic.

I really liked the routine and found myself heartily disagreeing with the video review. This isn't surprising, I've tried to listen to a few "Unbiased Reviews" and find them very difficult to listen to. I consistently disagree with the reviews posted there. The channel is generally unreliable for me, it's nice that some people do find it helpful.
Stunninger
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On Aug 1, 2022, UnbiasedMagicReviews wrote:

I LOVE how you don't try to debate me on the specific points I made about the lecture. Your argument is this - Since everyone else likes it, then it must be good. That really makes sense!? LOL

Whereas my argument is -- Here are the reasons why it is not half as good as you think. At least I am giving real reasons behind my grading of this lecture.



You miss the point entirely. I LOVED the lecture. I don't have anything to prove. So no need to argue point by point. I've already said why I loved it: Spidey's performance was entertaining, and the reactions he got were very strong. His teaching style is also excellent, clear and concise. I felt I got much more value than what I paid. And as I said before, the one routine "Ouija" could easily sell as a stand-alone product for $40 and it would be worth every penny.

Your comment, "Here are the reasons why it is not half as good as you think" just makes you look silly. I loved it and could care less about your reasons.

As far as all of the other 5 star reviews (100% of verified buyers) that data point only supports that your opinion of this lecture is in the (very) small minority, not to make my case that I loved Spidey's lecture. You mentioned that the majority of people who commented on your channel agreed with you. But when you take a closer look at the comments on your channel, it looks like most of the commenters didn't actually buy or watch the lecture, they only comment on your opinion. And your opinion turns out to be in the very small minority of verified buyers.

You seem to have a strong need to be "right" and want others to agree with your way of thinking. That's why I wonder what unconscious biases may at play here.

Why not be less opinionated and let others think what they want, too? You have your opinion, great. Let others have theirs also.

.
Stunninger
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Josh Burch - very well said.

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UnbiasedMagicReviews
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Thanks for the feedback guys. I realize that continuing to argue will get nowhere. I could sit here and argue all day with Mr. Burch as he has missed several points starting with the match effect from the jinx but its not even worth my time! I'm glad that you enjoyed the lecture and hopefully my review will help those people who are wondering about whether or not to purchase this lecture. As for those who make comments that they don't find my review channel helpful - please don't visit! My channel is obviously not designed for you. You can go listen to the usual promotional advertisement drivel that exists.
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EvojKam
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Josh Burch's comment are valid point, except the final part, don't turn your rational discussion into a personal attack.
I however want to hear Unbiased Magic Reviews' reply on the match effect, I also don't think the number force is clean enough in a match matching routine, thought not as much hate as Josh did. The number force has been utilize by other well respected mentalist to give personality reading and reveal personal information.
Point 2,3,4 are just personal preference.

The thing SOME people may not like about Unbiased Magic Reviews maybe his unconservative harsh criticism which I find is rare in the magic review channel
Have Nique Tan Chats CTRL-C as an example, he obvious hate this product but try to be as polite and indirect as possible. He don't want to make an enemy with Chris in a review.
I am happy that Unbiased Magic Reviews can say whatever he want without being afraid of burning the bridge in the magic/mentalism community. At lease he is focus on the product itself, not the person.
Bernice
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I unreservedly trust UnbiasedMagicReview's opinion on anything magic-related WAY above those of the couple of magic info product sellers in this thread. And I'm positive hundreds of other magicians who watch UMR reviews would agree with me. Whenever an established magic info product seller gets called out, their cabal of hopeful fawning shills always come out of the woodwork. UMR is the most valuable source of information on what magic I should or should not spend my hard earned money. He saves me money. You shills waste my money. Your attempts at trying to school him for giving his opinion is embarrassingly transparent of what you value most: monetizable connections over integrity.
EvojKam
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The thing I like UMR the most is he can always give out reference in other publication, he is obviously spent time studying the craft. He also give out his personal idea or even his own creation for free, and he is doing it not for money but labor of love.

Do I agree all his point? absolutely not. I will not do a booktest with a random books like he did. As I said before, different people has different opinions. I hope UMR can continue giving out his own personal opinion without being hindered by others.
Josh Burch
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Quote:
On Aug 2, 2022, UnbiasedMagicReviews wrote:
I could sit here and argue all day with Mr. Burch as he has missed several points starting with the match effect from the jinx but its not even worth my time!


Which point did I miss?

You mention in your review that in the Jinx effect the spectator can start out with a random number of matches in the matchbook. Spidey's routine is robust enough that if you want the spectator to remove a bunch of matches out the outset and place them in their pocket they can.

If we were to watch a magician on television perform a match prediction which would be more direct? A mathematical process (if there are 15 matches left remove 1 for the digit 1, and 5 for the digit 5) culminating in a peek, or a squeaky clean prediction where the magician removes a few matches in a matchbook, then the spectator does the same and they count them?

It's clear that Spidey's is cleaner in almost every sense. Cleaner in presentation. Cleaner process. Every move and part of the process is well motivated. The trade-off is a common gimmick that most of us own and are already comfortable with using.
KyleLeon
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Spidey's Penguin Live Lecture was an absolute gold mine of incredible mentalism. I honestly don't even know where to begin. In my opinion, his work on the Sven Pad alone is worth the price of the lecture twice over. I have already adapted mine with my own routine and it is the cleanest and most deceptive force using a pad EVER, and removes all of the potential issues of having the participant operate the pad – Spidey, you're a genius.

Ouija will destroy every audience and participant you perform this to. The structure of this routine is brilliant and a séance-style routine that packs as flat as three playing cards is amazing.

His EPS Match routine is super smart and fooling. Match-Match takes advantage of a classic method and uses it to create a very simple, yet direct prediction effect. Some of the routines, like Heroes, are light-hearted and fun presentationally while others are more serious and more intimate that literally has his participants gasping and leaving their seats to return to the audience because they couldn't believe what they were experiencing (this happened several times in lecture to real laymen). There is something for everyone on this lecture with a wide diversity of effects and presentations.

His cold reading tips at the end are concepts I have never heard any other mentalist explain and tip before. They are brilliant, easy to understand and filled with tons of real-world experience, knowledge and education. Some could argue that this section on the lecture is worth the entire price and then some – I wouldn't disagree.

One of my favourite things about Spidey is that he is also a really kick-ass magician and I LOVE that he brings his magic thinking to his mentalism when it comes to sleights, props and methods. As a card magician first and foremost, I really appreciate this as I am sure a lot of you do as well. Double blank playing card stock to replace traditional billets is so smart. Why not make your life easier and use a prop we all handle every day and are comfortable manipulating? To the audience, they are just blank pieces of card stock and in no way does it detract from the routine and presentation. They are simply index cards, nothing more.

Do yourself a favour and ignore the negative feedback you may have read on this thread and check out Spidey's lecture for yourself. Then come back here and reply to this post with your thoughts and lets chat about all the killer ideas we learned!
Josh Burch
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Quote:
On Aug 2, 2022, EvojKam wrote:
Josh Burch's comment are valid point, except the final part, don't turn your rational discussion into a personal attack.


I'm not making any personal attacks. I'm sure he's a good person. I'm sure if we went out for pizza and to talk magic we'd have a good time, and maybe even have a lively debate. That said, I disagree consistently with Unbiased Magic Reviews. I find many of his recommendations to be less than helpful. This isn't personal, I just don't enjoy his channel that much and this lecture review is a good example as to why.

Quote:
On Aug 2, 2022, EvojKam wrote:
I however want to hear Unbiased Magic Reviews' reply on the match effect, I also don't think the number force is clean enough in a match matching routine, thought not as much hate as Josh did. The number force has been utilize by other well respected mentalist to give personality reading and reveal personal information.


I don't mind the effect in the Jinx, I think Anneman was brilliant. When comparing the two routines I think it's pretty clear that Spidey's is much more direct, and Anneman's is more convoluted.

Quote:
On Aug 2, 2022, EvojKam wrote:
Point 2,3,4 are just personal preference.


In the second effect, I agree that the presentation is a personal preference but what Unbiased Magic Reviews claims is just untrue. He claims that you can no longer hand the pad to the spectator to make their decision. You can hand the pad to the spectator if that's how you want to make the selection. You also have the opportunity here to ask a spectator for a number and you can cleanly turn to that page if that's what you want to do.

In the third effect, it's largely an opinion thing for sure. We can agree to disagree there.

In effect 4 Unbiased Magic Reviews makes the claim that no top mentalist would use a presentation like this. This is untrue. Many top mentalists use similar presentations and I would consider Spidey to be a top mentalist. He's appeared on Fool Us, Wizard Wars, Masters of Illusion, the Discovery Channel, and more. If he's not a top mentalist I'm not sure who else would qualify.

The line here that I find disrespectful was that the premise belongs at a child's birthday party. First, if you want to do mentalism at a child's birthday party I think that's a fine thing to do. There are hundreds of birthday party magicians doing very well for themselves. Second, it's clear that this isn't Spidey's intended audience here, this statement feels like it's just meant to insult the creator of the routine.

Quote:
On Aug 2, 2022, EvojKam wrote:
The thing SOME people may not like about Unbiased Magic Reviews maybe his unconservative harsh criticism which I find is rare in the magic review channel
Have Nique Tan Chats CTRL-C as an example, he obvious hate this product but try to be as polite and indirect as possible. He don't want to make an enemy with Chris in a review.

I am happy that Unbiased Magic Reviews can say whatever he want without being afraid of burning the bridge in the magic/mentalism community. At lease he is focus on the product itself, not the person.


Harsh criticism is fine, in this thread I have been a fairly harsh critic of the Unbiased Magic Review channel. I don't love the reviews on the channel because they tend to be misleading, the claim that the spectator can no longer hold the pad and flip through the pages is not true, and the claim that the match routine is not original is unsubstantiated. In this particular review, I didn't find the advice Unbiased Magic Reviews gave as helpful. The match routine would be the prime example of this, as would be the advice to avoid the ESP routine because according to Unbiased Magic Reviews "it doesn't end clean". All you have to do to clean up is gather the cards into a pile, this is well within the skill level of just about anyone and would be a strange reason to avoid the routine for most.
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