Distorted Visions - Jack Curtis (The 1914)

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Distorted Visions - Jack Curtis (The 1914)

Postby artychris » Feb 2nd, '15, 01:14



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The Effect

6 pieces of contemporary mentalism



Cost

£29:99 from Alakazam



Difficulty
(1=easy to do, 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used,
4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)

3 - Some sleights used, but really, tis is the easy end of the scale!


The Advertising Blurb

The 1914 proudly presents DISTORTED VISIONS an instructional DVD by JACK CURTIS - author of the critically acclaimed underground mentalism book DISTORTED THOUGHTS. On this DVD, Jack, joined by professional mentalist LOOCH, teaches six incredibly strong, instantly resetting, real-world, close-up mentalism effects; designed and structured for high impact results.



The 1914 proudly presents DISTORTED VISIONS an instructional DVD by JACK CURTIS - author of the critically acclaimed underground mentalism book DISTORTED THOUGHTS. On this DVD, Jack, joined by professional mentalist LOOCH, teaches six incredibly strong, instantly resetting, real-world, close-up mentalism effects; designed and structured for high impact results.

AMNESIC TRANSPO
The mentalist's answer to the two card transposition using business cards and a pen. A baffling demonstration of confusion and mild amnesia.

FLORAL DESTINY
A philosophical exploration of free will and determinism using flowers and playing cards.

EXTRA SUBLIMINAL PERSUASION (Video demo embedded above)
After learning about the psychic experiments of Dr. Rhine, your participant is left surprised to find that stuck to the back of all five ESP cards are stickers which correctly predict the outcome of their actions.

BLANK 2.0
A multi layered demonstration of apparent subliminal influence using a freely named number.

LAW OF ATTRACTION
Using nothing more than a stack of business cards and a pen, you are not only able to correctly identify the name of the family member your participant is thinking of, but also present an incredible demonstration of "Synchronicity".

SILVER LINING
The mentalist uses two coins to challenge a spectator to a battle of the minds. After an apparently disappointing ending, the mentalist bounces back with a surprise jaw-dropping finalé.

BONUS
A thought-provoking essay about close-up approach techniques, an essay on the topic of predictions, a very funny blooper reel and a short video discussion that will dramatically change the way you think about playing cards.



Review

It could be really easy to review this DVD... Just one word... WOW!

But that's not enough. I have so many DVD's of magic, and I'm really fussy as to what I perform. If I get a single useable trick from a DVD, to me that's becoming money well spent! I have so many DVD's sat there that are supposedly great, but are so impractical for actually using. This DVD has six tricks on it, and three of them are now regular parts of what I do...

For your money you get a really well produced DVD with 6 very simple and very workable bits of mentalism. To be honest, I'd call this Mental Magic, but for me, that's about perfect right now. Looch is on the DVD, helping out with the explanations, and the performances are filmed on stage in an empty theatre. And they look great! ... One other rather important thing is the audience reactions. Jack is performing for a small group of 3 young ladies, and they are quite loud in their reactions to these tricks! And for my experience, these are quite often the reactions you'll be getting from these routines!

The routines are very simple, have clear plots, and are very audience friendly.

The routine are....

Amnesic Transpo: This is a signed business card transposition, that has been turned into a great piece of mentalism! This is by far and away the easiest and most usable trick on here. And it's great! It's one of my most used routines over the last few months! It's a really simple plot, and just works so well. Last night I changed my presentation of this and used it as a closer... I finished with the two cards face down, then said "What if what you remember isn't what really happened!" and then finished, saying "That's where I'll leave it... My name's Chris, thank you for being great, and have a wonderful rest of the evening," .... and left the table. I worked perfectly, and as I was saying "Hi," to the next table, the last table looked at the signed buinesss cards and just gasped out loud "No way!!!"

Floral Destiny: Not one I've tried yet, but it's really nice and as workable as anything else on here... It's a lovely thing that brings cards into mentalism, and also talks about fee will, and uses a freely names flower, hence the name of the trick.

Extra Subliminal Persuasion: This is an ESP card trick. I'm not a big fan of ESP card things... to they feel a little un-natural to use... So I don't! However, this is just great! It's a really strong effect. If I was going to use an ESP routine, this would be the one! (Well, that's not completely true... There's a pendulum ESP routine on the excellent Submodalities DVD that I use occasionally, in the right setting, if the mood strikes!)

Blank 2.0: This is a version of card at any number. I like this a lot. It's the most set up of all the tricks on here, and great for parlour performances. It's also a bit more than a CAAN routine. In fact, I'm now wondering why I didn't do it for the family at Christmas! (Actually, I know why! I was using Ring Leader and Fireballs as the main pieces for the festive performance... it would seem this is one for next year!)

Law Of Attraction: Another business card routine. Someone thinks of a family member. You identify the name, and show an amazing example of synchronicity! I've been doing this by getting them to name someone they haven't thought of for years... doing some cold reading to tell them about the person they're thinking of, then revealing the name (or something very, very close!) .... And then you have the kicker end! And quite honestly, I'm amazed at the affect the ending has! I did this at a gig in a bar a couple of weeks ago for a group of Germans. The lady wrote the name "Maik" down. I revealed it as Michael, and it got the desired response, and then we had the synchronicity finish... I bumped into her and some of her friends two nights later, and it was this routine she'd told her friends about! Since then I've used this at every opportunity, and it's been amazing! (You'll need blank backed business cards, but it has no set up, and is just ready to go whenever you want!)

Silver Lining: This seems to be Jack's favourite routine on here... and I can completely understand that! It's a simple "What coin am I holding?" routine, and it's amazing! It's very practical, no reset, and it rocks! I performed this at my local magic club recently, and it went down rather well... and since then, it seems to have become a staple piece for me! It's easy to do, and really involves your audience members... it's fun to do, and gets such a good reaction!


Overall

Hopefully, by now, you'll be getting the idea that I like this DVD a lot!!! I read on another site that someone criticised this DVD as a beginners DVD of mental magic. And I really don't think that's very fair! Just because these are simple to do... So is using a Swami... There is some really great things on here! Most of this is very usable, instantly resets, and has multiple layers of revelation! If you do Mental Magic, this DVD could be exactly what you're looking for!

I don't do ratings out of ten when I write reviews... So instead I'll simply say...

This DVD is a Hidden Gem!

Last edited by artychris on Feb 3rd, '15, 02:10, edited 6 times in total.
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artychris
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Re: Distorted Visions - Jack Curtis (by The 1914)

Postby artychris » Feb 2nd, '15, 01:32

And here's a link to the 1914 site

http://www.the1914.com/

True Mysteries, by Frasier Parker is a bit brilliant too!

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artychris
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Posts: 547
Joined: Jan 25th, '11, 17:21


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