I enjoyed Sankey's dvd 22 Blows to the Head but am not too sure about this one. Can anyone out there offer a review? Thanks.

Seriously... no exaggeration, this could be THE best Sankey DVD ever. I absolutely love it. I've watched it about 7 or 8 times now. I've actually performed three of the effects from the DVD, and have now added them to my set act:

Director's Cut
Third Eye
Photo Finish (a modified handling)

I'll do a full review later tonight, but if you're on the fence about it, stop fence sitting, and get it. No kidding. Sorry, I know this sounds a lot like Hype, but there are some seriously cool ideas on this DVD.

I just got Sankey's Newsletter a few minutes ago, and he's going to have a Sale on Monday for 24 hours, so buy on monday... you'll save a little cash. But frankly, even if you end up paying full price, it's worth it.

Director's Cut is just a different presentation of an effect from 22 blows, third eye is good but nothing new but photo finish is fantastic!!

I kinda liked this DVD. Its a long dvd with lots of material. Some of it is rehashed stuff, some of it isn't my cup of tea and some of it is great! I think that there really isn't anything new here method wise. Its more about looking at the presentations and what Jay does with fairly standard methods. He turns them into very practical effects.

I think this dvd is better than 22 blows but its not different enough. There are at least 2 paperclipped variations, a few repeats from other dvds and then all the rest!

I would recommend this dvd, I'd give it a 7-8 out of ten. It loses a mark or 2 for repeated material and another mark because Jay has turned down the comedy and wackiness on this dvd, its ashame really! I liked crazy jay!!

laters

dan

Thanks for the comments and reviews. Anybody else?

Here we go. Let's first look at the production value. I'm a huge fan of "Crazy Jay." In this DVD, you don't see "Crazy Jay." You see funny and witty Jay, but even that is toned way down. However, having said that I still think that this DVD was just amazing. The whole look and feel of it is very dramatic and almost melancholy at some points. I really enjoyed the artistic side of this DVD. The sound, menu, lighting, etc were great. I have no complaints about the production quality.

For those who do mentalism, you know that the "Real Work" on mentalism is selling the presentation. With that in mind, realize that many of the "methods" in "Hemispheres" are old as the hills. There are a few new principles and methods introduced. However, the real value of this DVD is the presentations. There are some presentation ideas here that are absolutely awesome. So here's the full skinny on each of the 20 effects on the Hemispheres project including ratings on a scale from 1 to 10:

Effect List:

Director's Cut - This is the cut-the-strip-of-words effect with a twist, however. The twist opened up so many doors for me on this effect. I performed this in my last gig, and it killed. Just for the impact on my audience alone I give it a 10.

Choice Effect - The prediction of an absolute free choice of any tarot card. There is certainly some presentational potential here. The method is very sneaky. I loved it. It's pretty portable. The reset is pretty simple as well. Anyone who is a real worker can find a presentation that works for them. I'm docking a couple of points on this because I don't think Jay sold the presentational potential as well as he could have. I give it a 7.

Dollars & Sense - Hand the spectator a wad of cash (amount is unknown) and a bunch of folded up receipts. They freely select any receipt, and the dollar amount matches the amount of cash in the hand. Again, another one with excellent presentational potential. Jay gives an alternate version of this in the explanation that is, in my mind, the better way to do this effect. It's not very portable, and reset is a bit of a pain, but for a set show it's great. I give it a 7 or 8.

Third Eye - A doll's eye is placed inside of a paper back along with three playing cards that the spectator picks behind his own back. Jay covers one of his eyes and can "see" inside the paper bag... Very cool effect. This is, hands down, my favorite effect on this DVD. The method is simple, and any magician in the know who watches it once will know the method, but man is it a killer effect. I've done it a few times now, and it was also in my last gig, and again it just killed! Definitely a 10.

How Fortunate - Prediction of a fortune inside a fortune cookie. This one's from Jay's DVD Supernatural which also has a lot of cool stuff on it. However, this effect is one of the weaker ones on this and the other DVD. I think the effect is good, but the method seems a little fishy to me. I've never tried, however, so I can't speak to real performance experience on this one. I'd probably give this a 4 or 5.

Child's Play - The spectator predicts what color of play-dough is inside of a container. This is a very direct and quick effect with a simple method that has high presentational potential. It's very simple and very quick, and it runs the risk of appearing to be a throw-away effect. I think it's a great effect, but not as meaningful as some of the others... I give this one a 6

Lottery - A prediction of several cards and their order from a shuffled deck. This is an effect from Boris Pocus. It's a very baffling effect and can be done with a borrowed shuffled deck. This is one that is very simple and a real fooler. I rate this as a 7.

X-Ray Vision - Spectator picks the only business card with an X on the face. This is from "The Real Work on Restaurants and Bars." The effect is very strong, but I'm not sure if it's my cup of tea. Again, it has good potential. I rate this a 5 or 6.

NonExistent - You predict well in advance the name of a person that the spectator makes up on the spot. Very clever method and excellent presentation. I really like this effect, and it's on my list of effects to start testing in my working reportoire. I give this an 8.

HyperSensitive - Excellent prediction of the dates on three (or more) borrowed coins. This is from Anytime, Anywhere. That DVD is loaded with stuff, and I actually missed this effect on there, so I'm glad he put it here. This is a sweet piece of mentalism and very easy to do as far as skill goes. Of course, you need to make sure that you do a good job presenting it. I rate it a 7ish.

Witching Hour - A thought of card vanishes from a photocopy of a bunch of cards. This is an awesome presentational piece. The method is a clever addition to the princess card trick principle. Very clever. I give it an 8.

Alphamail - A book (actually magazine) test in the mail. Mail the magazine and the prediction to them ahead of time. They circle the world in the magazine (free choice). At the event, the prediction is opened and the receipt for the magazine is found to have the word written on it. Very cool. This is perfect for a corporate gig with an event planner. It is going into my act. I give it an 8 or 9.

Constellation - Both you and spectator put a business card behind your back, and you both make random markings on your card, and they both turn out to be the same pattern. Very simple, and very effective with lots of presentation possibilities. I give it a 7.

Secrets - At it's core, it's a card prediction. In fact, frankly, I don't like the technique used to pull it off, but I LOVE the presentational Idea which can be used for many other things. The effect I give a 3 or 4, but the presentational concept gets a 7 or 8.

Group Hypnosis - Three people see a playing card that's not even in the deck. Old school Sankey from his DVD 1999. I really like the idea, and as I've said again and again, the presentation is awesome. The only downside for me on this effect is that it requires a couple of moves that I am not that good at, so I can't perform it yet until I master the moves. This trick gets a 7.

Reception - A psuedo design duplication. You predict the level of liquid drawn on a drawing of a cocktail glass. Very cool technique that inspired a solution for an effect I've been trying to create for months. This one has good potential, but not my bag. I give it a 6.

Painkiller - Audience predicts the time on a broken watch inside of a bag. This uses a cool principle that Jay came up with. The method has so many possibilities. The presentation Jay gives is very cool, and the alternate idea he gives in the explanation is also a very cool idea. I give this an 8.

Intersection - Audience freely chooses and persons name and a playing card. Then a deck of cards is opened to show one reversed card with a name on it, and it matches the spectator's choices. Very cool. A bit of set up involved, but it's a one time set up. Also the presentation and handling needs a little work, in my opinion, to make it a bit smoother and more practical, but it's definitely a cool concept and effect. I give it an 8, and with some handling modifications it's a 9.

X's and OhMyGod - Prediction of the outcome of a game of Tic-Tac-Toe. This has a lot of clever thinking involved combined with Jay's BDS (Billet Delivery System). I really like this effect... It's another one that will be soon tested in some of my next gigs. I give this an 8.

Photo Finish - Spectator cuts the deck into four piles. A photograph (included with DVD) is shown to have predicted the cards cut to. I used this in my last gig as my closer, and it kicked butt. I slightly modified a few things, but the effect was almost identical. This one is a 9. The only reason it doesn't get a 10 is because I felt the presentation needed to be slightly modified.

The three effects I did from this DVD at my last gig were "Third Eye", "Director's Cut", "Photo Finish." When I asked the person who hired me what kind of feedback he got from the audience after the show, the two most talked about tricks were "Third Eye" and "Director's Cut."


The Overall rating on this DVD is 8ish bordering on 9ish.

If you want to check out a video preview, here's a link: Hemisphere's DVD Preview. You'll be able to quickly get a feel for the tone of the whole video as you watch this. I love this DVD, and highly recommend it.

Thanks for the very thorough review, Jeff!

Ron

It's got some interesting stuff. Jay puts out a lot of "mental magic" stuff, but within that "stuff" you'll find some gold. It's worth looking at. There's one killer idea for an impromptu thing that I felt was worth the whole DVD.

Greg

Greg,

Just curious... what was the one thing?

Hi Greg,

If I bet a handful of change on which effect you refer to do I win?

Bill

You got it, Bill. Oh, and I'll keep my treasure find a secret. Hey, I was the one that picked up the shovel and went looking for it.

Greg

I'm glad to see Jeff's review. Jay is one on the greatest minds in magic ( I do so many of his creations ) and I'm ahppy to see him on track with killer material.

Greg,

That is a good one for sure...

Oh, yes it is. Now let others do what you've already done... pick up the shovel and dig.

Good review, by the way.

Greg

Yes, good review. I appreciate you taking the time.

Thank you Jeff, that is a great summary and review!

For a more "on the fly" effect of this nature, see "The Fortune Telling Game," which someone published a little over a year back. There are lots of alternative presentations given there as well.

Greg,

Don't worry our secret is safe with me. I'm adding it to my rep, so I don't want anyone finding it without a little digging either.

Jeff, thanks for your review. My order is in! Glad to see Jay Sankey is back with good quality mental magic again!

Thanks Jeff,

I will be taking adavantage of this Monday's special and from your review I know what to get.

Eric

I think Hemispheres and Revolutionary Coin Magic 2.0 are going to be big Sankey hits.

When Jay hits the mark, he's deadly!