Reviews

Gregory Wilson "In Action 1"

Weighted Aces: Four aces are shown, and the Ace of Spades is placed in the spectator’s hand. The Ace of Clubs is then placed underneath it. The magician explains that since there’s more ink on the Ace of Spades, it will sink to the bottom. The spectator now sees that the Ace of Spades is below the Ace of Clubs. Now, the magician offers to repeat the experiment, but this time the Ace of Spades will rise to the top, which is much more difficult than having it sink to the bottom. The two cards are once again placed in the spectator’s hand, with the Ace of Spades on the bottom. Now, the Ace of Spades is on top, but this time it’s on top of the cards in the magician’s hand, and the spectator has the Ace of Hearts and the Ace of Diamonds.

This is my favorite version of Dr. Daley’s Last Trick. What makes it great is that unlike most versions, Weighted Aces actually has a (semi) logical explanation of why the Aces sink to the bottom.

8.5/10

Jumping Gemini: Four cards are shown, and the spectators are asked to keep track of one of the cards (Four of Clubs). The Four of Clubs is shown on top, and clearly placed on the bottom, yet it’s on top again. The Four of Clubs is then placed in the middle of the packet, on the table, and on the table again, but every time the magician moves the four, it appears on top. At this point the spectators believe that all of the cards are fours, but all four cards are shown to be the Ten of Hearts, with no Four of Clubs to be found. If that wasn’t amazing enough, the four Tens are then shown to have turned into the four Kings.

This is the standard version of Jumping Gemini, with a slight variation that makes it more convincing.

8.5/10

Pitch & Ditch: A coin (Chosen by the spectator) is tossed into the air, and when it lands it is seen to have changed.

Although the Pitch & Ditch is actually a move, the above effect is also taught in the video. Although the routine is good, the actual move is the best part. The Pitch & Ditch is a discreet way to dispose of almost any small object, and is very useful.

9/10

Coin In Watch: A coin in placed into your hand, but disappears and reappears under your watch. This is repeated, and the coin is placed into the hand, and shown again to have disappeared and reappeared under the watch. For the last phase, the coin is placed in your hand, but this time appears under the spectator’s watch!

There’s only one word that can describe this effect, and that word is amazing. The move is perfectly covered, and the ending couldn’t be much stronger.

9.5/10

Band Thru Wrist: A rubber band is placed on the spectator’s wrist. It’s then thrust through the arm and penetrates without breaking the rubber band.

There’s not much to say about Band Thru Wrist. It’s an ok effect, but not great.

6/10

Fistful of Dollars: The magician snaps his fingers, and a silver dollar instantly appears at the tips of his fingers. This is repeated as the magician explains that every time he snaps his fingers, he gets a dollar. Once again he snaps his fingers and a silver dollar appears. This time he snaps his fingers and one coin disappears. The coins are clearly placed into the hand, and when he squeezes, there’s only one coin left. Once again the magician squeezes his hand, and now they’re all gone.

An impressive effect.

8.5/10

Body Piercing: A coin is pushed through the back of the fist and penetrates the hand. Now a spectator holds out his hands facedown and the magician pushes the coin through the back of the spectator’s right hand. Instead of penetrating the fist and appearing in the hand, the coin appears on the back of the spectator’s left hand.

The first part of the effect uses a move that a lot of laypeople know about, so you might be hesitant about using it. The second part is ok, but overall I wasn’t impressed with the routine.

7/10

Reset With a Hook: Four Kings and four Aces are shown, and the Kings are placed aside. The magician explains that when he does a secret move, he can switch an Ace for a King undetected. The King is placed on the table, and the move is repeated. The second King is placed on the table, and this time the magician snaps his fingers and the remaining cards visually change into Kings. If that wasn’t enough, now the Kings change back into Aces, and the Kings are where they were at the beginning of the routine.

9/10

Box Spring: The magician explains that he is able to locate the Aces in a deck of cards just by glancing at the cards as they are shuffled. The deck is shuffled, and when he snaps his fingers over the deck, the Aces instantly appear on top of the deck face-up. The Aces are dispersed throughout the deck, and the deck is placed in the box. The magician squeezes the card box, and an Ace shoots out of the box into his hand. He squeezes the box again, and the second Aces goes through the box. Like the other two, the third Aces snaps out of the box, and for the fourth Aces, the card penetrates the box in the spectator’s hand.

Box Spring is fast, visual, and great to start an Ace routine.

8.8/10

Card to Pocket: The magician riffles through the deck and has a spectator call stop anytime. The card is remembered, and lost in the deck. The magician correctly names the card, and the spectator is asked to hold the deck between his/her hands. The selected card disappears from the deck, and reappears in the magician’s pocket. Now the card is taken out and rubbed against the outside of the pocket. The card penetrates and is inside the pocket again. This time the card is put in the middle of the deck, and the entire deck vanishes and reappears inside the pocket.

This is my favorite Card to Pocket routine, and gets very strong reactions.

9/10

The Tell: A spectator remembers a card in the deck, and holds the cards between his hands. By watching the spectator’s facial expressions and other subtle signs, the magician is able to correctly identify the card. Another spectator remembers a card; the magician shuffles the deck, pulls out one card, and shows it to the spectator. He/she says it’s not the right card, but the card turns out to be the first spectator’s selection. The magician gives the first selection to the second spectator, and it changes to the other selection. When the card is given back to the first spectator, it changes to the first selection. A third spectator names any card, the magician takes the card back from the first spectator, gives it to the third, and when he turns it over it becomes the freely named card.

I know it sounds complicated, but it’s really a great effect.

9.3/10

Backstage Pass: A move used to transfer a small number of cards to the bottom of the deck.

What I like about the Backstage Pass is that the move is done in plain sight under cover of another move.

8.7/10

Overall: Gregory Wilson In Action 1 is a mix of some good material and some great material, and with the exception of (In my opinion) one of two moves, all of the material is good enough to be done professionally and get great reactions.

9/10

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Shane Wiker