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"Cutting Edge Cards and Coins" DVD Set
by Jason Dean and John Born
Suggested Retail USD$59.95
Available direct from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 10 Out of 10

"Cutting Edge Cards and Coins", a three-disc set packed with just what the title says, is a collection of some of the most thought-provoking and inspirational pieces for close-up artists to come along in ages.

They are so packed, so filled with good stuff, I don't even know where to begin. After watching the discs for a third time --, all the way through, mind you, just because I enjoyed every minute of the inspiration Born and Dean threw at me -- I found myself picking favorites but still looking at other items with a mixture of muse and awe. This is Great Stuff.

Let's look at some of the card stuff. Here, Born and Dean begin with classic themes and warp them just so to create fascinating pieces. Take "Twisting the Illusion". Yes, you guessed it: it's ye olde "Twisting the Aces". But it goes here into a fuller routine incorporating a signed card for a diversion into "Wild Card" territory and ending with the revelation of the signed card into middle of the deck. As a fan of the plot, I dearly loved how Dean pulled this one off as cleanly and as well-routined as you're going to get.

Dean's "One-Handed Card Trick" is the perfect definition of commercial magic (as Born mentions in the explanation). This is a card-to-pocket which seems absolutely impossible, completely fair, and is just plain fun. To say that a chosen card appears in the performer's pocket doesn't do this one justice: this was the first routine I did for an audience and it was the one everyone kept talking about. This is Jason Dean at his best and shows his skills in routining and creating.

But the big item on the "Cutting Edge Magic With Cards" disc is one which also wins the award for "Best Piece You'll Never Perform": Dean' "Pick-a-Nip", which has a selected, signed card disappearing and openly arriving on the performer's pierced nipple. Now, granted you may not have a pierced nipple, but the basic idea -- which is so simple no one else would have thought of it except Dean -- can be altered for other presentations. If this one doesn't get you thinking, nothing will.

As for the rest of the card pieces -- there are six others -- they are all winners and show Born and Dean have a firm grasp on what makes for solid card magic. Even as burnt out as I am on card tricks fell in love all over again by what these two have put together.

Want to talk coins? Let's talk coins.

Going into this, I expected a lot (after all, I loved Born's work with coins in "Matrix, God's Way") and was looking forward to more of that type of thinking. Between Born and Dean, my expectations were totally shattered: they raised the bar on themselves considerably.

Born's "Translocation Reborn" is an eye-popper. You know the routine: four coins fly across the table from under one hand to the other. Here, though, Born keeps everything so open, so smooth, it truly looks impossible. This quickly became the one I had to try out and, as I expected, it is solid. There's also Dean's take on the plot, which is as playful as it is bold.

"BQM", another work by Born, is a version of Roth's "Chink-a-Chink" which won me over in "Matrix, God's Way". In this one, Born 's handling is again very open and smooth, but here he uses a simple little gaff to end clean without working about lapping or sleeving or anything else.

Another Dean piece is the "Woble Vanish", which I won't explain much about except to say it's the most unique coin vanish I've seen, and so simple you'll think about not doing it. Don't fall for that -- this is a goodie.

But the highlight of this disc belongs to John Born and all of his sleights (there are about a dozen of them). These are sometimes bold, sometimes difficult, but always clever and slick. And if you're not prodded to come up with something to do with these little wonders, Born includes a one-coin routine for some of the them (wisely letting others stand on their own).

Back to cards on the third disc, which is dedicated to card flourishes and a "jam session". Now, I'm not into flourishes so I can't speak to their impact on audiences, but I can say they are some pretty, sometimes gorgeous, pieces. "Get a Life", a multiple two-hand chain-cut ending in a four Ace production is something to see.

That "jam session", though... well, that got me.

As can be expected, it's Dean and Born going through bits and pieces informally, and those pieces go all over the place without rhyme or reason (sounds like a real jam session to me). Double-lifts, revelations-cum-flourishes, controls (Born's version of Marlo's "Convincing Control" is excellent), "Three-Fly" (with a slick way of getting into the routine courtesy of Dean and an equally slick way of getting out of it by Born), and more. The best part, though, is the off-the-cuff things that get thrown out that really shows the amount of detail these two talents bring to their work.

And it's all remarkable work and worth putting time and effort into the bits that appeal to you.

Final word on "Cutting Edge Cards and Coins"? How about two words? How about "solid gold"? The material here, whether you do it as described by John Born and Jason Dean or use it as a launching pad for your own stuff, is worth every penny. I could throw two others into the mix: "cutting edge".

Because "cutting edge" is exactly what you're getting here.

"Cutting Edge Cards and Coins" DVD Set by Jason Dean and John Born
In A Blink: 10 Out of 10

Material: 10
Simply great stuff. Cards and coins in a variety of flavors, using gimmick and gaffs and nothing extra whatsoever (don't worry -- the gimmicks are common and simple, as are the gaffs). All of it is mind-blowing stuff, and most of it wonderfully commercial. Though there are almost self-working pieces, really this set for the intermediate performer.

Practicality: 10
That varies, of course, depending on the routine, but so much of it is perfectly practical in most performing situations. Overall, there's enough here to cover every situation.

Quality of Production: 10
Major kudos here. The video and sound are great, as is the navigation.

Quality of Instruction: 10
The overall feel of the instruction sequences is like an in-depth session and works really well: Born and Dean play off each other perfectly.

Presentation: 10
Everything here is built on the visual presentations, and everything plays perfectly into that. Whether it's visibility, openness, or cleanness, each trick packs a punch based on those qualities. That's a treasure right there.

Originality: 10
Old themes and plots twisted sideways then turned upside down. That's about the best way of describing the thinking Dean and Born bring to the table here. It's refreshing to see them at work and at their creative best.

Shane