It's 70% Liquid Metal 1 re-teaching. Then some new subtleties. For $25.

Considering I've made THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS (edit: AND MORE THOUSANDS) of dollars from LM1, this was a worthwhile investment for the other 30%. IMHO of course.

I broke down and purchased this. I'm sure there may be some tricks or methods that may give me ideas, but I have gone in my own direction since I've made the literal distinction between "Mental Magic" and pure "Mentalism".

I've developed my own handlings and methods, which I cannot share, since I have had my exact routine and patter stolen. (I even saw a newer Magic Castle member attempt to perform my routine for some guests until an older member called him out).

I have disagreed with several LM 1.0 presentational aspects, which I personally changed for my own handling.

This can be a powerful effect, but it's the presentation that sells it. All too often, I've seen brilliant effects ruined by bad handling or performance.

I too, wish akirafist a speedy recovery from his heart attack. I remember some of his posts regarding Liquid Metal. He seemed pretty knowledgeable about this particular trick. I am still having some difficulty mastering many of the routines in Liquid Metals, mainly because I don't have iron strong enough hands (and I have attempted to use Penguin's Liquid Forks). The main difficulty I have is with the corkscrew twist. Would anybody here have any good advice concerning overcoming my difficulty on this particular trick, especially with the corkscrew twist that is shown as part of some of the routines on the DVD? It seems in order to do the routines on the DVD naturally, smoothly with no difficulty, even with Penguin's Liquid Forks, you still have to have iron super strong hands.

You might scroll upwards and read Akirafist's reply.


Hand strengthening devices.

Here is my question

I found I can not bend several types of spoon in my kitchen. It seems my hand strength is not very good, so I thought the bending thing is not for me. Can I find some forks that is easier to bend than spoon?I do not mind someone say it is soft. If so, I will consider this.

I finally had some time to watch the entire Liquid Metal 2 DVD. Sorry, I wasn't very impressed.
It's really just a LM 1.0 Reboot, with some bonus material, that is not all that practical.

There is also an inconstant course from Mentalism to a Magic Trick; for instance, a true mental effect would not require a spectator/participant to "blow on the fork". That's Magic, not Mentalism. Another example is the "Shadow Bend"; this is a magic trick, not true mentalism. Morgan even talks about patter, during the shadow bend explanation, and says it seems like "real magic" and then, later in the DVD, says "This is your mental energy, your Psychokinesis". So what is it? Mentalism or Magic? You can't have both for a convincing or engaging presentation; that would be like following a really entertaining mind-reading effect with sponge balls or a card trick.

The LM 2.0 material that demonstrates the "complete destruction of the fork" eliminates the LM 1.0 gift/souvenir for the spectator/participant. (I've had people approach me or write that they STILL have their fork/spoon, from performances I did months and years before!)

I must also point out a pet peeve of mine regarding Hand Care. A professional magician needs to take care of his/her hands! Morgan's hands look awful in this DVD. Grit, grime, cuts, scrapes, calluses and dirty finger nails. Having the hands of an automobile mechanic is not very attractive and not very professional.

When I'm in the workshop, garage or working around the house, I wear gloves. When I'm unloading my heavy prop-cases, I wear gloves. when I'm riding my bike, motorcycle or driving long distances, I wear gloves. The point is, I really take care of my hands; they are my livelihood. A professional magician needs to look their very best.

While the production value of LM 2.0 is slightly better than LM 1.0, Morgan seemed to be focusing on the wrong camera throughout the DVD. And, personally, the "grunge street look" is unappealing.

It's definitely not for everyone, but if you do not own LM1 and have been considering it, I'd recommend LM2 -or- take advantage of the Penguin Special and buy both: http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/2585 .

Work with this and develop a strong presentation before you perform it for others.

You add some interesting thoughts to this Georges. I don't want to derail the topic but I would like to mention that there is no hard and fast rule that says Mental Magic cannot be done well. It certainly isn't easy to do and I wouldn't recommend it for most but it can, and has, been done well.

That isn't to say that your specific comments are not correct. I trust you enough to believe you have a well reasoned thoughts on it, and I have yet to see LM2, so I won't go on a limb and say that Strebbler does mental magic well. But then again, to my knowledge, Strebbler has always claimed to be a magician, not a mentalist.

Actually Morgan is self-described as a Mentalist; but then again, a layperson usually doesn't usually know the difference. (More often, only Magicians make the distinction).

Ellusionist is marketing LM2 in their Mentalism Category. It also looks like they're attempting a new buzz-word "Psychokinetic Magic", (which is basically saying Mental Magic).


Additionally, the LM 2 material requires extra set-up and dirty work, which takes away from the purity of the effect.

The LM 2 live performance footage is not as strong or memorable as LM 1. I would have also liked to see more material just focusing on performance and subtleties of presentation.

Bascially, I did not see enough new material to justify a LM 2. From my perspective, it's just LM 1 repackaged with the Ellusionist Brand.

Don't get me wrong, there are some brilliant basic principles to this method; I'm just making the division on how this can be very rewarding, or fall flat if done poorly.

One point, where I absolutely agree with Morgan, is he says to "make the trick you own". After 7+ years of working with Psychokinesis style metal bending, I have turned this "trick" into a reputation making signature mystery and I sincerely thank Morgan for that!

Fair enough. I am way out of touch with what Morgan is up to. (like probably 6 years) I only have his Spun and LM v.1, when he was still doing one of Frans Harari's Illusion shows.

And make sure you have Superman Arnold Schwarzenegger iron steel hands before attempting to learn the routines, even if you do use Penguin's Liquid Forks; otherwise you won't be able to do the routines on the DVD! That's probably why this guy has callouses all over his hands from practicing these routines that he has on his Liquid Metal DVDs. I agree with you though; I personally like to take care of my hands as a magician and not have to be Superman before I am able to do a magic trick. I wasn't happy with my purchase of LM and I feel it was basically a waste of money.