Bound And Gagged!

Lest we forget, I’m guesting tomorrow, gais! Channel 7, Unang Hirit.

.:Project 365 (214/365): The Transported Man:.

This magic routine of fictional origin (That has since been duplicated several times over.)is visually stunning and has achieved a lot of infamy in the non-magic world, all the way down to the term “The Prestige”, which, in reality, is not even a term that is actually used by magicians, to begin with.

In its fictional history, the act was originally performed by Borden as played by Christian Bale, wherein through two doors, he tosses a red ball that bounces and then gets caught by himself through the other end of the stage. It was an illusion that defied logic and baffled people everywhere, more so in an age where sawing a lady in the half was still an impossibility.

As his rival, Angier, as played by Hugh Jackman (Yes, Batman vs. Wolverine.), found himself frustrated with discovering the secret, he figured out his own way of duplicating the illusion, and in doing so, he found an unsavory solution that seemed lacking in elegance to him: he would use a double to carry out the illusion, and never once be able to bask in the applause of the illusion as he falls through a trapdoor set up in the stage.

At some point, this plan is upset when Borden manages to expose the fact that Angier uses a double, and in doing so, infuriates Angier even more. At this point, the story takes another dark turn, and Angier ends up discovering another method to the Transported Man: a cloning machine. Unfortunately, he also has taken to murdering each of his clones upon each performance to prevent an overpopulation of Angier clones.

In the end, the reveal comes that Borden actually had a twin brother, thereby allowing the only living twin a chance to finally commit the crime he was sentenced to die for: murdering Angier, who actually merely set up one of his clones to be drowned in the presence of Borden.

A chilling illusion with a chilling history, but believe you me, the secrets of magic were guarded so well in the past that people did have to resort to blackmail and theft just to get what they wanted.

Thankfully, though, this illusion has had creative performances at present, and even at our show, “Bound and Gagged”, I did a sort of similar thing, where I ended up at the balcony after being locked up in a trunk. Went pretty well, actually.

Project 365 film, magic, magikel, project 365 2010

.:112/365: Penn And Teller Get Killed:.

This black comedy is a feature-length film starring Penn and Teller that really caught people by surprise. It was a film filled with twists and turns, and really made for a bizarre but thoroughly interesting film to watch, to say the least.

When I watched this movie the first time, I didn’t quite know what to expect. It was a film that I was definitely curious about, but I had no idea what it was going to be about, and what they were going to do. It didn’t take long though for me to realize that the film was a wild ride from start to finish. Penn and Teller prank each other, and the one-upmanship gets to a point where it spirals lethally out of control.

It’s a very interesting premise for a movie, in all honesty. It’s something that people may not find very funny, but only because it focuses on dark humor to get its laughs. It’s one of those typical “black comedies” that were in vogue during the late 80’s and early 90’s, and while it may seem formulaic, Penn and Teller as lead stars in this film are stellar.

Give this film a watch if you ever find the chance. It feels odd watching people smoke in airports and do similar shenanigans you’d never expect post 9/11, but it’s all good.

Project 365 backblogging, comedy, film, magic, magikel, project 365 2010

.:48/365: Ron And Hermione:.

Yes. I went there!

If you ever liked the Harry Potter series, you would know that one of the biggest story arcs throughout the saga was the slow-burning love story between Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

I’ve always been a fan of the loveteam, and while they’re not really magicians in the strict sense of the term, they’re wizards, albeit fictional ones. Plus they look cute together.

When you’re looking for a magical loveteam, the mainstream will immediately mention Ron and Hermione, even if just in jest. I don’t mind. I can be as indulgent as needed be in this Project 365, since as far as I’m concerned, not a few people have been inspired to learn magic thanks to Harry Potter, so they do deserve some props every now and then.

Ron and Hermione’s love story really evolved throughout the seven books of the Harry Potter series. It was something most readers could telegraph, despite all the Harry/Hermione shippers (Or Harry/Ron shippers, if you swing that way.). The contrast of personality between the two created a very natural kind of tension that allowed the relationship to smolder over time as the friendship they had with Harry continued to play a factor in the whole equation. It was awfully endearing to see Ron and Hermione just keep teasing getting together until they finally did around Book 6.

As a big fan of the Harry Potter series, I feel that the angle of love has always been a big deal for the whole franchise. Ron and Hermione’s love story is definitely something that captures the fancy and imagination of a lot of readers, and if magicians could only have love stories as epic and as entertaining, I’m sure we’d have books to write about them, too.

Then again, perhaps magicians in real life might have far too colourful lovelives for us to really want to divulge…

Project 365 film, harry potter, love, magic, magikel, project 365 2010

.:44/365: Death-Defying Acts:.

It seems to be a season of magic-related films.

Fans of Harry Houdini and escapology will be delighted to know that a romantic thriller loosely based on his life has been released in movie form, and it’s called “Death Defying Acts”. It’s a rather interesting love story with a bit of mystery, mysticism, and twists involved, but ultimately, we find out that the first marquee name for escape artistry did love someone in a way that defies logic and convention.

Guy Pearce was on point throughout this film, and is a sight to behold as Harry Houdini. The very engaging storyline of his willingness to debunk psychics while at the same time praying to find a genuine one to quell his “ultimate shame” is a storyline that serves as a perfect backdrop for two very unlikely lovers in Houdini and the very psychic he is trying to debunk and believe in at the same time.

Give this film a watch. I can’t say much about it as I don’t want to reveal too many important plot points.

Project 365 film, love, magic, magikel, project 365 2010

.:40/365: Love In Magic:.

As a patron of Korean films, I actually am happy that there is some attention to magic in South Korea, mostly thanks to Cyril Takayama. In 2005, this romantic comedy came out, and while it wasn’t anywhere as popular as “My Sassy Girl”, “Love In Magic” still had its moments.

This follows the story of Ji-hoon Woo, a professional magician who is also a notorious womanizer. One day, he discovers that a video of him and a former girlfriend, Hee-won Koo, was hosted on the internet. Afraid that this sex scandal might ruin his career, he seeks out Hee-won, who is now a teacher at a local school. As she is also concerned about her career, they go through past motels to investigate in figure out who to ask to take the video down.

As they do this, things start happening, and perhaps, just perhaps, love could be sweeter the second time around.

Personally, I’m of the belief that if you really want something, you’ll make it happen, and if you don’t, you’ll find excuses. This movie is a very heart-warming take on the romantic comedy genre, but the fact that it features magic, albeit only tangentially, does add to its appeal. This film is something you can watch and appreciate if you actually don’t mind reading through subtitles, or if you can understand Korean.

Don’t expect stellar acting. This isn’t a movie meant to gun for acting awards, but a film that capitalized on the romantic comedy craze in South Korea. This is not to say this is a bad movie, though. It’s just that it didn’t light up the world when it first came out, and if you think that nothing could ever beat “My Sassy Girl”, you’d probably be right if this film were your only other bet.

Well, for the magician who wants a Korean movie to watch on Single Awareness Day, “Love in Magic” is the movie for you.

Project 365 film, love, magic, magikel, project 365 2010

.:32/365: The Illusionist:.

Films about magicians are rather few and far in between. This is one of the better ones.

Welcome to the month of hearts, and with a new month, we welcome a new theme for our project 365. This month, we will be talking about love and magic, and what better way to start things off than by talking about one of the best films about magic ever, “The Illusionist”?

This is a film starring the ever-versatile Edward Norton as Eisenheim, a magician in Vienna at the turn of the 20th Century. As an illusionist embroiled in the middle of a love triangle involving himself, the Dutchess Sophie, and the crown prince Leopold, his social standing appears to have him in over his head, but somehow, like the crafty magician that he really is, he manages to concoct not just a dazzling act, but a master plan to pull one over everybody else.

This is truly an engaging story with intrigue, conspiracy, and thrills, but at its very heart, the Illusionist is a love story. The timeless tale of a man and a woman facing off against the odds for the sake of their love is a story we all know of and could understand. I don’t want to spoil the movie too much, so just give it a watch. I promise you wouldn’t regret it.

Project 365 film, magic, magikel, mentalism, project 365 2010

.:I Loved Angels And Demons!:.

Just a quick aside before I get to my main point…

In my opinion, it was better than the book, thanks to the fact that they didn’t use one particularly idiotic plot twist in the film adaptation.
Thank goodness.

.:Completely On Fire!:.

Last Monday night, the Comedy Cartel had their Comic Strip standup night happening in Spicy Fingers in Greenbelt 2.

Let me tell you that this is, bar none, the best show I’ve ever seen from the Comedy Cartel thus far.

Something about Monday night just really lined up neatly for the Comedy Cartel, as their entire roster was on fire from top to bottom. The audience was just really into it, and they definitely went there to be entertained by the Comedy Cartel.

I must say that Noel Gascon’s strong opener really set the tone for the night, and it was pretty obvious that the crowd was going to ride with HK references throughout the night. You just knew the other Cartel members were going to capitalize on that, and boy, they definitely did. Marlon’s ADMU-DLSU joke got the biggest reaction of the night, Ryan debuted in Spicy Fingers with a bang, Stanley’s pacing was amazingly on that night (and he even made an MR reference and linked her name to me… lol), Red had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand, Victor was made of win, JB definitely wowed people with his magic, and Mike Unson of course main evented with much aplomb.

Special mention has to go to Richie Fernandez, who practically could’ve declared his candidacy or something, considering how many people went there because of him. Heh. Also, thanks for having me over at his table, as meeting his friends was really quite an experience. It’s just amazing what conversations you can find yourself in with people who are in a jovial mood thanks to top-notch comedy. My brother even dropped in on the show, and he was definitely pleased as punch by it.

I’ve been supporting the Cartel precisely because I know they’re this damned good. These guys are awesome, and I hope that as time goes by, more and more people would see and appreciate these guys for the comedic geniuses that they are.

If you want to find out more about them, feel free to go to their website. Their next show is coming this June 13, in Conspiracy Bar. It’s gonna be Mike Unson’s birthday show, so watch out for that!

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