According to the scientists at How Things Work, DVDs do not wear out. You can watch them over and over but they will not lose the image quality or the programming -- ever.

That is a good thing because we have viewed Joe Jesse's Xtreme Koin Magic DVD a sufficient number of times where "wearing out" would otherwise be a real concern.
If Mr. Jesse's DVD were saved on a VHS or Betamax tape, we would likely see nothing more than snow and faint images of this imaginative and accomplished magician and teacher. The tape version would look similar to the programs we try to watch through our cable service's coding/decoding -- you can see enough to get interested or maybe excited, but not enough to be fulfilling.
Magicians and lay audiences enjoy Mr. Jesse's coin magic for different reasons. The crowds watching him perform at his many close-up venues around the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina are entertained by his routines. They may believe he is either using some type of trick coins, has developed sleight of hand beyond that of any previously seen magician, or both.
On the other hand, magicians are even more befuddled. Magicians know they are watching a skilled coin worker perform real magic: not just a series of sleights, but true routines.
Doing magic for a live crowd of either magicians or lay folk is entirely different than teaching in person or via DVD. We know from our short sessions with Mr. Jesse that he is a phenomenal teacher in person. He understands the mechanics of the move, the desire appearance for the audience, the timing, and the best way to teach it to the unique talents of his student.
Mr. Jesse's DVD is, in a word, outstanding. In two words, it is really outstanding.

His charisma and relaxed attitude come through the medium perfectly. The Mr. Jesse you see on camera is exactly the same performer you would see in person.
We note the DVD was filmed and produced by Mr. Jesse and that makes the project even more impressive. Throughout the lessons, Mr. Jesse can be seen adjusting his hands or body position to present the best view for the camera. He is presumably using a video monitor or mirror to keep in frame. We presume either method would present Mr. Jesse with a mirror image of his sleights, making adjustment and execution difficult; yet he is able to perform and teach flawlessly.
We are unable to comb our hair in the mirror without risking ear injury.
There are two meta-lessons in Mr. Jesse's DVD. The first contains the sleights needed to perform the very impressive routine with which he begins and ends his DVD. But the second meta-lesson is more subtle and, for us, more important.
Mr. Jesse is not attempting to teach knuckle-fracturing moves beyond the skill of even his contemporaries. He unspoken lesson is that a magician with a desire to learn, can perform these sleights if she matches the desire to learn with the desire to practice.
He does not suggest the moves will come easily, and at the same time he does not say some of the moves are too difficult for the average viewer.
Chances are the viewer of Mr. Jesse's DVD will not be a non-magician. Last time we checked he was not offering it on Amazon. So assuming the viewer is a magician, and that magician has a sufficient interest in coin magic that he purchased the DVD, the lessons are a perfect fit. Our meta-lesson theory is supported by Mr. Jesse's inclusion of footage showing drops.
The DVD's format is clean, the menu system is efficient and easily navigated. The substance of the production is similarly professional with clear camera angles, always in focus, great sound, and very nice musical bumpers between scenes.
Here is a rough index of the DVD:
The Routines: Mr. Jesse shows his routine in which he uses the coin sleights he proposes to teach. We watched this several times and referred back to it after learning the sleights. (More on this practice of shuttling between the individual sleights and routines shortly).
The Sleights:
Thumb Palm The palm that starts it all in his routine. When you see the routine before learning this move, you will likely wonder whence the silver dollar. We were fooled badly.
McBride Subtlety: Mr. Jesse gives credit to those who created or improved on the sleights he features. The McBride Subtlety is very subtle indeed. We did not even know it was a move. The effect allows you to apparently show both hands empty even though you possess a silver dollar ready for production.
The Vernon Load with Joe Jesse's Variation: We liked Mr. Jesse's thinking on this improvement to The Professor's method of loading a coin into a closed hand. The impact on the audience would likely be stronger if one were to use Mr. Jesse's method of separating the hands after the load. We are split on whether we should stray from Mr. Vernon's teachings though. For now, we will use it only for family and friends. The Vernon Load as we learned it more than 30 years ago is too automatic now.
Palms:Mr. Jesse explains the Downs Palm and the Classic Palm is a non-condescending or "cooler-than-thou" tone. He is genuinely interested in making the viewer confident with what could otherwise feel and look awkward.
Retention Vanish 1 and 2:There are two types of magicians. Those who think the Retention Vanish works and those who can't do a proper Retention Vanish. These two lessons prove our theory is correct. The vanish does work and it can be learned. We very much liked the magician's eye view of how the retention vanish should look. In his explanation of the second Retention Vanish, Mr. Jesse teaches us a really nice transfer permitting both hands to be shown (not appear) empty. Best of all, the transfer is accomplished without the strangely disturbing stroking of the palms and fingers in preparation.
Muscle Pass: Whatever.
We have tried a muscle pass for years. As we age, our palm muscles are weakening, soon to be nothing more than basic sinew holding the frail bones of once proud hands in a clutched palm-up cup shape with the ridges of a long-ago lost coin permanently etched into the translucent skin.
Our cupped cadaverous palm will likely be filled with drool (our own, we hope) as if we fell into a gentle slumber awaiting the miraculous restoration of muscle and coordination needed to try the Muscle Pass one last time.
To this extent, Mr. Jesse should be cursed and despised.
His video gives hope to those who have no reason to claim a right to hope. He suggests we can make the coin jump when he knows in his black heart the power for this move is meted out by the gods to only those special people. These are the people upon whom all good fortune falls.
When they move from one line to another, their newly chosen queue moves quickly while their old line comes to a screeching halt.
They will never pour cereal into their bowl only to find their portion is the last in the box and comes complete with the crumbs and fine powder of flakes lost during the settling/shipping process.
Watch the DVD. He makes it seem possible. He even shows how to do the Muscle Pass with a 50-cent piece.
Whatever.

Sleights are Flourishes: He explains the Knuckle Roll, the Downs Coin Star using half-dollars and silver dollars in four and five coin versions.
Coin Toss: Mr. Jesse shows a move from Mr. McBride in which multiple coins are tossed into the air and caught in one hand.
This is an "inverse flourish." We are convinced it will have its greatest impact on those who have tried it. If you have not tried, it looks a lot like you are tossing multiple coins in the air and catching them as they come back to your hand.
It is not that easy but we are lazy and would rather do an easy sleight that impresses audiences rather than a tough move lay folk believe they could do.
That's just us.
Speaking of work, the music is a hard driving electronic suite from De'vo Vom Schattenrelch ("De'vo").
In addition to providing outstanding an outstanding sound track, many readers will know him from the Cobra Cards flourish.
In homage to De'vo, Mr. Jesse presents his very difficult (and equally impressive) Cobra Coins. The set-up for the flourish comes naturally from the routine and actually is immediately following the McBride Coin Toss, so perhaps it would be wise to learn that sleight after all.
Mr. Jesse urges viewers to check out De'vo's websites www.superhandz.com and www.handlordz.com for great manipulation work. We followed his instructions and agree with his very high praise for De'vo. You need to see the site to believe what can be done by mere mortals.
While we loved the final two chapters of the DVD, we wished he had placed them at the start of the program. We mentioned earlier we shuttled back and forth between the sleight explanation and the routine as performed. If we had known Mr. Jesse concludes the video with a magician's eye view of the entire routine, and then an audience view of the entire routine, we would not have had to shuttle back-and-forth between explanation and routine.
Sure, there are those who could argue, "why didn't you read the chapter titles? They tell you these two chapters are at the end. Wouldn't it have been just as easy to shuttle to those chapters one time, see that they were exactly as they were titled, and stop your complaining?"
Yes, that's true. But we are not bright and tried the sleights while watching the teaching parts. This is why we are terrible at chess and are currently wearing two shoes from different sets but both for the left foot. We miss things and we can't see ahead all that well. Fortunately, we can't remember much either, so we never feel too badly.
Someone wrote, "it is better to light a candle than curse the darkness." Using that philosophy, we could have read the chapter headings and our one picky complaint would be solved. But sometimes the easy answer is not the best answer -- here it is but there could be other situations where it is not. We cannot think of any example of an easy answer be the best solution - so we'll drop it.
If you have an interest in coin magic either as a specialty or simply a skill to add to your close-up repertoire, this is the perfect DVD.
Mr. Jesse has the energy, drive, knowledge, charisma, and ability to teach what are thought to be very difficult moves so the common magician can learn. That is quite an accomplishment for someone of his age -- or for any age.

INFO: 

 

Joe Jesse's Xtreme Koin Magic is a Must Buy!

 

View Mr. Jesse's Demo Video and Purchase the DVD from Mr. Jesse's great website here!

- Provided by InsideMagic