First, there was David Blaine's widely parodied, criticized, and ignored stunt in New York City in which he claimed to have hung upside down for 60 hours. So what? He took constant breaks... it's been done before, by better, actual magicians, and to more stunning effect.
Then there are these brutal (and we do mean brutal to the point where you almost feel bad for the guy) reviews of Criss Angel's new Las Vegas show with Cirque du Soleil... they have to be seen to be, um, believed...
Angel, the host of A&E's Mindfreak "magic" and weirdness revue, celebrated the opening of his new Vegas act on Friday night, an act which cost a reported $85 million smackers. Here are the highlights for us, from a local paper's interviews with fans and other attendees:
"Everyone in the bathroom was chanting 'bull----'" from the urinals, Damon Ranger of Chicago told me Saturday. "It was absolutely awful. You can 'Believe' how bad it is -- because it's terrible!"
People streamed out of the theater on Saturday screaming about how poor it was. A group of six women was led by a woman yelling furiously, demanding their money back.
"Dude, it's a train wreck," Ranger said. On a scale of 1 to 10, he declared "Believe" a zero.
"Believe" has no compelling storyline, and it's more about dancing and unimpressive tricks, like pulling doves from a sleeve.
Moffett and Wilson walked out before the ending, because Angel started singing the finale, a cover of his "Mindfreak" TV theme song.
"He broke into song. I said, 'He's singing. Now we're leaving,'" Wilson said.
In all fairness, Angel reminded the public, the show wasn't exactly ready yet, as the opening night had a reduced ticket price and was listed as a "ticketed preview." And... oh, here... have a free Coors Light!
"The best thing was getting this free drink coupon - the worst $55 Bud Light I'll ever have."
David Blaine's performances these days fare no better. Here he is getting trashed by Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, who speaks for all of us when he mocks Blaine's coffee breaks disguised as necessary medical checkups:
Read more, via the Review Journal.
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