You could take a look at the fight coreography in 'Equilibrium.' Admittedly, the thing died at the box office, but the fight sequences are a nice example of what you can do without vast amounts of digital effects and wire-work.
Turn up to a class in a rabbit suit, with your martial arts uniform over the top, and refuse to recognise that there's anything wrong? ( One warning, those things can get really hot )
'Starmaker', by Olaf Stapledon, and 'Dragonsbane', by Barbara Hambly. ( Currently going through a "classic books I feel I should have read" and a "books I enjoyed and want to re-read" phase )
I haven't played D&D for some years now, but I'm still playing other RPGs. ( Castle Falkenstein is the current one ) One of the people I occasionally train with is planning to take her first try at GMing using D&D 3rd Edition, and I'm going to be one of her players/victims