…to J.K. Rowling, author of the wildly, insanely popular Harry Potter book series. Here again is Molly Ringwraith’s hilarious parody for your enjoyment. No, I don’t have a movie review, haven’t seen it yet. Many happy returns of the day, Ms. Rowling. ~Jenn
http://mollyringwraith.livejournal.com/43789.html
Ninja jump from the BQC. Keegan, you put your hand down. Does that count? 
Come to NinjaFit Fridays if you want to learn stuff like this. ~Jenn
Thursday the 30th is the last day of the summer lightsaber class (sob). We’ll be filming all our fights, though, so stay tuned and you can see the results of our 8-week session up here soon afterwards.
lt testing as usual. This will be the last test for Kim & Jenn before their Black Belt. Spiffy!
Here’s the new trailer, full of super Matrix-esque, shuriken-flinging action. Looks like fun! Thanks to Boing-Boing for pointing the way to this site. “Insanely awesome,” indeed.
~Jenn
TV review, actually. It’s been a long time since we’ve done a review, and there has been much watching of media since the last one. There have been a few Bonzuko favorites in there, but one that has especially good stunt work is showing its first season over again this summer. It’s called Legend of the Seeker.
Based on some Fantasy novels by Terry Goodkind, Legend of the Seeker plays on TV like a delightful combination of Ren Faire and a good D&D game. Our triumvirate (Richard the young Seeker, Kahlan the Confessor and old Zeddicus the Wiz) move from one unrealistically clean and diverse medieval village to the next on their way to stop the melodramatically evil Darken Rahl, saving the da
y each time as they go on. Now this may sound like not a high-quality show as I describe it here, lovely lurkers, but actually this formulaic, archetypical structure is quite pleasing. The script moves from predictable to cheesy to melodramatic, but in a good way, and the acting is actually decent, not only by our main three, but all the extras we encounter each episode. And it’s sexy, but in a family-friendly way.
Of course, the main reason why we at Bonzuko like to watch Legend of the Seeker is its fight scenes. The Seeker is known for wielding the Sword of Truth (which really looks like it was made by Starfire. Anyone know if this is true?), so there are many swordfights each episode. They are all very well choreographed, filmed in a stop-and-slow-motion style that actually (when the channel itself is running smoothly) makes the action easier to watch than if it were in real time. All the actors that fight look like they do a generous portion of their own stunts, and look too like they have worked hard to look awesome as they do so.
The other thing that makes Legend of the Seeker stand out as far as its stunt fighting is the inclusion of female warriors, not as bystanders that may or may not have a vase handy when the bad guy’s head gets close enough to her hiding place, but actually fighting right alongside their male counterparts. Kahlan wields not a sword, but a pair of daggers (often reverse-grip. Yeah!) as well as her magic power. But even female secondary characters that get caught up in the Seeker’s quarrels are not bystanders but hold their own. I’m reminded specifically of a recently-shown episode wherein the Seeker is handcuffed to a young woman and has to fight several guards to escape. They both use their manacles and unarmed prowess to save themselves. Again, some creative choreography (mainly by Steve McQuillan).
Here’s the Season 1 recap from Hulu. Minor spoilers, but you’d be able to predict these “twists” anyway, right? http://www.hulu.com/watch/74157/legend-of-the-seeker-season-1-recap
Anyone who enjoys light, enjoyable fantasy fare and/or good stage combat should catch Legend of the Seeker whenever they can.
Bottom line: **** out of *****
Thanks to this site for the image.
~JAS
Shuffle up the Pictures file, lurkers ours! And…it’s….
Bonzuko’s own Jenn being flung across the racquetball court by Glen! Old Genki Kai footage. From 2002 or 3ish.
