When the box office champ Ben Stiller's comedic performances aren't a variation on a soft-spoken, put-upon everyman with an eventual fuse, he's usually playing a full-blown absurdist monster with an apoplectic Napoleon complex. These bizarre creations usually adorn films in which the funnyman provides the supporting work (DODGEBALL, HEAVYWEIGHTS), but, whenever he's directing, he's free to build an entire filmic universe around his asinine, ludicrously funny, culture-skewering characters and premises. His ZOOLANDER (2001) bit at the entertainment industry with silly abandon, but Stiller has firmly set TROPIC THUNDER within the realm of sophisticated Hollywood satire. In it, a desperate director named Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan) trying to make a Vietnam war movie drops his pampered actors into the heart of the jungle. Cockburn's stars include Stiller as an action hero who's starting to make bad career choices, Jack Black as an insecure low-brow comedy star going through heroin withdrawals, and Robert Downey Jr. As an Australian Oscar winner so lost in his InchcraftInch he underwent a procedure to become black for his role. In the jungle, they remain under the delusion that they are still being filmed even after they encounter a dangerous gang of druglords. The film's basic premise has popped up several times since Hollywood's 1970s golden age in films such as THREE AMIGOS! And GALAXY QUEST. Where those films simply blanketed a classic Overconfident Bumbling Idiot comedy showcase with a pop culture lexicon, however, TROPIC THUNDER could have only been made, as on-the-nose at is, by people who have been working in the Hollywood system for years, making cutting observations along the way. Simply put, this raucous satire knows big-budget filmmaking, the delusional narcissism of actors, and even the good points of those actors-perhaps why they're celebrated-like the back

Jungle Fever [DVD]

Higher Learning includes an excellent 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer that presents the movie in nearly pristine colors. In the opening shot the bright red, white, and blue of the American flag shines and presents one of numerous impressive examples on this picture. Although it lacks the near perfection of reference transfers, it falls only slightly from this perch. Similar to the image transfer, this 5.1-channel Dolby Digital audio track features remarkable levels of clarity. The numerous soul, alternative rock, and metal songs blaze across the sound field and add considerable power. The dialogue is easily understandable, even in the heated moments, and the surrounds are utilized nicely throughout the running time. This disc also contains an effective Dolby Surround track, which only drops slightly below its companion in terms of depth and force. Higher Learning features an enjoyable commentary from writer/director John Singleton that contains plenty of intriguing thoughts about the story. Much of the material in this script stems from his own experiences while attending college at U.S.C. Singleton openly explains how numerous scenes originated and shows a refreshing willingness to describe his own life and its connection to the film. It's also impressive to see a filmmaker willing to admit that he's still growing and there are flaws in his creations. Singleton utilizes a conversational tone that makes the track entertaining and insightful without the highbrow tone of some directors. This release also includes selected filmographies for Singleton, Omar Epps, and the other major actors. Full-frame theatrical trailers also exist for this film, including Poetic Justice and Boyz 'N the Hood.