RANDOM MUSINGS - Tonight Sam Hallgren and I will be seeing Todd Haynes' critical darling 'Far From Heaven', with Julianne Moore and Dennis Quaid (always one of my favorite actors since playing Gordo Cooper in 'The Right Stuff'). Look for our comments tomorrow. * There's been some preliminary discussion about whether we should talk about the new James Bond film 'Die Another Day' (opens tomorrow) in our Movie Club next week, but I'm having a difficult time getting excited about it. If I was back in Iowa City and could see it for free, absolutely. But when movies cost $8.50 and there are so many other movies I still need to see here in Chicago -- 'Auto Focus', 'Heaven', hell, even 'Red Dragon' -- it's hard for me to justify spending the time and money on what will no doubt be another well-made but ultimately pointless Bond flick. Then again, the only other new movies opening this weekend are 'Friday After Next' and the absymal-looking, 'Dead Poets Society' knock-off, 'The Emperor's Club'. So we really have no choice. If anyone would like to weigh in with a suggestion, please do so in the Feedback Forum. * My successor at The Daily Iowan, Nate "The Yapp" Yapp, has posed this query in the Feedback Forum: Has Roger Ebert become irrelevant? Basically, Nate takes issue with the fact that Ebert seems to be adoring movies that Nate, and, admittedly, quite a few others aren't that enamored with. Specifically, Nate can't believe that Ebert gave the newest 'Harry Potter' extravaganza 4 stars, while also giving 'The Truth About Charlie', Jonathan Demme's poorly-received (by Nate and just about every other critic) 'Charade' remake 3 stars. I haven't seen either film yet, but I, too, have noticed that he does seem to be handing out a ton of 3 1/2 and 4 star ratings lately, a lot of them to movies you might not expect to be that great. I don't know, I'm not willing to write Ebert off just yet. Let's face it, when it comes right down to it film criticism is as subjective as anything else. If he walks out of 'Chamber of Secrets' with a smile on his face, I don't know that he can really help that. * Now here's something that puts a smile on my face -- Snoop Dogg has been cast in the role of Huggy Bear, the colorful informant-pimp, in the 'Starsky & Hutch' movie to star Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson in the Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul roles, respectively (release TBA 2004). Chris Rock, Chris Tucker and even the brilliant Don Cheadle were apparently considered, but I think Snoop Dogg is an inspired choice. Would anyone go see this movie if Stiller and Wilson weren't behind it? I doubt I would. But I'd probably go see anything these guys were in together. Who knows, maybe there's room for Stiller in a sequel to 'Behind Enemy Lines'?

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