Audience Member
Christmas on Mars does just about the worst thing a movie can do: be boring. From the start, it's clearly going for a strange 70s sci-fi tripfest feel, and at first I really was on board with it. The visuals were very interesting, using blatantly low budget sets in interesting and making color a deliberate choice, it gave it all a very retro and eerie vibe. Once that charm wears off though, and it will wear off, it becomes clear there just isn't anything under the surface. The Flaming Lips are not actors, and their performances are often cringey, but even the bit parts from real actors like Fred Armisen are forced and awkward. The story, what there is, is meandering and dull. The funny thing is a lot of the ideas and philosophies the movie presents are the same as the ones presented in The Flaming Lips music, but where it somehow works in their music, when it's presented in narrative form it comes off as annoyingly forced and pretentious. I literally just watched the movie and I've already forgotten most of it. I remember the visuals and the atmosphere, and that is something, I do give it credit for that. I do like the eerie atmosphere and odd visuals it gave, but there were no bones to hold them up and thus the whole thing fell apart. Maybe as a short it could have been a masterpiece. As a feature, it's forgettable and tediously boring.
Rated 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
Full Review
Audience Member
I make films for fun, so can appreciate when my favourite band on the planet makes a film that it won't be the best thing they do. However, Christmas on Mars surpasses that, and very much captures the essence of the band, great message, honest endeavour, innovation, and a home made ego free charm. What this lacks is broader than fan base appeal, and I'm talking about fans that copied Mushroom tapes to tape..., tried to dye their hair orange with tangerine peel and have a stock of fake blood, just in case. Saddos, like me. 679 people have rated this film to date, and to those people I can say, I can make a better film technically, but this is not about technique, its about the Flaming Lips and the fact that they don't know when to stop, god bless 'em.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
01/19/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Wayne Coyne, the front man and leader of the alternative rock group The Flaming Lips, directs and stars (along with his fellow bandmates and other friends) in this experimental, sci-fi/fantasy, 50s Sc-Fi Homage, semi-Christmas tale. On Christmas Eve on a base on Mars, many of the Crew are starting to lose their grasp on reality...as equipment is failing and the first baby on Mars is on the verge of being born...its a stressful time when the Alien Super Being arrives to help things just a little. It is an interesting movie, sometimes it is better than other times...but if you are a fan of the band or experimental stuff like David Lynch, you may find something charming about this DIY movie made over the course of 8 years.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/17/23
Full Review
Audience Member
This could've used some editing. And some acting. There are some great (budget) visuals, and disturbing, creepy atmosphere, but nothing else worth mentioning. It's the type of film one should watch high in order to enjoy it to it's fullest. Unfortunately, I was stone sober and this movie was pretty much a challenge to sit through.
Rated 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
01/26/23
Full Review
Audience Member
This could've used some editing. And some acting. There are some great (budget) visuals, and disturbing, creepy atmosphere, but nothing else worth mentioning. It's the type of film one should watch high in order to enjoy it to it's fullest. Unfortunately, I was stone sober and this movie was pretty much a challenge to sit through.
Rated 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
01/13/23
Full Review
Audience Member
I love The Flaming Lips, but I was not expecting this to work for me at all. Pleasantly surprisingly, it mostly did. A surreal slice-of-life-on-Mars with an appropriately nebulous plot, cool monochrome cinematography, and actually rather perfect pacing. Its amateur deliveries and ragtag production values and underdeveloped philosophical ambitions and explicit old-school psychedelia may not endear everyone, but there's some genuinely decent psychological science-fiction in here. I think fans of Dark Star should enjoy this also?
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/22/23
Full Review
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