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The Flaming Lips - Christmas On Mars (CD/DVD) Audio CD

A fair review of the The Flaming Lips "Christmas On Mars (CD/DVD)" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all The Flaming Lips reviews here, or go back to the The Flaming Lips tabs.

The Flaming Lips Band: The Flaming Lips
Title: Christmas On Mars (CD/DVD)
Rating:
Release Date: 2008-11-11
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Once Beyond Hopelessness 2: The Distance Between Mars And The Earth-Part One 3: The Horrors Of Isolation: The Celestial Dissolve, Triumphant Hallucination, Light Being Absorbed 4: In Excelsior Vaginalistic 5: Your Spaceship Comes From Within 6: Suicide And Extraordinary Mistakes 7: The Distance Between Mars And The Earth-Part Two 8: The Secret Of Immortality: This Strange Feeling, This Impossible World 9: The Gleaming Armament Of Marching Genitalia 10: The Distress Signals Of Celestial Objects 11: Space Bible With Volume Lumps 12: Once Beyond Hopelessness 13: Christmas On Mars (Film)

What this is about
That is all the movie does and it does it perfectly. *SPOILER* This movie is what an acid trip feels like. If you've experimented before then you will get and appreciate this movie. If you haven't then you probably won't enjoy this movie.


awful
The film is the culmination of the Lips efforts as it brings their psychedelic vision to a head. "Christmas On Mars" presents The Flaming Lips fully realized sci-fi film that has been gestating in Wayne Coyne's brain for seven years. The films' plot centers around a colonized space station on Mars. The film's protagonist, Major Syrtis (Steven Drozd) is facing an epic dilemma. The oxygen generator and a gravity control pod are on the fritz and Syrtis is also slowly losing his mind to horrific hallucinations. Enter an alien super being (Wayne Coyne) to the rescue, and a Christmas Baby and you have all the elements for a Flaming Lips inspired oddity.

As the film opens, the weirdness commences, an orb is removed from an alien mouth. The orb then travels through a vaginal constellation of stars before descending upon Mars. Scenes melt together featuring an artificial birth of the Christmas baby, a woman and an egg before introducing Major Syrtis. Major Syrtis then espouses his theory on the universe as he views two astronauts setting up a Christmas tree outside the colony. As the film continues, the astronauts joke that Santa will save them. Clearly you aren't going to get a straight Christmas or Sci-Fi story here, which is fine, but I wish I didn't have to try to enjoy this film.

As I continue to watch this film, I want to make it stop. I don't care if the colony is saved, this film is so overwhelmingly pretentious it makes my head hurt. With its pseudo trippy visuals and grainy film stock it's very obvious that the Flaming Lips are trying way too hard to recapture the feel of a late 60's sci-fi epic. The film is sluggishly paced, like a lobotomized David Lynch film viewed on Quaaludes. The atrocious dialog and wooden acting are equally grating and stoop to sub Ed Wood levels. This wouldn't be so bad if the film wasn't so boring!

As the film meanders along and imposes morality upon the viewer, all story lines are led to their eventual resolution. I believe that those who are chemically enhanced would find some fault with this nonsense and find something else to watch. Thankfully, the soundtrack effectively captures the mood of the piece. Maybe the Lips should have just stuck with that, a soundtrack to an imagined film. . . what a concept.


freaky awsome
so damn good! cant wait to see it on the big screen with other freaky flaming lips fans!.


not for the soundtrack
the soundtrack is not something i want to pop in and listen to, like i do with all the other sounds the lips make. i love the flaming lips and i thought it would have been a better sound track, but it is just for this movie. i still need to see the movie, and i'm sure i'll like it all together.


SURROUND SOUND!
The movie is: Psychedelic, Hilarious, Horrible, Wonderful, Humble, Crazy, Uncalled For, Goofy. . well basically it's a ridiculous adventure that you can barely even call a movie (and I mean that in a good way)!

The reason I wrote this review is to not discuss the content (if you love the Lips you will love this), I came here to discuss the SURROUND SOUND!

No one else has mentioned this yet and it's a shame, this should ONLY be experienced in 5. 1! Here is why:

This is a 3D movie, but not visually. . . SONICALLY!

The entire movie is a psychedelic mess of sound effects and atmosphere that completely surrounds you. Most of the time it's in the over the top gimmicky way that I honestly can't get enough of. . . you just have to experience this! Especially if you enjoy their perfect 5. 1 versions of their latest three albums (which I must add is the best use of 5. 1 for music EVER!) If you enjoy surround sound in general and enjoying getting tripped out you owe it to yourself to experience the way The Flaming Lips do surround sound, it may never be matched! .


You can see a complete list of all The Flaming Lips discography, or go back to the The Flaming Lips tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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