Yes we can

97. "Christmas on Mars"
I've been waiting to see this film since I heard about in 2003. Five years later, it has been released on DVD. I probably like it more that I had to wait.

The film is similar to the work of Ed Wood. It doesn't make much sense, the dialogue is extremely spares, most of the actors aren't professionals and it's obvious that we're in Oklahoma and not on Mars. So what? It's a film and supposed to be entertaining. It kind of is. It does drag. It's easy to lose track of what's going on. The black and white film doesn't help much either. So what? (As you can see, I really want to like this film) The cinematography is quite good and the B&W film makes 'space' seem colder. Like most B films, there is a lot of room for improvement.

The film was shot between 02 and 05. In that time period the lead actor, Lips multi-instrumentalist Steven Drozd was on and off heroin. It's clear that in some shots he's using. His weight easily fluctuates 20 pounds. Knowing this made the film easier to like. Coyne and Co. obviously had to work through this with their friend. They obviously made this as a labor of love. It's much easier to appreciate it when you know about the struggle.

The score can be deafening. It's wonderful, especially when it wanders into "Transmissions from the Satellite Heart" type stuff. The shots that use color have the same power as early Lips videos, which is a good thing.

If you are a casual B film or Sci-Fi fan, you won't dig this film. If you're a Flaming Lips devote that knows the story behind this, you will be glad you saw/bought this package. If you're in the mood to be inspired to make your own art, you can never go wrong with The Flaming Lips.