Flaming Lips is one of those bands where the idea of them is easier to love than the band itself, and their foray into moviemaking, “Christmas on Mars,” will serve as the definitive litmus test between Lips fans and Lips admirers. Shot mainly in black and white, the movie takes place on a futuristic Mars space station, where several members of the crew are losing either their minds or their faith. There is also a woman and a baby in a protective bubble, aliens with heads shaped like female genitalia, Lips singer Wayne Coyne as a non-speaking green alien who saves Christmas for Major Syrtis (Lips member Steven Drozd), and more ‘F’ bombs than John Malkovich’s character in “Burn After Reading.” It’s all very avant garde – or as Moe Szyslak would define it, weird for the sake of being weird – and if you can make heads or tails of any of it, you’re smarter than we are. It’s a given that the movie would be odd, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be entertaining at the same time. Fans of the band will surely declare this to be their new favorite Christmas movie. Everyone else should probably steer clear.
