Scott LeBrun This hard hitting movie is effectively gritty and seedy and does reasonably well at delving into a true crime story, from two different perspectives: first, that of David Lind (Dylan McDermott, sporting a different look for him), a biker type who gets caught up in a heist and loses his girlfriend in a later massacre, on L.A.'s Wonderland Avenue, that was a result of that heist. The second perspective is that of fading porn legend Johnny Wadd, a.k.a. John Holmes (Val Kilmer), during a decline in his life in which he was also implicated in the heist and murders. Two detectives, Sam Nico (Ted Levine) and Luis (Franky G) do their best to investigate the crime(s).There's a lot of familiar faces here, but some of them have pretty small roles. Still, it's an impressive showcase for both Kilmer and McDermott, as Kilmer and filmmaker James Cox give us a glimpse into what the life of Holmes was like during the early 80s period. Kate Bosworth also does well in the role of Holmes's young girlfriend Dawn. Sometimes Cox's filmmaking is a little too high-style, and it may take a viewer out of the movie at those points. Ultimately, though, this may prove to be compelling for any person interested in real crime stories, as it introduces us to all of the key players involved, including a crime boss, played by Eric Bogosian in one of his better big screen roles. Also appearing are Carrie Fisher, Josh Lucas, Tim Blake Nelson, Janeane Garofalo, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Scoot McNairy, Christina Applegate, Faizon Love, Chris Ellis, Lisa Kudrow (as Holmes's estranged wife Sharon), M.C. Gainey, and Paris Hilton."Wonderland" is good stuff overall, and does leave one wondering in the end just how deeply the troubled, drug addicted Holmes was involved. It's good at serving as a portrayal of the sleazy side of L.A. at a specific point in time. Text at the end reveals the fates of the key players.Seven out of 10.

Critical_Beatdown WONDERLAND is the story of classic "jazz film" star Johnny "The Wadd" Holmes and his involvement in the Wonderland Avenue massacre in Los Angeles' Laurel Canyon in 1981.The film starts with Holmes career already on the down slope that ended with his descent into drug addiction. When he was washed-up, Holmes befriended a cadre of iffy characters to help support his habit. His glory in the porn industry had long passed and he reached a stage where he was willing to abuse, double-cross, exploit and betray absolutely anyone to feed his addiction.WONDERLAND tells its story from this point of his life from several viewpoints; Holmes the man; the victims; and their killers. What marks WONDERLAND as standing above the standard film biopic is its refusal to adhere to the usual "Romance of Redemption" spin that biopic films tend to follow. This could easily have been a ham-fisted, tragic-hero story but instead in WONDERLAND we have a film that pulls no punches and isn't afraid to tell it as truthfully as possible given the available information.I consider myself to be fairly knowledgeable on Holmes' career – after all, what man hasn't watched "those" sort of films and I'm also pretty sure most middle-age guys have heard of John Holmes and what man wouldn't want to be as "equipped" as well as "The Wadd" (minus the arsehole factor)? Having read a whole bunch of stuff about the Wonderland Avenue murders, the movie rings very true to the dismal tale it tells – a rare situation for dramatic biopics that are famous for adding fictional elements for no good reason.WONDERLAND is no morality play and Holmes is presented in anything but the romanticised light that many people were expecting and hoped for. We have two sides of the same story; one from Holmes himself, the other from David Lind, a survivor of the slayings. As expected, both accounts paint very different pictures of each other and how it went down, as well as their mutual enemy, drug-lord Eddie Nash. Cox uses multiple versions of the crime as a clever film device but it's not central to the meaning of the movie, which is nice for a change… one RASHOMON was plenty, thanks, and Cox showboats a tremendous flair rarely seen from directors on their sophomore features.The LAPD labelled the Wonderland slayings as the most gruesome crime scene since the Tate/Labianca slaughter, and here's a spot of trivia for y'all – the sordid and gore-soaked Wonderland house was the first crime scene to be filmed by a video camera (brand new technology back then) by police as a means to collect visual evidence. Incredibly, this uncensored crime scene video appears as an extra on the DVD! After watching it, I was torn between wondering if what I had sat through was in incredibly poor taste or if it's the best damn extra I've ever seen on any DVD.MARRIED WITH CHILDREN's Christina Applegate grew up a couple of blocks from the murders and remembers the blood-soaked mattresses dumped in the streets – a memory that influenced her decision to agree in taking the small role of Susan Launius.The filmmakers tracked down Holmes' teenage girlfriend, Dawn Schiller and his wife Sharon, both of whom served as consultants on the movie, sharing their insights of Holmes' character and the era. Seeing her past relived proved to be a very interesting experience for Schiller and she stated how impressed she was with the boner-load research the filmmakers made and stated, " I really felt that it was going to be an honest portrayal and that the truth was finally going to be told." To the best of my knowledge, she stands by that statement.I had reservations about the choice of casting Val Kilmer in the role of Holmes (Matt Dillon was originally slated for the role but dropped out to direct CITY OF GHOSTS). How wrong I was; Kilmer's performance is spot-on, pitch-perfect and impeccably nails Holmes' physical mannerisms and personality so accurately, I almost forgot I wasn't watching the 13½ inch original portraying himself. In spite of being notoriously "difficult" an actor, Kilmer delivers the goods and I hope that one day he'll get full recognition for what he "pulled off" here (wink).Initially, Kilmer was totally disinterested in playing the character of Holmes – even pleas from his agent and Cox to read the script were met with point blank refusal but his agent eventually tricked him into reading the script by asking him to consider the grittier role of Eddie Nash. Once Kilmer started reading it was a done deal. He changed his mind, signed on for the lead and ended up getting so into research for the role, he spent the night at the Wonderland Avenue crime scene during an anniversary of the horrific killings.On its release, WONDERLAND was harshly dismissed by critics and totally overlooked come Oscar-time. In my opinion and that of the growing audience discovering it, WONDERLAND is easily one of the most underrated films of its decade.There's no doubting Holmes was a scumbag. To quote Rodger Jacobs, co-writer and co-producer of WADD: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JOHN C. HOLMES, "John Holmes was the epitome of a sociopath, and an antisocial personality in the most broad and extreme definition of the word. He saw other people as 'things' to be manipulated to further his own needs, nothing less, nothing more." Quite an indictment, eh. No matter how you feel about him, Holmes is a true pop culture icon and at last here's a film that tells it as accurately as anyone could ever hope to and I'm pretty sure no one's going to be remaking this one in a hurry, in spite of the fact several Holmes' biopics were in the pipeline… thankfully Cox's mini-masterpiece beat them to it.A classic in the making!

fascination67 Excellent performances across the board, with an exceptional performance by Josh Lucas, as the psychopath Ron Launius. Although Kilmer does an excellent job of portraying an extremely desperate, drug addicted Holmes, I never really got the feeling I was watching the real John Holmes, who in my view, portrayed a much cooler demeanor, unless the drugs truly turn you into an absolute manic zombie. Dylan McDermott, also with an excellent performance, surprisingly, as the biker/gang member David Lind.Some of the negatives, probably the over-use of music (although I liked the music), at times, it seems like the music is being used as a crutch rather than using character/plot elements to drive the movie. I rather enjoyed Kate Bosworth's portrayal as the naive/gullible young girlfriend of Holmes.I do recommend the movie, based on the performances and a very interesting look at life in Hollywood, in the early '80's.Although you would think people like this would provide enough proof that the excesses of life (drugs/sex), we still these problems, and they're very pervasive in society. I do have recollections of the murders, and distinctly remember Holmes'involvement, even then, we all knew he was guilty and should have been sent to prison, along with Eddie Nash.STRONG POINTS: THE CUTTING/EDITING OF THE MOVIE GIVES IT A VERY QUICK FEEL TO IT, SO YOU NEVER GET BORED WATCHING IT, STRONG CHARACTER PERFORMANCES FROM TOP TO BOTTOM, WITH AN EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCE BY JOSH LUCAS. WEAK POINTS: PERHAPS THE "FEEL GOODY" ENDING, I DON'T THINK MOST COMMON PEOPLE WOULD SEE THIS THIS KIND OF LIFE LEADING TO SUNRISES AND HAPPINESS. PERHAPS TOO MUCH MUSIC INTERTWINED THROUGH OUT THE MOVIE, ALTHOUGH I LIKE THE 70'S/80'S MUSIC. ALL IN ALL, CERTAINLY AN EXCELLENT MOVIE TO BUY OR RENT, AND CERTAINLY BETTER THAN MOST OF THE GARBAGE BEING THROWN AT US BY Hollywood NOWADAYS.

Cosmoeticadotcom Wonderland is a mediocrity with a poorly written central character. But De Niro's performance as Max Cady, which could easily have gone over the top, is the only thing that raises that trite thriller up to mediocrity. Kilmer's Holmes does not elicit sympathy nor disdain, even when he pimps his girlfriend Dawn to Nash, and later physically abuses her. Yet, the scene where De Niro tries to seduce Juliette Lewis's character still creeps a viewer out even as the written dialogue seems absurd. THAT'S the difference!To use a more contemporaneous actor, looking at Guy Pearce from Memento shows the difference- as well. In Memento and The Salton Sea, both actors shine, but compare them in lesser vehicles like The Time Machine and The Saint. Pearce makes his character somewhat sympathetic & a viewer almost empathizes with the hero of the unbelievable tale. Yet, in The Saint, Kilmer lacks the suavity of Roger Moore's TV original, and the role almost descends to parody with Simon Templar as a Lon Chaney wannabe. He becomes a cartoon figure where Pearce's character retains its integrity. This is why Kilmer has to be selective in roles and films he chooses- he has a limited range and only when a role niches in that role can his greatness shine. This is not so much a criticism as a recognition, for Kilmer- as an actor- is like the 3 Bears' porridge. When he's in his range he's good- and he's very, very good, but when he's not he's, well- a cool, tasteless grain-type cereal.