the extras are better than the actual film!
Added 6/27/2008
Presumably the director made this film frantic and confusing on purpose, to better simulate the world as seen through the eyes of coke addicts.
Even assuming that to be the case, though, the technique wasn't successful. Tremendous demands are made on the viewer: unless you know a great deal about the Wonderland murders, you'll simply be on the wrong foot for virtually the entire film.
Unfortunately, if you DO know something about the Wonderland murders, this film has little of interest to add.
What's really great about this DVD, though, is not the film itself, but rather the feature-length documentary that comes on the second disk: "The Life and Times of Johnny Wadd." This is so well done that it alone is worth the price of admission: it will tell you all you ever wanted to know about not only John Holmes, but the Wonderland murders as well.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Dazed and Confusing Look at Graphic Murder Case
Added 2/7/2008
I had read a few things about this bizarre case before seeing the film but "Wonderland" basically goes nowhere fast. The story is presented in two versions - neither of which make a lot of sense. This is an ugly story of drugs, sex, and blackmail that revolves around the totally unattractive but well-endowed porn king John Holmes (Kilmer, in a dizzying performance). The supporting players range from a tattooed and over-the-top Dylan McDermott to Josh Lucas and Eric Bogosian doing their standard sleazy guy routine. The best performance in the film belongs to an uncharacterically subdued Lisa Kudrow as Holmes' suffering wife. This film reminds me of Al Pacino's ugly "Cruising" and it is'nt better.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Pay attention!
Added 1/26/2008
Some reviewers have had problems with the movie's continuity, but pay close attention and it will be worth it! Told from two viewpoints, Wonderland allows you to develop your own answers about the murder case. Kilmer was great in this role (his only better performance was as Doc Holiday in Tombstone) and McDermott was incredible as such a low-life!
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Great historical fiction film about an american subculture icon
Added 12/17/2007
I saw this movie in the theatre, and liked it, but not as much as re-watching it on dvd. Seeing it a second time made me really appreciate the decent story that was woven by this tale. John Holmes (AKA Jonny Wadd) was a legend in the adult film industry. This is the tale of how the mighty have fallen. The story is what Boogie Nights is loosly based on, which is also one of my favorite movies. I was impressed by the performance by dillon mcdermott and val kilmer, and the overall cinematography of this film.
The real treasure of this edition is the "WADD" feature on the second disc, an almost two hour documetary of the life of John Holmes with his wife, his girlfriend, and many of the actresses that he had involvment with over the years. Very well made with people who viewed his life from both sides. I highly recommend viewing this movie if you like historical drama and liked boogie nights.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Sad but True.
Added 9/21/2007
Excellent work from a gifted cast and kudos to the director for an inescapable, pervading sense of darkness and evil throughout this picture. Val Kilmer is a longtime favorite of mine and delivers a great, effortless performance as an addicted, sad and confused man at his wit's end who (unwittingly?) gets involved in an impossible situation that spirals out of control and ends in murder. Of particular note in this film are; Josh Lucas as a crazed drug fiend who lights up the screen every time he appears, Dylan McDermott as David Lind whose version of the Wonderland caper we hear first(the version I believe)and Lisa Kudrow as Sharon Holmes who at first, seems to underplay her role but in later scenes reveals layers of hurt, resentment and inner strength that break your heart. "Wonderland" is a jolting, fast-paced film that will repel some viewers with it's violence, coarse language and overall air of sorrow, after a while you are truly disgusted by and feel sorry for these people and the sad state of thier lives. Compulsively watchable and engagingly acted.
3 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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"Provocative"
Added 8/22/2009
"Wonderland" depicts the events that happened on Wonderland Avenue in Los Angeles during the summer of 1981 in which legendary porn star John Holmes was embroiled in a vicious multiple murder. By the turn of the eighties Holmes was a drug-ridden cocaine adddict who found himself washed-up as a porn actor. No longer in demand by adult studios for work due to his drug problem, Holmes started stealing and robbing from people to feed his habit. He also got himself involved with a bunch of shaddy characters in the drug trade. Eventually, things continued to spiral downward for Holmes as he was involved with the multiple murders of people at a house on Wonderland Avenue. Holmes insisted emphatically that he didn't perform the killings, but the film leaves the door open as to whether or not Holmes knew who did. Val Kilmer (who plays Holmes) does a good job in playing the porn king, but I only wish the film would have dealt more with Holme's life starting with his start in the adult film industry to his demise from AIDS in 1988. The filmakers could have done so much more with John Holme's lifestory. An even greater film than "Wonderland" is 1997's "Boogie Nights" starring Mark Whalberg playing a character based on Holmes. In that film we see how a young man enters the porn business and how his introduction to drugs nearly destroys him. Also, if you can find the two disc set of "Wonderland" grab it although I don't see any available on Amazon. That set contains a very informative documentary on John Holme's life called "Wadd: The Life And times Of John C. Holmes" and it's even better than "Wonderland" as people who knew Holmes is interviewed including his ex-wife.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Interesting But Flawed Account of the Notorious Wonderland Murders
Added 11/28/2008
In the 1970s, when pornographic movies became increasingly available to mainstream consumers, John Holmes (1944-1988) parlayed his supersized endowment into stardom. Those who knew him well describe him as likeable but somewhat dim; when his stardom began to fade he had nothing on which to fall back, and he became just another drug-addicted has been, trading on what was left of his dubious celebrity for a line of cocaine here and a line of cocaine there. In 1981 Holmes tended to bounce between big-time drug dealer Eddie Nash and a group of smaller-time dealers who lived on Wonderland Avenue in Los Angeles--and found himself greatly over his head.
Police described the Wonderland murder case as the most gruesome murder scene since the 1969 Manson family killing spree. Although theories differ in details, they are consistent in outline: Holmes set up Nash for robbery by the Wonderland dealers; Nash responded by having Holmes set up the Wonderland dealers for a mass hit, carried off by people weilding pipes. Four people died, one survived with serious injuries and without memory of the attack. The 2003 film WONDERLAND attempts to portray both the crimes and the conflicting stories that Holmes, Nash, a Wonderland insider, and others gave during the course of the investigation.
Val Kilmer is unexpectedly convincing as the whining John Holmes, unable to focus beyond the next score, coming up with one silly idea after another. Lisa Kudrow is particularly memorable in the role of Holmes' estranged wife, Sharon; Kate Bosworth equals her as Holmes' current girl, Dawn Schiller. Although the movie is littered with cameos that actually tend to distract--Paris Hilton and Carrie Fisher, among others--the supporting cast is also quite fine. But the script, editing, and overall concept lets them down: it begins well and finishes well, but the middle portion of the film is weak and the overall movie lacks emotional or psychological depth.
WONDERLAND's characters are not likeable, and director and co-writer James Cox doesn't even attempt to find a means of bringing us inside their heads and lives in a way that makes them understandable, much less sympathetic. The film instead attempts to jump from character to character and idea to idea while also sliding back and forth in time--and in the process never quite stays in one place long enough for you get a firm grip. Everything does eventually link up, but all the same you'd better not blink too often as the movie plays out: if you do, you'll be lost when the final credits role.
The film is also plagued by a lot of hand-held-camera cinematography, presumably in order to convey the drug-laden atmosphere through which the characters move; there are also quite a few graphics, split screens, and so on. I find that a little of this goes quite a long way, and between the camera tricks and the constant shifts WONDERLAND looses focus and at times becomes a little wearing.
Even so, WONDERLAND still manages to be an interesting film, the sort of film that you wish had been undertaken by a great artist instead of director and co-writer James Cox, who would be most gracefully described as somewhat unpolished. There are at least two DVD issues of the film, one that is the film alone, another which also includes a documentary on John Holmes that is actually more interesting than the movie itself; if you have to pick between the two, go with the latter. Recommended, just don't expect too much.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
5 out of 5 people found this helpful.
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A wild ride but confusing
Added 11/22/2008
It was an interesting movie but If I didnt know so much about the subject matter I would have been lost in all the confusing back and forth scenes from earlier on in the month of July 1981 to a few days later. It was good overall. Liked the music and would like to buy the sound track.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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