Wonderland

Wonderland

2003 "Sex, drugs, murder. Welcome to L.A."
Wonderland
Wonderland

Wonderland

6.5 | 1h44m | R | en | Crime

On the afternoon of July 1, 1981, Los Angeles police responded to a distress call on Wonderland Avenue and discovered a grisly quadruple homicide. The police investigation that followed uncovered two versions of the events leading up to the brutal murders - both involving legendary porn actor John Holmes.

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6.5 | 1h44m | R | en | Crime | More Info
Released: October. 23,2003 | Released Producted By: Lions Gate Films , Country: United States of America Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:
Synopsis

On the afternoon of July 1, 1981, Los Angeles police responded to a distress call on Wonderland Avenue and discovered a grisly quadruple homicide. The police investigation that followed uncovered two versions of the events leading up to the brutal murders - both involving legendary porn actor John Holmes.

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Cast

Val Kilmer , Dylan McDermott , Kate Bosworth

Director

John Zachary

Producted By

Lions Gate Films ,

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Reviews

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.
phishtails This is a love-it-or-hate-it film. Take the timeless aspects of "Roshomon" and set it perfectly in a historical 1980's real-life unsolved Hollywood murder case. John Holmes (yes, THAT John Holmes) is masterfully depicted by Kilmer as the pseudo-pathetic has-been he became during his involvement in this investigation.Yup, classic Japanese dramatic literature meets an aging porn star. What could be worse?Except the whole thing totally works! It is distasteful in many aspects, just as Roshomon was distasteful in Japanese culture when it was written. John Holmes as depicted was symbolic of the dilapidated Roshomon gate itself -- a once-proud icon of the nation's culture, now inevitably worn by the ravages of time and cultural priority shifts. Even the name "Wonderland" conjures false images of magical dreams until it is revealed to be merely the name of a road in a seedy part of Los Angeles. The setting couldn't have been more perfect if it had been made up. I was kind of expecting a sequel to "Boogie Nights" (a great movie in itself), but this movie wisely steered away from porn industry as the focus. Rather than taking that all-too-easy road (or the even easier road of having Val Kilmer reveal his own character's fatal flaws), the director and writer used the low-life drug dealers and thugs around him -- the only ones who would accept his company -- to paint the picture around Holmes he uses and betrays the two decent people in his life, his estranged wife and his girlfriend.But wait a second ... there's a murder mystery to solve as well! Woot woot! The Roshomon storytelling is cleverly disguised throughout, seeing the story told from several points-of-view. Each narrative just as "true" as the last, the audience is sucked into the belief of conflicting accounts -- all of the stories seasoned with pride and self- preservation.Faults? Yeah. The crime-scene was a little over-the-top, and there were more than a few glaring anachronisms (there was no Ferris wheel on the pier that year, several cars can be seen that are up to five years too early for the day, the list goes on). And Princess Leia has a distracting five-minute cameo role at the beginning that is lackluster at best. Nothing against Carrie Fischer, but seeing her at the beginning of the movie made me wonder for about 10 minutes if I was going to see her again. In retrospect, the star power worked against the movie.Other than these piddling flaws, I really enjoyed this movie. It's a gritty, suspenseful flick that also reveals the fragility of ego, and Val Kilmer is on par with "The Doors" in this one. Like I said, this is not a movie to which many people will give an "okay" rating. It's either awesome or crap. Either way, I totally recommend it.
bobbyOmac I decided to qualify my association with porn by watching this film about the ridiculously well endowed, scatter brained John Holmes.This is the rocking, complex story of his involvement in a brutal gang murder, via lead pipe.We're given differing versions of how the wonderland massacre may have panned out and like any decent crime movie, left me trying to fit the pieces together.Val Kilmer portrays a retro addict constantly fuelling himself with the nearest narcotic, his laid back clownish nature entertains while his mental decline disturbs.Lisa Kudrow plays John's knowing ex-wife who breathes maturity into the story as apart from the cops, she seems to be one of the only characters who isn't off her head on something.I would easily be interested in watching a film biography of Holme's whole life as this isn't the only sensational episode within it and wouldn't mind seeing Kilmer perform in that as well.An entertaining, attractive and cool movie.
Michael_Elliott Wonderland (2003) *** 1/2 (out of 4) On July 1, 1981, L.A. police respond to a distress call on Woodland Ave. The police arrive at the house and discover four dead bodies and describe the scene as something more violent and bloody than the Sharon Tate murders. Four bodies are lying around with their heads split open but thankfully one person has survived. Within hours the media has the story on every station and this is where ex-con David Lind (Dylan McDermott) hears the news.Lind rushes to the police where he says he wants to make a confession. Instead of confessing to the murders, Lind says he was at the house shortly before they happened and that he knows who the killer was. Out of nowhere Lind says that it was the legendary John Holmes (Val Kilmer) who killed his friends due to revenge after being cheated in a score. Lind claims that Holmes offered his drug buddies a house to rob but what they didn't know is that this house was the home of Eddie Nash, one of the biggest men in L.A. After the robbery, Holmes is left out of the cut and comes back for revenge. The police eventually pick up Holmes who is willing to make a deal with them however his story of the events are a lot different than that of Lind.I must admit that I've never seen a Holmes film nor have I ever heard anything on his life story. Outside of knowing his profession I knew nothing else about the man and hadn't even heard of this murder case until this screener arrived at my door. I'm not sure how true the film presents the facts and I'm not sure what's made up. What I am sure of however is that Wonderland is an extremely interesting film that somehow didn't find that much of an audience. Perhaps, like me, not too many knew of the case or perhaps the name John Holmes scared people off the film. Hopefully with this DVD release the film will gain the attention that it deserves.The two sides of the story are told through various flashbacks and we also get all sorts of scenes from different people's point of view. Not only do the two witnesses give stories but even the police chime in with their ideas of what really happened. With all these flashbacks it would be very easy to just lose interest or for things to become confusing but that never happens here thanks to the wonderful direction by James Cox. The testimony to the police is so well mixed with the flashback scenes that within the first word the viewing is thrown into this crazy story, which is nothing more than lies and backstabbing.Like the police, not for a single second do we know who's telling the truth and we don't even know who was killed or who survived the attack. The director goes to great trouble showing us every possible character and how they played a role in these murders. The directing and acting are so incredibly tight that we are drawn into the story, which is full of hated characters. The film never tries to show anyone as an angel nor does it try to make a hero out of Holmes. Instead, we get an ugly picture full of ugly people who we can't stand but on the other hand, the story is so riveting that we can't help but go along with the ride. Once the director grabs you he certainly holds on to the closing credits.There have been countless threads on various message boards asking what happened to Val Kilmer's career and I'd personally like to know that answer as well. I always enjoyed him as an actor and he returns here with a wonderful performance. We've seen coke heads in various films yet Kilmer adds a new angle to the story. He has many breakdown scenes, which are all very convincing and helps add to the suspense. Kate Bosworth has the typical girlfriend role but shines in what scenes she does have. Lisa Kudrow gives her typical lifeless performance, although fans of Friends might enjoy seeing her in a film of this type. Dylan McDermott steals the show however as the seedy drug dealer. McDermott brings such power to his performance that I really think he should have gotten an Oscar nomination. Ted Levine also turns in more fine supporting work.I'm not sure how those who already know this story will react but not knowing anything certainly helped me enjoy the film. There are a few minor problems including a scene at the end where Holmes is taking a bath and it appears the director is teasing us by hinting at showing his penis. Why this camera movement was there is beyond me so this could have been cut. The first ten to fifteen minutes are also pretty typical but once the police get involve and the case starts, hold on because there's a pretty fun ride ahead. The suspense is heavy and the mystery is truly fascinating. Wonderland is an ugly picture about ugly people and it's very rare today for a director to show everything as being ugly without painting a happy ending.