Clevercell
Very disappointing...
ThiefHott
Too much of everything
Dana
An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
jim_85258
Its also a movie about 1980s drug use, drug dealers who specialize in ripping off other drug dealers, and the 1970s porn actor John Holmes. I see lots of people bashing Homes for being a selfish, lying, stealing, conniving prick but isn't that just about every major cocaine addict that ever lived? The guy was probably using huge amounts of the best cocaine available at the time. I never met a major drug addict I liked. It takes your worst traits and exaggerates them and adds a few more horrible traits you didn't have before. Nothing good ever becomes from excess drug use and Wonderland is a factual example of that. I liked this movie. I had to watch it a couple of times to get the order of events but once I got it I though it was worth my time.
NateWatchesCoolMovies
I've always thought of this as the Oliver Stone Movie that the man never made. It has the sordid, excessive sleaziness of U Turn, and the studious inquisition into true crime and intriguing Americana that he showed us in JFK. Both films explore the violence and ugliness that peppers American history in different ways, the brash and the academic which often exist in opposite poles colliding in Wonderland, a wholeheartedly nasty account of a stomach churning multiple murder involving one of the most infamous porn stars who ever lived, John Holmes (Val Kilmer). I don't know what the real Holmes was like (besides tell rumours of his anaconda cock), but the version we see here is a sniveling, unrepentant scumbag who is very hard to empathize with unless you flip the nihilism switch on in your brain and lose yourself in it. The film follows his association with a group of fellow undesirables, interested only in furthering their own drug habits by any means necessary, legal or otherwise. John is late in bis career and on the cusp of being a washout, his underage girlfriend (Kate Bosworth) pretty much the only friend he has in the world. He spends his days getting involved in all kinds of smutty business, along with a crew of fellow junkies led by loose cannon Josh Lucas, grim biker Dylan McDermott and timid Tim Blake Nelson. When they collectively catch wind of the wealth of one of John's acquaintances, a dangerous club owning mobster (Eric Bogosian in full psycho mode), the dollar signs swirl in their already dilated pupils. After an ill advised robbery, Bogosian reacts with all the wrath of the Israeli mafia, fuelled by his personal vendetta, brutally slaughtering each and every one of John's gang, letting him live as a branded snitch. The film is based on notoriously grisly crime scene photos which can be seen online, laying speculation on Holmes's part in the killings, and spinning a sinfully chaotic, noisy web of pulpy hijinks surrounding the case. The film is told from two different perspectives, a fractured narrative laid down by Kilmer and McDermott in respective and very different summaries of the event. Ted Levine and Franky G. play the two detectives who take it all in and work the case, and the excellent M.C. Gainey plays a veteran ex cop who they bring simply because he's the only familiar face which skittish Holmes will open up to. This is an ugly, nasty film and I won't pretend it doesn't get very gratuitous both in dialogue and action. It goes the extra mile of obscenity and then some in its efforts to make us squirm, but every time I pondered the necessity of such sustained atrocities, I reminded myself that in real life there's even more of such stuff, and the film is just trying to hit the themes of decay home hard, albeit with a sledgehammer, not a whiffle ball bat in this case. Kilmer is fidgety brilliance as Holmes, a severely damaged dude who hangs onto the last strand of our sympathy by the wounded dog whine in his voice alone. The only time I felt anything for the dude is when he visits his estranged ex wife (a flat out fantastic Lisa Kudrow, cast against type and nailing it) and we see flickers of a dignity in him that's long since been consumed by darkness. One of his best roles for sure. Watch for further work from Michael Pitt, Louis Lombardi, Janeane Garofalo, Scoot Mcnairy, Christina Applegate, Faizon Love, Chris Ellis, Paris Hilton and Natasha Gregson Warner too. This one is like Boogie Nights, Rashomon and Natural Born Killers tossed in together on spin dry. It's a wicked concoction, but you'll need to bring a strong stomach and the foreknowledge that you're going to be spending two hours with some of the most deplorable human beings this planet has to offer. The silver lining is you get to see it all play out in killer style, smoky and evocative 1970's cinematography and dedicated thespians branding each scene with their own lunacy. Tough to swallow, but great stuff.
geralddunnremo
One of the best movie's VAL ever made! By researching the fact's of this flick. It is 99% fact! Great job by entire cast! Hat's off! Excellent movie! Recommend watching! Not a waist of time! Being a very big fan of Vla Kilmer, i must say he should have received an award for his fantastic portrayal of the notorious, Jonny Wadd! Was not a fan of John Holmes, although I was very aware of who and what he was. I also researched his background in searching for fact;s on the movie. H was just a slob with a huge XXXX!. I also understand he resorted to making gay pornography movie's at the end of his carrier. What up with that? 1,400 women I guess went through just about every woman that would have anything to do with him. Well knowing his background, i think if I were a woman, I also would stay far,fr away from him. Also at the time when H,I,V & Aid's were becoming know about! With that said, You should take the time to watch it. Well worth it! Enjoy!
KineticSeoul
If watching people do drugs and violence is your thing, than this film is worth a look. But besides that there isn't much positive stuff I can say about this film, it was dull for the most part and not very interesting to watch. There isn't much to say about the acting in this movie either, except the fact that it's too forced but decent. When I first read how Val Kilmer is going to play John Holmes, I thought the plot is going to be about John Holmes and his porn star days. But that isn't the case for this movie, but how the story takes place after he falls from porn stardom. And revolves around a robbery, where the robbers steal from a big shot gangster boss. Now the story is told differently by different people and while this is going on, I was trying to figure out who told the truth and who told the lies. Which worked alright for a movie like this. This is a pretty much a dull movie, but on a positive note although it starts off a pretty dull movie. After about half way through the film starts to get a tad bit interesting, not a lot but slightly. Anyways the robbery and murders was never solved but the movie gives hints on what might have went down. Val Kilmer acting was pretty good, but from what I know his resemblance and how the real John Holmes acted like is inaccurate. Plus you just don't give a crap about any of the characters in this movie, most of them are just repulsive junkies. This movie isn't really about porn or drugs but the criminal activities that surround it. It's okay movie overall, but not a very satisfying one either.6.7/10
