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Wonderland

Wonderland

List Price: $14.98
Your Price: $11.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: OUTSTANDING DVD Set!
Review: This DVD set is great. I had seen the movie "Wonderland" when it was in theatres back in Oct. but the release of this two DVD set with all the extras like the LAPD crime scene video and the documentary WADD:The Life and Times of John C. Holmes has tremendously enhanced an already great movie!

Great job Lions Gate!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Another Look At Johnny Wadd!
Review: This movie is a look at the life of John C. Holmes after his
star had lost it's luster in the world of porn.During the 1970's
and 1980's Holmes was called a legend in the world of porn.This
movie shows his cocaine addiction and the unflattering state of his life.The star who demanded and got paid top dollar for his
starring roles in porno movie had become a deadbeat dopehead.He
was keeping the company of thugs who had a strong desire for
narcotics.This group robs a notorious hoodlum named Eddie Nash.
Holmes helps Eddie Nash break into the living quarters of the
group that committed the killing.Holmes is tried for murder and
found not guilty.He died of aids in 1988.This was an interesting
tale on the Wonderland murders.John Holmes was not the king of porn in this movie.The role of hid wife was also well played.
Watch this movie.It is very informative.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Horrifying Story Uniquely Related
Review: WONDERLAND is a terrific piece of filmmaking. Director James Cox has taken a true story (the still unsolved Wonderland murders of 1981) and recreates it through the eyes of the people around the periphery of this despicable slaughter. By utilizing the handheld camera, extraordinary editing techniques, and finding the core of the drug-induced delusional/hallucinatory perspective of the victims and possible perpetrators, Cox has succeeded in giving us a "slice" of reality and in further justifying why all the pieces will probably never be pieced together correctly.

Wonderland is a street in Laurel Canyon ( Southern California)and this is the site of the murders of 4 wacko druggies and drug dealers. The centerpiece of the story is an attempt to explain the involvement of infamous Porn Star John Holmes (who died of AIDS in 1998) in this Manson-Mimic mass murder. Cox has selected fine actors to enact the roles, many of them cast in roles completely opposite to their public personas: Dylan McDermott is a sleazy biker who is one of the first to rat to the police, Lisa Kudrow plays the estranged wife of Holmes, Kate Bosworth is Holmes 'girl' who just happens to be close to his estranged wife (!), Josh Lucas as an utterly spaced-out junky mastermind and victim, Tim Blake Nelson as another of the druggie victims, Eric Bogosian as Eddie Nash - a drug lord addicted to his work, and Franky G as one of the cops (still showing great promise as an important character actor), and of course Val Kilmer giving a consistently fine, fully realized performance as the Porn King John Holmes.

This film is as close to being a direct observer of a slaughter as the viewer will ever get. It is amazingly realistic, very graphic, and gut-wrenchingly believable. WONDERLAND is not a film for the queasy, but when the film is dissected and all its parts examined (cinematography, rhythm, re-creation of a crime scene, music, and a lingering insight into the drug-user psyche) then this is a fine achievement. The bonus (!) selections are almost too grisly to bear. A definite Genre film, worth watching as an art piece.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great movie for the true crime buff!
Review: This is a great true crime dvd. I love the way it was constructed, intertwining different points of view as to what occured on Wonderland Ave.
What puzzles me is "Where do I get the book about this murder that was advertised on the Court TV clip?" It's called "Four On The Floor", and was written by Robert Souza and Tom Lange, both LAPD detectives. Can't locate it anywhere.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: violent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: the LAPD crime scene video is shocking and disturbing, i cant belive they got the ok to show this. Remember these are real dead people only hours after the fact that holmes and 4 others invaded the house. the murder scene reenacted in the movie is quite disturbing. and potrays holmes as a partciapite

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Johnny Wadd
Review: This film gives you two points of view of the Wonderland murders. One from Dylan McDermott and one from Val Kilmer (as John Holmes). I think the sheer brutality of these murders are enough to captivate, but the film basically goes nowhere. You don't learn anything about Holmes other than the fact that's he's a major drug addict. The film has nothing to do with porn or sex. It's a true crime movie that just never really gets off the ground. The second disc is a documentary on Holmes himself. That is the better disc. It gives you an in-depth look at the life of a guy with a practical-joke sized piece of anatomy. This documentary is far more interesting than the film Wonderland.

There is a 25 minute crime scene police video included as well. It is as graphic as graphic gets. The bodies are still there as the police carefully document the bloody scene. I assume it's there for shock value. Don't let your kids anywhere near this.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: No Boogie Nights
Review: As in "The Doors" (in which he played Jim Morrison), Val Kilmer once again finds himself playing a fascinating real-life enigma trapped in a lousy movie. This time, he's cast as porn legend John Holmes. But rather than track Holmes' bizarre rise to XXX fame, the filmmakers unwisely choose to ignore that aspect of his life and focus on his post-porn career as a drug courier, a bum career move that ultimately lands him in the center of a dope-deal mass murder. Kilmer admittedly isn't given much to work with and even at his skankiest, looks way too heathy to be convincing as Holmes. Despite an otherwise impressive cast (Carrie Fisher, Lisa Kudrow, Janeane Garofolo--all wasted in minor roles), this flick's a loser--a truly scuzzy film about a bunch of truly scuzzy people who deserve each other. The DVD extras pertaining to the real case (which include actual crime scene video) may satisify true crime buffs, but as drama, the film itself is a complete waste of time.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: ASTOUNDING COMPLETE MASTERPIECE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: THANK GOD FOR ACTORS LIKE VAL LIMER TO TAKE ON SUCH EXTREME ROLES LIKE JOHN HOLMES AKA JOHHNY WADD THE FAMOUS PORN STAR WHO SLEPT WITH OVER 14,000 WOMEN AND DIED IN 1988 WITH AIDS.THE MOVIE REVOLVES AROUND THE QUADRUPLE MURDERS ON WONDERLAND AVE NOT HIS PORN MOVIES AND ITS A VERRY VERY GRAPHIC SEEN IN TH HOUSE ON WONDERLAND AVE. THE MOVIE IS PACKED WITH TALENT AS WELL.THIS IS NOT THE MOVIE TO WATCH WITH MOM AND DAD TRUST ME IF THE BRUTAL MURDERS ARE NOT GRAPHIC ENOUGH THE EXTREME DRUG SCENES GO OVER THE EDGE.IM WILLING TO SAY ITS KILMERS BEST PERFORMANCE TO DATE BUT AGAIN THERE IS GONNA BE ALOT OF CRITICS AND FANS THAT SAY THERE IS TOO MUCH DRUGS AND THE FILM IS TO GRAPHIC BUT FOR THE HARD CORE MOVIE BUFF THIS ONES AN INSTANT CLASSIC.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Wonderland worth it if you wonder
Review: Though over directed (over and over and over again) the ultra-sleazy "Wonderland" is nonetheless compelling. The allegedly unrecognizable Dylan McDermott (he won't be so hard to spot by fans of "The Practice") turns in one of the better performances, dispite this actor's arguably limited range of expression. The DVD includes the actual LAPD Wonderland crime scene video, which may be too grim for some. There are cast interviews, a photo gallery, deleted scenes, and a brief Court TV segment (more a promotional featurette for the film than it is actual reporting). Lion's Gate is offering a bonus second disc (included) while supplies last, devoted entirely to a John Holmes documentary that's just as sleazy as "Wonderland", and makes for the perfect companion disc. If this all sounds like something you won't want to watch more than once, then you probably shouldn't buy this DVD. But for true crime fans, it's another one for the collection.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Val Kilmer is back to doing what he does best...acting!
Review: In the film, WONDERLAND, Val Kilmer comes back to doing what he does best...acting! Yes, after several flops and what the hell were you thinking roles (AT FIRST SIGHT, RED PLANET, HARD CASH a.k.a RUN FOR THE MONEY), Kilmer returns as infamous porn star John Holmes.

WONDERLAND chronicles Holmes after his `fame' in the porn industry and his `supposed' involvement in the murder of four drug dealers (including Josh Lucas, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Tim Blake Nelson, and Janeane Garofolo) who were brutally murdered in a house on Wonderland Ave. in Los Angeles in the summer of 1981.

Much like BASIC did earlier in the year, WONDERLAND tells its story in a RASHOMON like fashion, showing two different interpretations of the same events. One story is that of John Holmes, while the other is that of career criminal David Lind's(Dylan McDermont), leaving the audience wondering who they should believe. You see, neither one is a reliable source. Actually, both characters are very unlikable. For that matter, there isn't a likeable character in WONDERLAND, which will make some people find the experience uncomfortable and others, like me, fascinated by the sheer stupidity of the characters and the way in which the director and the screenwriter have pieced together their `tattle tale' stories.

That's one of my favorite aspects of the film. The stories. I loved the fact that the film tells the story from several different points of view. It actually made me feel like a detective as I watched the film. Who's lying? Who's telling the truth? Who's guilty? Who's innocent? Is anyone innocent? These are all question's that police detectives are more than likely faced with every day and it was fun to see how these stories come about What did happen out in WONDERLAND? Did porn king John Holmes actually participate in the murders? AS the film sort of does (even though I think it's clear where the film itself stands), I'll let you make your own decisions.

One thing I will say is that Val Kilmer, Lisa Kudrow, and Dylan McDermont, yes Dylan McDermont (he's almost unrecognizable), are absolutely wonderful in this film! Their performances are worth the price of admission alone. The bottom line is that after WONDERLAND is over, you may feel the need to take a shower to wash off all of the slime its grimy characters have just drug you through, but, while you're watching the film, it's a hell of a journey through the human psyche and the violence of mankind.

B


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