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	Wonderland
	James Cox Val Kilmer, Lisa Kudrow, Kate Bosworth, Dylan McDermott, Josh Lucas, Tim Blake Nelson, Carrie Fisher, Eric Bogosian, Christina Applegate, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Janeane Garofalo, Franky G, Ted Levine, M.C. Gainey, Faizon Love 2003		A gruesome multiple homicide involving porn star John Holmes serves as the foundation for "Wonderland," a shaky film treatment of the crime that occurred during the summer of 1981 at a party pad in L.A.'s Laurel Canyon. With a volatile subject and a talent-heavy cast, it's odd that "Wonderland" is so scattered and out of focus. It builds its account of the killings through conflicting eyewitness testimonies. The overriding question is one of Holmes' guilt — his career was done, he was broke, deep into drugs, and may have set up his dope-dealer friends to die. But "Wonderland" fails to offer adequate explanations. Quick-cuts and superficial glaze aside, it's a miry trek. Val Kilmer ("The Salton Sea") expends a lot of energy as the late Holmes, AKA "Johnny Wadd," the phenomenally-endowed libertine. Of all people, Lisa Kudrow (TV's "Friends") plays Holmes' bitter, straitlaced wife. Most of the other actors are well-regarded and scarcely used: Kate Bosworth as Holmes' naïve girlfriend; Dylan McDermott, Josh Lucas and Tim Blake Nelson as his violence-prone drug buddies; Eric Bogosian as a sleazy gangster; and the list goes on. Blink, and you'll miss Christina Applegate, Janeane Garofalo, Natasha Gregson Wagner and Carrie Fisher.


	Friday, April 19, 2024





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