Absolutely Fantastic

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Every reality hangs in the balance.Issues with intelligence Agencies...Celebrities... Meet People:good & evil...WONDERLAND IS THE BOMB! Adventure,experience that it is intrigue and that it are bound by action and it seems the more questions you have the more answers that you have understood...good and evil trapped in a historical fiction wrapped around the absurd stuffed in a "film"..

Val Kilmer plays a drugged-out, bottomed-out John Holmes in this loose retelling of 1981's brutal Wonderland murder case. In presenting a number of competing perspectives on what exactly led to the killings, including several mildly different interpretations of the same scene, the idea is to leave ultimate judgment to the audience. Instead, the lack of conviction just results in a hazy, jumbled, inconclusive mess of rumor and uncertainty. Kilmer is miscast as the shady, self-serving loser at the end of his rope, and keeps trying to turn on the charisma when he should be cowering and sniveling. His big-name supporting cast only produces similarly phoned in performances, while a glut of gimmicky after-effects gives the whole picture the kind of sparkly, overproduced sheen that's usually reserved for car commercials. A drab, ambiguous, morally-vacant jumble that rides its barely-famous subjects' coat tails for as long as it can.

Excellent performances across the board, with an exceptional performance by Josh Lucas, as the psychopath Ron Launius. Although Kilmer does an excellent job of portraying an extremely desperate, drug addicted Holmes, I never really got the feeling I was watching the real John Holmes, who in my view, portrayed a much cooler demeanor, unless the drugs truly turn you into an absolute manic zombie. Dylan McDermott, also with an excellent performance, surprisingly, as the biker/gang member David Lind.Some of the negatives, probably the over-use of music (although I liked the music), at times, it seems like the music is being used as a crutch rather than using character/plot elements to drive the movie. I rather enjoyed Kate Bosworth's portrayal as the naive/gullible young girlfriend of Holmes.I do recommend the movie, based on the performances and a very interesting look at life in Hollywood, in the early '80's.Although you would think people like this would provide enough proof that the excesses of life (drugs/sex), we still these problems, and they're very pervasive in society. I do have recollections of the murders, and distinctly remember Holmes'involvement, even then, we all knew he was guilty and should have been sent to prison, along with Eddie Nash.STRONG POINTS: THE CUTTING/EDITING OF THE MOVIE GIVES IT A VERY QUICK FEEL TO IT, SO YOU NEVER GET BORED WATCHING IT, STRONG CHARACTER PERFORMANCES FROM TOP TO BOTTOM, WITH AN EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCE BY JOSH LUCAS. WEAK POINTS: PERHAPS THE "FEEL GOODY" ENDING, I DON'T THINK MOST COMMON PEOPLE WOULD SEE THIS THIS KIND OF LIFE LEADING TO SUNRISES AND HAPPINESS. PERHAPS TOO MUCH MUSIC INTERTWINED THROUGH OUT THE MOVIE, ALTHOUGH I LIKE THE 70'S/80'S MUSIC. ALL IN ALL, CERTAINLY AN EXCELLENT MOVIE TO BUY OR RENT, AND CERTAINLY BETTER THAN MOST OF THE GARBAGE BEING THROWN AT US BY Hollywood NOWADAYS.

The violent climax of BOOGIE NIGHTS fictionalized the so-called Wonderland murders, as some drug crazies looked to make a big score by ripping off a feared gangster, resulting in a bloodbath of retribution. This energetic film tries and generally succeeds at re-creating the frenzied, deceit-filled, treacherous world that spawned those real events. Part of what made the story a headline grabber at the time was the alleged involvement of notorious porn celebrity John C. Holmes, and film looks at the events with an eye to determining his role. The viewer gets two versions of the tale, told in flashbacks, and is left to ponder the truth of them. Val Kilmer is almost perfect casting as amoral drug and person user / washed-up porn actor Holmes.