Going Postal

First up some definitions and descriptions: "Postal" is a computer game made in 1997 with a sequel in 2003. Apparently the latter version is better known than the original and it follows that, it is more popular among the PC gamers A film, inspired by the same video game was released last year with the same title and is the cause for this entry. Inspiration is a sad and underrated word as you will see later as i try to analyze the movie's values, depth and overall ingenuity as a modern art. Sarcasm and irony, by the way are two words that are both sad and underrated as well. (Fast fact: if i did play the video game, i do not remember it; but most likely would have had liked it if ever i did indeed play it. Fast fact #2: i recently watched the film over the weekend)

And before i forget, the phrase "going postal" is an American slang meaning "killing spree." And that should about set-up the mood for this entry.

Now, some Wiki help for brief articles about the video game:

The developers of the game counteracted criticism of the violence by claiming that the amount of violence is up to the players—they may go about their tasks without causing trouble, or they can create mayhem. Critics state that the game clearly urges people playing the game to indulge in homicidal behaviour, given that Dude is often attacked by ludicrous hate groups who despise everything from books to video games. Additionally, there are long queues when Dude visits the bank, the library, Church, and elsewhere. The people of Paradise are exceptionally rude and spit insults at Dude if he bumps into them, and furthermore weapons ranging from machine guns to rocket launchers are left lying around for him to collect.

More net help this time from www.imdb.com discovering that the director of the film is a certain Uwe Boll... which led me to even more interesting factoids about the its creators:

Criticism
Many of Boll's movies, especially those based on video games, have been critically panned. As of April 4, 2008, Alone in the Dark, BloodRayne II: Deliverance and House of the Dead appear on the Internet Movie Database's Bottom 100 films list. In a review of Alone in the Dark, Rob Vaux states that the movie should make all other "bad" movie directors feel better in comparison: "'It's okay,' they'll tell themselves, 'I didn't make Alone in the Dark.'" Another reviewer wrote that Alone in the Dark was "so poorly built, so horribly acted and so sloppily stitched together that it's not even at the straight-to-DVD level.

Response to criticism
Boll does not shy away from his critics. In the Alone in the Dark DVD commentary, he responds to criticism that his adaptations make significant changes to the plot and style of the source material: "Fans are always totally flipping out and I understand that the fan of a video game has his own agenda in his head and has his ideas about what is a good movie and what is a bad movie."

When Wired published a negative review of Postal, Boll responded with an e-mail claiming that the critic "(didn't) understand anything about movies and that you are a untalented wanna bee filmmaker with no balls and no understanding what POSTAL is. you dont see courage because you are nothing. and no go to your mum and fuck her ...because she cooks for you now since 30 years ..so she deserves it".

And the movie tagline (Maybe i should have started with this phrase to start the entry):

Some comedies go too far... others start there.

And now the plot summary from the imbd website:

"In the ironically named city of Paradise, a recently laid-off loser (Ward) teams up with his cult-leading uncle (Foley) to steal a peculiar bounty of riches from their local amusement park; somehow, the recently arrived Taliban have a similar focus, but a far more sinister intent..." "The story begins with a regular Joe who tries desperately to seek employment, but embarks on a violent rampage when he teams up with cult leader Uncle Dave. Their first act is to heist an amusement park, only to learn that the Taliban are planning the same heist as well. Chaos ensues, and now the Postal Dude must not only take on terrorists but political figures as well..."

Clearly, there isn't much to say. There's a thin line between witty stupidity and total stupidity. Postal crosses that line, back and forth hundredfolds. When i started this entry i planned to "review" the said movie--- but lacked both the energy and stupidity to do so--- which could be an entirely good thing.

Did i enjoy the flick? Thought so. Despite its dark, morbid, aggressive and nihilistic (plus stupidly insane exaggerations and common metaphors), i actually laughed as many times as the body count in the movie.

Rent, buy or download? i won't advise against it. Though i really won't encourage it to the weak of hearts (and closed minds) Just make sure you know to cross that line from time to time. Violence. Sex. Drugs. War. Nudity. Rock and Roll. Apathy. Nihilism. Social irrelevance. Anti-social relevance. Rejection. and even Love. All in the spirit of unadulterated stupidity.