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.
Love shit story coming up. Stop reading if you have a heart.
All i really remember was the tragic ending. No, more like the sad ending. Tragic is too strong a word, and sad is just the apt reference. It’s neither empty nor assuming, just the right one. Another thing I remember was that it’s title included the word “heart”, I wasn’t too sure then if it was untamed or weak hearts because movies over free tv back then never gave you a clue what it’s called because after all they tell you the title just in the beginning. Years passed, thanks to the web I did find the right title of the movie starring Christian Slater and Marissa Tomei.
I remember I once fell in love with Tomei in the movie “Only You”--- yes, the Damon Bradley-led love shit story, but it was in the movie “Untamed Heart” that I fell in love with the story itself--- Tomei this time was just a character. And just one of the characters in the movie that cut you through--- deep and deep--- it just doesn’t hurt; it defines you all the unexplained and empty emotions it that in a way and the other defines the ineffability of unconditional love.
The roughly one and half hour flick started with Adam (Christian Slater) as a very young boy in an orphanage run by nuns. That one and half hour was two and more including advertisements the first and only time I watched it when I was in high school. Deep and deep, the vivid images and the powerful plot brings you back to the struggle and pleasure of the entire film even fifteen years or so later, and probably more, if time allows.
Fast forward to fifteen years and more--- Adam’s life in the movie, not mine--- we find him working in a restaurant working with Caroline (Marissa Tomei). In a few words, Caroline was wild and Adam was mild--- both an exaggeration and an understatement. In short, oil and water (oil and vinegar says Caroline's character, we don't know if it was a joke or otherwise) that will never mix even if you tried. But in love, you do not even have to try, it just happens.
After many unsuccessful relationships, Caroline was in the unintentional process of just feeling and not looking for errr… love. For accidents are not mere coincidences, the unassuming Adam finds himself being introduced to Caroline after the former saved the latter in what was a rape attempt at Caroline. This was Adam the beast, almost fearless always pure emotion, which beat the hell out of the men who tried to destroy the life of his love and the love of his life. In the next few weeks in between Christmas and New Year (Credit the writers for picking the best time for a tragic story!) Caroline eventually got Adam to open up--- in more ways than one--- his heart and soul and mind. Backtrack a little bit, Adam has a congenital heart disease--- just so considerate to mention that in this line--- the same heart that will explain the title of the movie and define the Adam-ness in Adam.
More understatements: Adam was aloof of the world, boxed in his own and distant from it. The silent introvert type who lives in an almost unassuming and unreal dreams but true. His world is his own and Caroline’s--- he admits to her later that he has been stalking her for such a long time; that he watches her sleep because of… the peace in her face and not even wanting a piece of her mind (Stalking bastard is what comes to mind)… Stalking or just plain insane, what happened was the accident of saving her from the pair of felons, all not mere coincidences in a script written by destiny and acted upon by love.
As both our main characters started to really get to know each other, from Adam’s fixation to nothingness but her to her realization of the unconditional emotion in front of her, Adam and Caroline became as one--- for oil and vinegar (water) do mix, just add a little bit of ingredient called heart.
Twists and turns as in real life, bad moments get the best of the better people. The nameless felons eventually got back at Adam, finding him at the back alley of the restaurant, returning the favor and more, and stabbing him right at the center of his gut. Forward to the hospital scene, Adam was saved but as the doctor attending to him probably summarized the moral of the movie; “it’s not the knife wound that we are concerned about, it’s the heart that we are concerned.”
Warning: another love shit comparison coming up: for all our courage to fight and to bounce back from pain, it’s the love within us that reminds us of all the pain, and maybe, just maybe we can die from that same love as well. The doctor, the medical one and not the love doctor did remind Caroline that the recovery from trauma was a rare case as well, and maybe, just maybe it was what saved Adam’s life that night.
The doctor would suggest a heart transplant but Adam would none of it (stupid bastard) saying later: “They’re wrong, no one is taking away my heart…this is my heart.” (Time to bash orphanages now for “educating” the stupid bastard) And so Adam lived with a half a heart with Caroline compensating the half of it (Since this is a tragic story we know from this point on that Adam was living somewhat a half life.)
With the stupid leading the blind (or vice versa, depending on which character you are in this film), the movie builds up the sad ending. Caroline gives Adam a surprise birthday gift a few days/weeks/later bringing him to a hockey game between the Detroit Redwings and Dallas Stars… Adam did enjoy the game even catching a rare puck shot into the stands. We don’t know if he even understands sports in general, but he had a very interesting and new experience to say the least and Caroline was the star of the game. In the long way drive home with Adam at the passenger’s seat, he died staring at Caroline’s face and peace and happiness. Of course, she assumed that it was just sleep that consumed his tired loved one. But it was sleep times eternity, and it is called death.
The discovery was of course painful. The realization that your loved one has ceased or has gone away eats up… everything. Caroline, in the film’s saddest moment, was waking up Adam inside the car telling him: “Come on, baby, we are home… Baby… baby…” and crying and crying and crying… The directors and scriptwriters did spare us of more pain as the next scene brought as right to burial but pulls the rug right under us… ...as the film ended with Caroline, happy and sad and happy and sand and empty, in Adam’s apartment holding some pictures of the past with Adam… With Adam’s collection of vinyl records (instrumental)… Adam’s previously unread letter… “i carry your heart with me… I am not yet finishe… I carry it in my heart.”
The end.
No more love shit notes from here onwards. Promise. Continue reading, have a heart. I wish I was Adam and not Caroline today because the greatest tragedy of our lives is not the absence of happiness but just the absence. The greatest comedy of pain and of death is not in sadness but in emptiness.
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) 
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.
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.
