Adiwiraku

... that's Bahasa Malaysia for "My Superhero". I'm not talking about the Marvel's superheroes. But about a local film:

There are a lot of reviews written about this film which I refused to read. I didn't want to have any biases when I watch the film. Alas, I only managed to watch it after about a month of it released, regretfully not in the cinema.

This is the kind of film that should be produced more by our local entertainment industry. While the film lack big name & famous actors/actresses, the contents and cinematography made up for those. The very least, it has inspired me to know and perhaps some day visit this place called Pinang Tunggal.

If you love this film, you should watch "Denias Senandung di atas Awan".

PEKAK

... that's a Malay word for deaf. It is also the title of a Malaysian that had won some international award recently.

Looking at the poster, it easy to over simplify that the film is yet another love story. But it's not really a love story. At least not the typical Malaysian love stories that are full of unattainable fantacies. I can't seem to recall any where in the film where the two main characters (in the above poster) confest their love to each other. Don't expect of those corny I-love-you-you-love-me kind of dialogues and love scenes in this film.

This is a 'heavy' film. It deals with 'heavy' and serious subjects. But at the same time the film sucessfully blends in elements of comedy, suspence, thriller into one seamless flow.

"PEKAK" is the kind of films that the Malaysian film industry should produce more. Unfortunately, looking at the turn up at the cinema hall, I doubt the film would hit any box office.

Black Beauty - visual inspection

More than 6 months and about 200km later, it was time for visual inspection of Black Beauty.

There are scratches:

Chipped paint coat:

The steel that was suppose to protect the chainring when Black Beauty is folded

Hand grip are still good!

Ergonomic handgrip

All the joints on the frame are still intact.

The neat welds on the frame

Other than that, Black Beauty still rides as good as new. Looking forward to more adventure with Black Beauty!

Riding Black Beauty for the first time

Alas, I got myself a birthday present this year. No, I didn't buy a horse. It would cost a fortune to maintain - the food, the vet and whole range of other related expenses. I got myself a steel steed that runs on fat: a bicycle. Since it was black, with some white on it, I named the bicycle Black Beauty. With slightly bigger tyres, better gearing and other stuff, it is an upgrade compared to Lil' Red.

Black Beauty - as advertised at the supplier's website

To check if it was indeed a real upgrade, I decided to take it for a test ride along the route that I've travel on Lil' Red.

The red dot on the map indicates the 99 metres peak of the route. With Lil' Red, I had to dismount and push the bike up the gradient. With Black, I managed to shift to the lowest gear and slowly pedaled it up the hill.

I had some reservation about the seemingly crappy handle bar. I had wanted to replace it with a better one from the 'Neo' model. Unfortunately, none of the shop seemed to be able to fulfill my request. To my surprise, after adjusting the handle bar to the right height, it was comfortable. I would have suffer some discomfort and occasionally pain on my right wrist when riding Lil' Red, the seemingly crappy handle bar on Black gave no such problem.

I decided to roll into town and pay some bill. I could have tried to fold the Black Beauty and bring it indoor. But it was easier just to lock it to a pole. With no quick release on the tyres, I didn't have to worry about people carting away with my tyres.

I had wanted to taste the famous "cendol" in Seremban town, but it was closed.

I rolled out of town. Within 30 minutes, I was back at the starting point.


In terms of folding, Lil' Red folds a lot faster and easier. The over-sized carrier on Lil' Red became a stable stand for Lil' Red when folded. But Black Beauty performed better on the road compared to Lil' Red. 

Nur Kasih

"Nur Kasih" roughly translated as "Glow of Love". For those who are not in Malaysia, it is the drama series that had successfully garnered 3 million viewers (so reported by local newspaper). There are a lot of rave reviews about the drama.

I first caught a glimpse of the drama while attending a function at a cousin’s house. They had the television on but the volume down. I was too far to hear any thing. The cinematography (is it the right term for television drama?) caught my attention. The bits and pieces I saw on that night, made me curious. I wanted to see more.

I think first episode that I watched on television was episode 4. I realized why it caught my eyes. The director made full use of basics photography principles. Rule of third, leading lines, natural framing, and contrasting colours – just to name a few. The location, the background, the lightings, every thing was beautifully composed. At first I only watch the drama because of the beautiful cinematography.

A couple episodes later, I realized that the story line was interesting too. Fully aware I couldn’t commit myself every week, I began to search for the episodes online. At first I could watch them in Youtube via my mobile phone. I was dismayed to find that a certain party had requested the ‘poster’ (is there such word?) to bring down the content from Youtube. I was forced to watch it from the official television website which couldn’t load properly in the mobile phone.

Already hooked on the drama series, I searched high and low for alternatives. I landed on a website. Though the website allows downloading of low resolution copy of the drama, initially I couldn’t download it or view it on my mobile phone. After further online search, I finally found a nifty browser “Skyfire” that enables streaming of the drama. And so, thanks to technology, I was able to watch it when I want, where I want!

Anyway, since there are already a lot of rave reviews about the drama series, there are a few things that need to be improved. In the first episode, the village location was written as Kuala Kangsar, Perak. However, throughout all the episodes, you will see indications that the village is in Selangor (spot “Selangor” behind Adam while he use the public phone in front of his school in episode 4). In other episodes spot the Selangor State flag flying at the village mosque.

The most disturbing and confusing scenes would be the railway station scenes. Most Malaysians would know that they were saying goodbyes at Old KL railway station. A cousin who watch the drama only occasionally, asked, where are they going, they are already in KL!

I understand the director intention to capitalize ‘characteristic’ of the Old KL railway station, but he could have used other station. Ipoh railway station is a good candidate, though I think after the recent upgrading, it lost some of its ‘rustic’ character. Alternatively, he could use one of the small railway stations that still have the ‘small-rural-station’ feel to it. Taiping railway station is one example.

There are other less noticeable and less disturbing ‘bloopers’. Except for the railway station scenes, I could overlook everything else to say this a well crafted drama series!

What's UP?

Lot's of things. But little time to blog.

But I managed to find time to watch the animation "UP". I've been bugging Ma Hen since forever to take me to see the animation. Thanks a lot Ma Hen. Loved it! Even the 'photos' in Ellie Fredricksen's album looks nice.

Prior to the movie, had dinner with close buddies. I was amazed with the amount of food that I ate!

Loved the dinner, the animation, and most of all loved the companies!

I got to see Australia

No, not the country. At least not yet. It's "Australia" the film. And, as usual, I will not write much about it. It is still showing in local cinema.

One thing that really sets this film apart from other "Hollywood" film, is that it tells the story as it is. It lacks the propaganda-like-self-glorification that many "Hollywood" films share ("Black hawk down", "Pearl Harbor" - just to name a few). The story intertwines with real historical events. These historical events were not distorted just for the sake of self-glorification. They even have the 'lost generation' depicted in the film. And all these was done tastefully and skillfully, so much so, the 2hours 45minutes just breezed away!

To sum it all, this is a down to earth film about the land 'Down Under'.

Selamat Pagi Cinta

"Good Morning, Love"

No, no one said that to me, though I wish some one did. It's the title of a local film currently aired in local cinema. And since it is still in cinema, I will not write long reviews.

Similar to Gubra, this film suffers a "Sembilu Kasih" syndrome. I much rather have the subplot about Julia (Fazura) and Ilham (Pierre), be properly evolved and explored. I feel that Suci (Armani) and Azam (Que) were distractions in the film. However, I had to agree with a fellow cinema-goer (who made loud comments from the seats behind), that Suci character was cute.

Cinematography wise, I like the camera angles. And all the important things are properly 'in-focus', a great improvement from "I'm not single". Script wise, spot a certain person's favourite cue-word!

(p.s. To date, this is probably the shortest review from me!)

I'm Not Single

I wish I could say that about myself, but this entry isn't about myself. It is the title of a local film currently screening in local cinemas. Or should I say cineplex? With so many cineplex mushrooming in almost every shopping complexes, who watches films in cinemas anymore?

Anyway, back to the film. Contrary to its English title, it is actually a Malay film by young director Pierre Andre (again, contrary to foreign sounding name, he's a Malaysian). Since the film is still screening in cine(mas/plexes) and I have the tendecies of describing things in great details, I shall not comments on the story line.

Suffice to say that the whole story line relies heavily on its two main characters: Adam (played by Farid Kamil) and Maya (by newcomer Lisa Surihani). Suprisingly Farid and even newcomer Lisa managed to pull it off. I have to say, their strength lie in their appropriate facial expressions and body gestures. Lisa was able to convey anger, disgust etc. just by rolling and squinting her eyes. However, if Lisa could somehow improve her intonation and the way she says certain lines, we will be able to 'feel' even more.

I like how the film subtly explore multitude of topics ranging from sexsuality, wet dream and even pornography. I loved what Adam did when he picked up 'My Sayang' calling Maya's phone. l loved how the camera focused on certain part to subtly get the 'message' accross. Unfortunately, in some scenes, shallow depth-of-field sort of marred the film. The supermarket scene, for example, has Maya slightly out of focus. The depth-of-field problem is worst in 'out-on-a-bench' scene where Maya facial expression (or whatever left of her face that was 'cut-off' by the frame) is completely blurred in the foreground. Credit goes to Lisa who nevertheless managed to convey Maya's emotion solely via her voice!

This film is classified as 'U' (for general public), but sadly, due to remarks from immature audiences, this film should be classified as '18sx'. Don't get me wrong, it is those immature remark that you wouldn't want you kids to hear, not the things screened. It was similar to the remarks I herd when I watched "Suami, isteri dan..." - which I think is the same genre - in cinema, eons ago.

Anyway, it is a good film to watch. Do look out for Maya's 'cue-word' to Adam, which is the same one used by Iman of "Sepi"! Coincidence? You decide.

p.s. Photo taken from here

Brownies

This entry is not about the cake but about the Indonesian film. I bought the vcd during my previous trip to Melaka. I didn't expect to find it in Melaka because I had already went to a lot of shops in KL and none sell the vcd anymore. The (original) copy I bought, was the last copy.

Why on earth did I go through all the hassle just for a vcd? After watching Marcella Zalianty in "Penjaga Hati" (an Indonesian drama series aired throughout Ramadhan last year), I was curious about this actress. "Brownies" has this actress as the leading character.

One look at the cover will give you the impression that this is a shallow film about a lady who have to choose between an uptight yuppie (in case you don't already know, yuppie is short for 'young people with money'), and a laid-back bohemian. Yes it is about a love-triangle. But interweaved with the seemingly shallow love story, is a deep philosophic look towards life.

The film evolves around the leading lady, Amelia (Marcella). The story begins with Amelia returning to Jakarta in what possibly be a first class flight. She is successful and talented enough to be featured in a magazine. She is an art director who showed her business savvy by speaking to potential client she met on the plane in his mother tongue.

Amelia wanted to surprise her yuppie fiancé, Joe, by arriving at his apartment unannounced on his birthday. She was greeted by a messy but quiet apartment. In a true neat-freak style, Mel, as her friends fondly call her, tidied up the place while making her way to his room. Her surprise backfired when she caught Joe making out with another girl in the bathtub. In the heat of the moment, Mel ended their engagement.

Mel's life spiral further downward after Joe introduced her to his new girlfriend. In her rebound, Mel went on a few unsuccessful relationships, much to the dismay of her best friend, Didi. Didi finally confronted Mel and jolted Mel back to reality. Around the same time Didi’s husband, Lilo, had a reunion with his old friend from school. His bohemian friend, Are, owns a ‘book kiosk’ (book shop + café). His specialty is making delicious brownies. Knowing that Mel likes to make brownies too, Lilo and Didi set Mel up to meet Are.

We see Mel’s character changes as she gets to know Are. Are opens her eyes to new views and ideas. Are is against the idea of mass production and capitalism. He has somewhat a philosophical outlook towards life. We see how neat-freak Mel controlled her disgust (and said nothing) when Are absent-mindedly licked his fingers and his ice-cream cup. Besides that, the old Mel would never eat from a pushcart. The new Mel, remembering the ‘lecture’ from Are, felt pity for the pushcart vendor in front of her house, hence bought a late night snack from the pushcart. It was also Are’s words that gave Mel’s the idea for her latest advertising pitch.

As Mel and Are friendship grew, Joe suddenly came back into the picture. Didi, truly concerned about Mel, advised her to make the right decision. Once Mel sees beyond her past, she was able to pick the right man.

(p.s. Photo of the cover cd is taken from PintuNet.com)

Layar Tanchap

I’ve heard about it from somewhere last year. What is it? As a friend put remarked, it sound somewhat fishy and kinky. But it was nothing like that. Ma Hen let me tag along to Galeri Shah Alam for a session of “Layar Tanchap” last night. I was supposed to taking some photos for her.

Quoting Ma Hen:
“Layar Tanchap is a free alternative to expensive night out in discos and night club”.

After going to one, my take of “layar tanchap” is some sort of a mini art festival. There were a few ‘booth’ selling art related stuff. And there were people doing life painting. But the main course on the menu is the performances at the centre ‘stage’ (actually the people performing at the centre of the pavilion). I’m sorry I didn’t get the names of the performers. There were songs, poetry reading, and a short film. The first lady who sang beautifully with her husky voice. There was a Japanese lady who agreed to do the sang the chorus with one of the bands.

And I particularly like the performance by another young lady who not exactly sang a song. She composed some poetry and sang two of it to the strums of guitars. Even though I wasn’t paying attention to her words, I loved it. The emotion and the music just gelled together! The last time I heard poetry being sung was ages ago near central market. It was the time when certain local artists were still young and regularly hang out there!

Anyway, I why wasn’t I paying attention to the lady? I was trying to take usable photos. I am capable of taking usable photos when there’s enough light (available light photography), unfortunately there wasn’t enough light in the area. I have to use speedlight (also know as flashgun). My skill in using speedlight is still relatively non-existence. I had a hard time figuring out the settings on the camera and external speedlight just to get usable photos (more photos).

Where was Ma Hen all the while? Mingling in the crowd. Some of the organizers and performers are her friends. Around 11pm, Ma Hen made a ‘diva like’ exit (saying good-byes to her friends) while me, like a good side-kick, made a quiet one.

I enjoyed my first “layar tanchap” and hope to go for the next one. Thanks Ma Hen! Don’t forget to bring me along to the next art scene!

p.s.: Except to the lost of sensation (hopefully just temporary setback), the injured finger is recovering just fine.

Iklan Hari Merdeka / Independence Day Advert

Still in the Merdeka Theme. Have you seen recent Merdeka advert by local tv, TV3? The one that started with a bunch of boys were playing soldiers. They were arguing when all 'shot dead' by a little girl. They told the little girl to go home and cook for them. Girls aren't fit for army. Fast forward to current year, it show a shot of army boots and broom being swept. The girl already a lady soldier. And the guy with broom (who was one of the boys) salute the lady. The advert ended with a shot of the young boys posing as a Tugu Negara.

This catchy advert have plenty of sublime messages. One, we shouldn't be arguing with each other. Outsiders might take advantage of that and 'kill' us all. Two, women should free themselve from things that would limit them from achieving their full potential (i.e. women can be anything). Three, we should always remember the struggle that forefathers (and mothers) endured to achieve independent and defend it. Four, it's a sort of recruitment advert encouraging youngster to join the army to defend the country. Five, visit and value local historical sites.

So, have you been to 'Tugu Negara' (National Monument) recently? I visited in June 2007. :)

(p.s. If you look carefully at this picture of Tugu Negara, you can see a soldier folding the Malaysian Flag)

Dor

It was a weekend. I was bored. There was nothing good on tv. I took the remote control and channel surfed. Then I came across this hindi film. It’s not a typical boy-meets-girl-singing-in-the-rain-changing-clothes kind of film. It’s a story about two women, Zeenat and Meera. Zeenat is a muslim woman from the colder north India. Meera on the other hand is a hindu woman from hotter south India.

The story began with both women getting married – Zeenat to the man she of her choice, and Meera, an arranged marriage. After a brief honeymoon, both women had to send off their husbands to work in Arab Saudi.

Zeenat lived in her own house near to her in-laws. She visited them regularly and willingly gave them the money that her husband sent her every month. Meera on the other hand, lived with her family and abides all they rules. We get this idea that Zeenat was very independent woman who views and opinion was accounted for. On the other side of the spectrum is Meera, who follows all the family traditions, and was always berated by father. Zeenat and Meera path crossed when Meera husband died.

It was said that Zeenat’s husband had caused the death. Being a widow means all privileges would be stripped from Meera. She no longer allowed to wear colourful clothes and bangles. She is expected to mourn for her husband and never to enjoy the pleasure of life till the end of her days. Zeenat had to travel across India in order to save her husband from death penalty. She needed Meera’s signature on some sort of ‘amnesty’ document for her husband.

Zeenat met her first stumbling block when Meera’s family refused to allow her to meet Meera. They went as far as spitting on her. Zeenat had to ask her travelling companion to spy on Meera. From him, she found out how to meet Meera without her family’s knowledge – during her daily trip to the temple. On her first meeting with Meera, Zeenat had wanted to tell her about the amnesty document. However, remembering how Meera’s family reacted, Zeenat hesitated.

Zeenat and Meera became friends. Zeenat was very much disturbed by the treatment that Meera received. She told Meera that it is okay to feel happy and alive after the death of her husband. She also told the naïve Meera that it is not right to be treated like a slave in her own house. As their friendship bloomed, slowly but surely Meera began to embrace the ideas brought by Zeenat.

Time was running out for Zeenat. The date for her husband execution was already fixed. When Zeenat finally confronted Meera, Meera was enraged. She felt betrayed by her newly acquired friend. In the mean time, Meera’s family found out about her secret meetings. Her father scolded her and ‘sentenced’ her to be locked in a room. Instead of keeping quite like she usually did, she gave her family a piece of her mind, before coolly walked to the room.

While being locked in the room, Meera came to her senses. Her husband was already dead. There was no point of letting another woman’s husband died too. With the help of her grandmother, Meera got away. She got to the railway station in time to hand the amnesty document to Zeenat. As the train was about to move, Zeenat stood at the coach door and extended her hand to Meera. She was inviting Meera to come with her. After a true-hindi-film-style-train-chase, Meera managed to grab Zeenat hand and climbed on board.

In a way, both women have saved each other. Meera saved Zeenat from becoming a widow while Zeenat saved Meera from a ‘dead’ life.

Tentang Bulan (About the Moon)

It is Malay film. While most recent local films focus on typical love story – boy-meets-girl kind – this film is some what different. Yes there is element of love, but it is in a different setting. I would say the main theme is friendship, and the ‘growing pain’ that comes with it.

The story revolves around a bunch of friends. The film starts with a beautiful lady in a taxi on her way to a wedding reception. She took out a picture of four boys. We then were brought back to the past.

We were introduced to the boys: Abu a.k.a. Bulat (‘Fatty’) , Asmawi a.k.a. Mawi, Budi, and Ibrahim a.k.a. Ketot (‘Shorty’). Mawi is the clever one. Budi is the asthmatic one. They were about to pose for another ‘rock’ photo, when a girl came riding a bicycle, Shahila a.k.a Ila. The boys didn’t want to take photo with her because they claimed that with a girl, the photo can’t look mean enough for a ‘rock’ photo.

The five of them were the best of friends. Ila was the first went to rescue Budi and Ketot when they were bullied by two older and bigger kids. The boys were truly concerned when Ila bleed after the fight. They sent her home and were sad to see Ila being spanked by her mother. They went to visit Ila that night after she failed to turn up at their nightly religious class. It was during this visit that the five friends made a pack to remain friends forever. The moon was the witness.

Then a girl, Zurina, was introduced to the circle of friends. The dynamics of the friendship changed. Suddenly the ‘girly’ girl became the centre of attention. The boys were ‘in love’ with Zurina (Bulat even had a ‘wet dream’ thinking of her). The result? The boys spent less and lesser time with Ila. Ila realising what had happened, try to emulate Zurina. Unfortunately she was laughed by the boys.

One day after school, Ila cycled to the boys. The boys cycled all their might to run away from her. When she fell off the bicycle, no one stop to help her. Mawi hesitated for a while, but continue cycling to meet Zurina. Ila was actually trying to tell the boys that she would be leaving for KL. By the time Mawi got the news, it was already too late to say goodbye.

While the story unfolds, the audiences would remember the lady in the taxi. At the beginning, we would think the lady is Ila. As the plot progresses, we would think the lady is Zurina. She was the ‘girly’ girl who has the potential to grow into the beautiful lady. And we saw Mawi gave her the photo while on a ‘date’ at the wooden bridge.

We only know who the lady is when the bride called the attention of the four guys (including the groom). She said ‘Ila’ and pointed to the newly arrived lady. Years ago, Ila stopped by Zurina's house to say goodbye. It was at that time Zurina gave the photo Ila. After all these years they re-united for (slimmer and more good looking) Bulat and Zurina wedding.

It is a beautifully crafted story. It managed to embedded a lot of good values into its storyline. The value of friendship. The value of love. The value of compassion. The value of education. And a lot more. You should watch it to value it (no pun intended).

The Red Kebaya
I watched the film yesterday with Ma Hen. Even though the film got sort of bad reviews (from some of local medias and friends), we enjoyed it.

The film is being promoted as if it is about the lady in the red kebaya, a 'joget' girl named Azizah. Just look at the posters and trailers being aired over the media. To me, however, Azizah (Vanida) is only a supporting character (and she did it well!). If you are expecting more from Vanida, you might be dissappointed as "Red Kebaya" is really not about Azizah. The film is really about Mr John Reynold (Bob). Why do I think so, there are few things that you should note.

Firstly, if the story is about Azizah, the audiences would be 'introduced' to her life instead of merely 'listening' it from Hoggy (Zahim) and herself. We were never introduced to her life when her husband left her when she was pregnant to join Chin Peng. And how she came to become a 'joget' girl. We never knew the hardship she faced as a divorcee (malay word 'janda') bringing up her son, Adik. Also failed to be depicted was how the community at that time (especially Malay community) persived 'joget' girls. Another interesting point is that, throughout the film, how Azizah felt towards John was not really 'shown', we merely take her words and gestures. Unlike John, who dreams of her in his waking hours. The Malay word would be 'angau' (a-ngau).

Instead, the audiences get to know John in a very 'intimate' ways. We saw how unhappy John is with his marriage. We saw how the wife refused him and treated him. His 'angau' with Azizah. We also saw his nightmare of having to kill a communist. We saw the communist whom he killed but never saw Azizah's husband and had to take her words that her husband had a scar (thus, not the communist that John killed). We also get to know how he is in person (i.e. kind hearted, 'lowly-paid' hardworking man, etc). He also is a hopelessly 'romantic' person. He cried when he declared his love to Azizah whereas Azizah didn't even shed a single drop of tear.

The film is somewhat different from other Malaysian film. The story lines. The cinematography. But then again, is it really a Malaysian film?

Gubra

Finally I watched Gubra. The highly critisized indipendent film by award winning Yasmin Ahmad. No, I didn't watch it in the cinema. Didn't buy the vcd either. I watched it on my T5. How? That's beyond the scope of this entry.

I had wanted to wait for it to be air on tv. But then the girl in the film made a remark during a live telecast. She was critisized by people of all walks of life for that remark. For her remark, she might be banned from local tv. There goes my plan to watch it on tv.

Anyway, back to Gubra. Dialog wise, it does reflex how most Malaysian speak Malay/English in their daily live. It made the film feels real. In terms of story line, the film suffers what I call accute 'sembilu kasih' syndrome 'Sembilu kasih' is a local telenovela that has too many sub-plots in it. At least all characters in the telenovela is somehow connected. Whereas in Gubra, 'Bilal circle' did not crossed path with orked's. I felt like watching 2 film at once.

Other than that, I feel that Orked's character was not fully developed. For a person who had studied in England, you would expect a certain degree of maturity. Somehow I find younger Orked in Sepet is more matured than Gubra's Orked. Another thing that I couldn't comprehend was that how a married lady could touch the bare chest of a half naked (well ok, shirtless) man she just met, when she bumped in to the guy outside a public toilet in a hospital. Even if it was just to brush off a few strand of hair. Further more, her husband is in the same building. Just plain weird.

The "Bilal's circle" faired better in my book. It felt more real. The tender loving care showed by the wife to the husband. Man to animals. One neighbour to another. And don't forget, mother to child (even if the mother is a flesh trader). With little dialog, these circle of people managed to leave more mark on the film. Even though the T5 screen is small, I could almost see (and feel) all facial and body language used.

I really wonder how the lady playing Orked could won any award. She might deserve the award, but not from playing Orked in Gubra.

The Da Vinci Code

I went to the premier of the Da Vinci Code. I haven't read the book or any other books related to it. But I've watched the documentary on "Gospel of Judas". And with all the publicity surrounding the film, I got some rough idea what the film is about.

My companion have read the book and thinks that the book is much better than the film. Books would almost always be better than films. With books, you paint the characters and the scenes in your mind. You picture them perfectly as you want. However, with films, someone else (the directors etc) paints them for you and will never as perfect as the picture in your mind.

Having said that, some background information is quite important in watching films adapted from books. These kind of films tend to leave some information. Some times you would be lost as to who is who, why it is so. For example, while there were plenty of information on Priory of Sion, none were provided on Opus Dei in the film. Suddenly, the French policeman admitted to his friend that he's an Opus Dei. Another example is why Silas is torturing himself.

The film was ok. But lack the climacks and suspenses. I came out of the cinema marvelling the way how people almost always try to rationalize things that are beyond their comprehension. I have no doubt that Dan Brown did extensive research and then skillfully blends facts and fictions into one.

Read the book or watch the film and digest as if it was total a fiction. If you have the means, research the things that you think are facts. Otherwise, leave it be.