Wow. Your first few paragraphs made this movie sound so good! I was planning to seek it out! And then, oh, and then.

It really was one of the strangest movie experiences I have had in a long time, because the good parts were so good and the bad parts were so bad and they could be happening simultaneously in the same scene. See above to heliopausa: it wasn't even terrible in a way I had previously encountered! I think that's one of the reasons I keep thinking about it. How did this even happen?

By the way, is your cousin enjoying Stamped from the Beginning? I've got it on my to-read list, but it's such a massive doorstopper of a book that I've been slow to actually start it.

I think they are finding it worthwhile, if not actually enjoyable. Recommended, definitely.