You seem to miss the theme of valuing your life, moving on despite a horrible experience yet still looking back. Titanic blends a brief, passionate teen romance with the reality of social class segregation, sexism and tragedy caused by human error. I respect your own opinion but this review doesn't even attempt to include objectivity.
1. Cal(Billy Zane) is not completely evil. He's just incredibly selfish. And the part where he attempts to shoot Rose out of jealousy? It's a permissible practice during that time. Men who kills their unfaithful wives/fiances are not jailed because of "temporary insanity." What Cal lost is not Rose, its the big diamond in the pocket of her coat. And the movie is just being realistic with the aristocrats in early years. And just imagine if there are black passengers. Rich people are just like that, thankfully they've improved these days. 2. Rose's rebelliousness is reasonable, as she is a 17 year old girl being pressured to marry a 30 year old prick. I can't believe you ignored the scene of old Rose with her pictures of her travels. Her character is the best in the story for me.
"I mean, are we supposed to be enjoying watching these people's pathetic last moments? "
Of course not, we're supposed to sad or feel sorry for them. The film systematically shows the sinking of Titanic, and of course, it will be like that in real life. I've watched documentaries that explain the sinking, and I must say the movie is very accurate down to the part where the sounds of metal snapping are heard.
I only typed a few reasons on why I don't like your review, but since this is just TV Tropes, I don't have to take this seriously. It seems that the movie isn't your type, and you did not pay enough attention to it. Maybe I'll just write my own review for one of my favorites movies.
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Disaster porn
Titanic is the story of the Titanic, obviously, but also about a mismatched rags/riches love affair with the Titanic as the backdrop. Truth be told, you could chop out the ridiculous love story and end up with a very watchable 2 hour recreation of the sinking. In fact, I would have done so had I been in charge, and instead of a pile of sentimental goo focus on the myriad of human stories associated with the ill-fated voyage. Let's be honest; the ship is the real star of this show, and all the actors are just trying to keep up.
I can't honestly remember any of the character names, so I'll just stick with the actor names. Leonardo Di Caprio is himself; if you like him you'll like his character. I don't like Leonardo at all, but reportedly some do. Kate Winslet is much better, but largely wasted in the role of rebellious princess. The rest of the characters are Leo's friend and shipmate, who disappears quickly, and a bunch of evil aristocrats. Man, are they evil, but so well dressed and well mannered. Evil aristocrats are a dime a dozen in modern movies, but I can never tell whether I'm supposed to be for or against them. Billy Zane's character is hilarious. I have no idea if he's even supposed to be a real person, or just some sort of laughably evil cyborg. His script must have said 'do the most evil thing possible' over and over. My favorite part is when Winslet runs away and he says something to the effect of "I've lost something that belongs to me". And you think "OH, he means Kate Winslet, haha." Lest we forget, Kathy Bates plays another aristocrat, but a good one. Bates is usually the best character in every movie she's in, and this one is no exception. Makes you wish it was about her instead of Leo.
The movie takes a hiatus from all this for about an hour to show the sinking. This part is quite impressive, with special effects that hold up well even now. Unfortunately, by the 20th time you see loads of terrified people swarming towards the dry end and falling to their icy deaths, it starts to get a little awkward. I mean, are we supposed to be enjoying watching these people's pathetic last moments? It's a problem of cinema I suppose, with its photorealism.
In sum, the best part of Titanic is the Titanic, and the worst part is the story and most of the characters.