Irishman, with the risk of sounding like an elitist, pretentious snob, a word of advice...

Your summation of Kubrick's 2001 would have lost none of its effect had it read thus: "I had previously tried to watch this and only got about 5-10 minutes into it before turning it off. I'm glad I stuck with it this time because as I just mentioned, I did enjoy it. Great use of music and I loved the HAL 9000 system. However, I must admit, I didn't understand the first 10 minutes of the film (the apes) and probably the last 20?"

Notice what I've done? Cut the opening synopsis. Those of us who've seen the film know what it's about; those who haven't probably won't want to know every plot twist.

Glad you enjoyed 2001; I rank it as Kubrick's best, an aesthetic treat for the senses.

Thanks,
Mick