Whatever Happened to Heros?

I just finished Sandman Slim, the first of a popular series by Richard Kadray, which I found wanting, because as a reader I demand a sympathetic viewpoint character and his I just couldn't warm up to. Last night I dipped my toes into Johannes Cabal The Necromancer, and again confronted a main character that I found unappealing. Obviously, I'm missing something here, and I fear that lack of popular sensibilities limits my ability to write popular fiction.
The same problem transcends fantasy. James Ellroy's crime fiction strikes me the same way. I sloughed my way through his 900-page The Cold Six Thousand, waiting to find a character I could care about.
This doesn't mean the mc needs to be a comic-book hero. I was more than willing to walk in Lee Harvey Oswald's shoes in Libra by Don DeLillo. Although I didn't admire the main character, I was able empathize with his journey.
I try very hard to keep current with music, not wanting to be one of those old fogies who refuse to credit any music written since Jimi Hendrix's demise. I make the same effort with science fiction and fantasy, but can't find traction with many of the authors, such as China Mieville (The City & The City excepted) or Kim Stanley Robinson. If I don't enjoy the writing of those who lead the market, how I can expect to write fiction that finds similar success?

The Cabin in the Woods: Not what you might expect

Thanks to Jennifer Smither for recommending a movie that I would otherwise have never viewed, The Cabin in the Woods. I'd missed Josh Weeden's involvement with it, and I'm a Weeden fan going back to Firefly.

The story was set up as a typical horror/slasher flick, with the typical empty-headed twenty-something cast. But with Weeden, nothing is as it seems, and it quickly evolved into a wild sci-fi/fantasy romp. My favorite scene (spoiler alert; don't read further if you haven't seen the film and intend to) is the climax, where the remaining characters choose to allow the world to end rather than murder one another. 

I'm entertained whenever a film such as this goes off the tracks. Recently I watched another favorite which has an unexpected ending, Repo Man. Highly recommended.