"Why do people choose the substitute over God himself? Probably the most important reason is that it obviates accountability to God. We can meet idols on our own terms because they are our own creations. They are safe, predictable, and controllable; they are, in Jeremiah's colorful language, the 'scarecrows in a cornfield' (10:5). They are portable and completely under the user's control. They offer nothing like the threat of a God who thunders from Sinai and whose providence in this world so often appears to us to be incomprehensible and dangerous . . . [People] need face only themselves. That is the appeal of idolatry."
- David F. Wells
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Just a little something in my eye, that's all.
These are some of the movie scenes that get me every time:
- When "Rain Man" (Tom Cruise) puts his brother (Dustin Hoffman) on the train to say goodbye at the end of Rain Man.
- When the French patrons at Rick's Cafe Americain drown out the German officers' singing with a rousing rendition of "La Marseillaise" in the greatest film of all time.
- When Frank T.J. Mackey (Tom Cruise again) is weeping at his father's deathbed in Magnolia.
- When Chas (Ben Stiller) tells his dad (Gene Hackman) it's been a rough year in The Royal Tenenbaums.
- When Truman (Jim Carrey) stands in the middle of the road and stops traffic, realizing he's the center of his universe.
- At the end of Sense and Sensibility, when Elinor (Emma Thompson) realizes Edward (Hugh Grant) isn't married. Oh my goodness. This scene slays me.
What movie scenes put a little dust in your eyes?
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Comments on "What Movie Scenes Get Ya?":
2. Bill
- 07/19/2011 9:20 pm CDT
Ditto on the end of LOTR:ROTK
The redemption at the end of It's a Wonderful Life always gets me.
The end of Toy Story Three really got me.
5. Karen
- 07/19/2011 10:11 pm CDT
In My Best Friend's Wedding where Julia Roberts begs Dermont Mulroney to "choose me, please choose me". And in Hope Floats when the little girl thinks she is going home with her daddy and he says she has to stay, she runs after the car crying and calling out to him. I guess have this thing about rejection. :-/
6. Manders
- 07/19/2011 10:45 pm CDT
In The Patriot: "Papa, don't go! I'll say anything you want me to say! Don't go!" Oh. My. Gosh.
Toy Story 3 (SPOILER ALERT): They're sliding down the chute and they all hold hands and go together. (Made especially gripping for me after seeing a video someone put together of that scene + the music that plays on Lost whenever anyone dies).
Magnolia: The singalong to "WIse Up" and the preceding monologue.
Rachel Getting Married: Kym goes to her mom's house and they have a confrontation, Kym crashes her car, she shows back up at the house all cut and bruised, and then the scene in the bathtub. SO GOOD. If you haven't seen Rachel Getting Married, that sequence alone is worth the price of admission.
LOTR: "My friends, you bow to no one."
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2: "Stay close to me." "Always." "To the very end."
7. Nathan
- 07/20/2011 2:46 am CDT
Yeah, it's all Pixar for me - especially the first 15 minutes of Up and the moment in Monsters Inc. where Scully and Boo hug goodbye. Oh, yeah, and Andy introducing the new kid to all the toys at the end of Toy Story 3. Blimey, these people are manipulative geniueses..... =oD
8. KenLeonard
- 07/20/2011 3:00 am CDT
In "Galaxy Quest" when Balthazar looks over at the cast and mouths, "But, why?" as they explain that they're actors.
Same film - When Alan Rickman's character assures his dying fan with the alien pledge, "You will be avenged."
9. Rong
- 07/20/2011 7:58 am CDT
Any scene from any movie where a character lays down his life for another.
LOTR: Gandalf vs. Balrog, "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!"
My Iron Giant, when the robot flys up to intercept the missle and goes into the Super Man pose.
Armageddon, Bruce Willis staying behind to set off the bomb on the asteroid
Seven Pounds even knowing what was going to happen didn't stop the water works. But I'm a sap at heart.
10. Lars Walker
- 07/20/2011 8:37 am CDT
The old movie "Algiers" isn't very well known anymore, but I rediscovered it not too long ago. At the end there's a moment when Charles Boyer, having just been arrested by the police as he attempts to escape back to France, catches just a glimpse of Hedy Lamar on the deck of the departing ship, and knows it's the last time he'll ever see her in his life. Went through my heart like an arrow.
11. jen
- 07/20/2011 8:49 am CDT
Sheesh, too many to name.
Agree about S&S - that scene kills me. Every. Single. Time.
Marley & Me: When Marley comforts Jennifer Aniston character after her miscarriage.
TS3: Ending totally got me.
Ditto LOTR:ROTK "My friends, you bow to no one."
Yes, HP&DH2 "Stay close to me." "Always." "To the very end."
Again, IAWL when Harry Bailey arrives and toasts George.
I'm a commplete sap.
12. nhe
- 07/20/2011 9:06 am CDT
This one is EASY:
"Shadowlands" - CS Lewis and his stepson Douglas sitting in the attic next to the wardrobe after Joy died.....Douglas (weeping) says "I miss her", and then Lewis (Anthony Hopkins) who had been perfectly stoic during the entire film, breaks down in a heap and barely gets out between deep sobs "I miss her too!"
I was in the theater when I saw this the first time and literally started sobbing uncontrollably - really embarrassed myself.
"Lassie Come Home" - I was a kid - I still get misty thinking about the boy burying Lassie's toys, when he hears a faint bark in the distance - are you kidding me?
"The Shawshank Redemption" - Red on the bus - "I hope I make it across the border, I hope the Pacific is as blue as it is in my dreams, I hope I get to see my friend and shake his hand......I hope."
I could mention many more, maybe later.
14. Karl
- 07/20/2011 9:40 am CDT
Lots.
The scene in Mr. Holland's Opus where the gym is full of people whose lives he has touched and his former student, now the governor, tells him "We are your symphony, Mr. Holland. We are the melodies and the notes of your opus. And we are the music of your life."
The scene in Les Miserables where the priest ransoms Jean Valjean's life by giving him the silver he had stolen.
The death star blowing up in the first Star Wars.
Pretty much any instance of Eucatastrophe, even in a cheesy movie, finds me wiping at my eyes.
16. Jared
- 07/20/2011 10:22 am CDT
More:
- Ditto the end of Toy Story 3.
- When Andy Garcia's character is explaining on the playground to his daughter that mommy and daddy aren't going to live together anymore in When a Man Loves a Woman.
- The similar scene at the end of Kramer vs. Kramer when Dustin Hoffman tells his son he's going to go live with his mother now.
20. Bill
- 07/20/2011 10:52 am CDT
Ditto on "Up". I saw that with my daughter. She started crying five minutes into the intro and basically cried the entire movie.
I also cried when Eli Manning escaped the grip of a Patriot and sailed a daring pass down the middle to be amazingly caught by David Tyree, even though the defender was all over him and he had to catch it on his helmet.
Oh wait, that wasn't a movie.
Oh, and also, I didn't cry. I jumped for joy.
21. nhe
- 07/20/2011 11:13 am CDT
- When Andy Garcia's character is explaining on the playground to his daughter that mommy and daddy aren't going to live together anymore in When a Man Loves a Woman.
speaking of Andy Garcia, has anyone seen "City Island"?......one of the more emotionally satisfying endings to a film I've seen recently
22. Shrode
- 07/20/2011 12:08 pm CDT
end of "my dog skip."
It happens to me on occasion, esp. when someone sacrifices themselves for someone else. But I block such occasions from my memory, since they are reminders of my vulnerability. I don't care what Rosie Greer says. I'm too manly to cry....usually. 
25. Manders
- 07/20/2011 9:58 pm CDT
Oh, in WALL-E, near the end when Eve tries to hold his hand and her spark-kiss brings him back to life. Love that.
27. Linda
- 07/21/2011 8:41 am CDT
Yes, Lars and the Real Girl was in my mind too!
I cried several times when the brother and sister in law put aside their fears and pride and "took care of" Lars' girl.
28. damien
- 07/21/2011 10:13 am CDT
when i was a little kid, i went to see west side story with my aunt and uncle. i remember not wanting them to see me cry at the end when tony dies in maria's arms. sad sad sad.
29. Daniel Ross
- 07/21/2011 7:02 pm CDT
- When Chas (Ben Stiller) tells his dad (Gene Hackman) it's been a rough year in The Royal Tenenbaums.
I'm glad there are others out there who get choked up at this scene. This is a fantastic movie.
I sobbed watching United 93. Went by myself to see that one though.
30. Stu
- 07/22/2011 5:25 pm CDT
Road House - when Dalton finds Wade dead on the bar.
LOTR - Aragorn's speech at the Black Gate
Independence Day - The President's speech
Facing The Giants - the football crawl scene
Wow! There are so many! My wife calls me a big suck. The truth is, where there is true bravery, or true sorrow, or true courage, or a life given for another out of sheer love, or a single-hearted devotion to one's mate or one's Lord, I fall to pieces. Now that I'm typing about it, I'm even tearing up!
32. Tony
- 07/26/2011 6:34 am CDT
a couple more:
The Passion of the Christ - when Jesus was carrying his cross, fell and his mother Mary flashed back to when he fell down and hurt himself as a boy. I lost it. Of course, that whole movie for me was an emotional roller coaster, but that particular scene was the "most tearful" for me.
And lastly, my family is into extreme makeover home edition re-runs ATM. I must admit, whenever they "move that bus" and reveal the house to the struggling family, it gets a bit emotional. I don't necessarily cry, but I'm moved with some of the episodes.
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I second Casablanca and SAS.
Some people think I'm stupid, but the end of ET kills me. Also, the end of LOTR:ROTK when it's time for Frodo to go. Augh.
Outside of that - I don't break up too often at movies. I remember sobbing in the middle of My Girl, but I was pretty young, then. I should say, though, that I can "tear up" without any liquid falling from my eye(s). This has already happened twice this Summer at Super8 (whose ending I found particularly redeeming) and . . . wait for it . . . Harry Potter.