SPOILER ALERT - Be warned there are obviously some spoilers in this list. If you haven't seen the movies, be warned this could spoil that emotional out pouring you'll experience.
1. Field of Dreams
An Iowa corn farmer, hearing voices, interprets them as a command to build a baseball diamond in his fields; he does, and the Chicago White Sox come.
Blub moment: When Ray (kevin Costner) asks the ghost of his father to a game of catch. Despite the fact I'm a Brit and know absolutely nothing about baseball this got me where it counts and does so every time I see it.
2. Good Will Hunting
Will Hunting, a janitor at M.I.T., has a gift for mathematics, but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life. if not for the sheer dynamic brilliance of watching Robin Williams deliver an absolute showstopper performance its the feeling this great man is no longer with us.
Blub Moment: Sean Maguire (Williams) talks about his love for his wife and the Cancer which killed her.
3. Million Dollar Baby
This film is about an underappreciated boxing trainer Frankie Dunn, the mistakes that haunt him from his past, and his quest for atonement by helping an underdog amateur boxer called Maggie achieve her dream of becoming a professional.
Blub Moment: When Frankie Dunn (Eastwood) sneaks into the hospital one night to administer a fatal injection of adrenaline to a seriously injured Maggie who had begged Frankie to help end her suffering. In a coma Frankie finally tells Maggie the meaning of a nickname he gave her.
4. Marley & Me
A family learns important life lessons from their adorable, but naughty and neurotic dog. This one is an absolute killer if you happen to be a dog owner, particularly if you own a labrador. The movie takes you up and then drops you like a tonne weight when the inevitable end of journey arrives.
Blub Moment: The aging Marley begins to show signs of arthritis and deafness. An attack of gastric dilation volvulus almost kills him, but he recovers. When a second attack occurs, it becomes clear surgery will not help him, and Marley is euthanized with John (Owen Wilson) at his side.
5. Its a Wonderful Life
James Stewart's iconic role as George Bailey, a man who has given up his dreams in order to help others, and whose imminent suicide on Christmas eve brings about the intervention of his guardian angel Clarence.
Blub Moment: George runs back to the bridge where he was going to commit suicide and begs for his life back. His prayer is answered, as Burt catches up to him, but only to say he was glad he found George as everyone was worried about him. George runs through the town joyously, wishing everyone he sees a merry Christmas
6.Stand By Me
Perhaps one of the greatest coming of age movies ever created, directed by Rob Reiner and written by Stephen King. After learning that a stranger has been accidentally killed near their rural homes, four Oregon boys decide to go see the body. On the way, Gordie Lachance (Wil Wheaton), Vern Tessio (Jerry O'Connell), Chris Chambers (River Phoenix) and Teddy Duchamp (Corey Feldman) encounter a mean junk man and a marsh full of leeches, as they also learn more about one another and their very different home lives.
Blub Moment: The narration by The present-day Gordie (Richard Dreyfuss) writes that while Gordie and Chris stayed friends, they drifted about from the other two shortly thereafter. Vern married immediately after high school, has four children, and drives a forklift at a local lumber yard. Teddy tried enlisting in the army but was turned down because of his ear injury and impaired eyesight. He had served some time in prison and now does odd jobs around Castle Rock. Chris went on to college and became a lawyer. When attempting to break up a fight in a fast-food restaurant, he was fatally stabbed in the neck
7. Forrest Gump
Slow-witted Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) has never thought of himself as disadvantaged, and thanks to his supportive mother (Sally Field), he leads anything but a restricted life. Whether dominating on the gridiron as a college football star, fighting in Vietnam or captaining a shrimp boat he excels at every aspect of his life. The film is an adventure and one of the greatest triumph of the human spirit stories ever made. The innocence that Hanks conveys as Gump is one of the finest things you'll see on film.
Blub Moment: In present-day, Gump reveals that he is waiting at the bus stop because he received a letter from Jenny who, having seen him run on television, asks him to visit her. Once he is reunited with Jenny, she introduces him to his son, also named Forrest. Jenny tells Gump she is suffering from an unknown virus (possibly HIV, though this is never specified). Together the three move back to Greenbow, Alabama. Jenny and Forrest finally marry but she dies soon afterward.
8. Saving Private Ryan
Heart wrenching, Spielbergs WW2 film pulls no punches and rams home the sheer brutality of war in the most visceral 25 minutes you'll see in any movie. Hanks is Captain Miller, assigned to take a small squad of men to search for and bring home the last remaining son of the Ryan family who's other siblings have all perished in combat.
Blub Moment: There are two, the moment when Miller (Hanks) dies defending the last bridge from an approaching German Tiger tank and the present day Ryan who stands at Millers grave with survivors guilt.
9.UP
Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner), a 78-year-old balloon salesman, is about to fulfill a lifelong dream. Tying thousands of balloons to his house, he flies away to the South American wilderness. But curmudgeonly Carl's worst nightmare comes true when he discovers a little boy named Russell is a stowaway and their adventure together reveals some important life lessons for the both of them.
Blub moment: After suffering a miscarriage and being told they cannot have a child, Carl and Ellie decide to realize their dream of visiting Paradise Falls. They try to save for the trip, but repeatedly end up spending the money on more pressing needs. Finally, an elderly Carl arranges for the trip, but Ellie suddenly becomes ill and dies. What makes the miscarriage scene even more impactful is that not a single line of dialogue is spoken. As a parent this will break your heart.
10.Schindlers List
Businessman Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) arrives in Krakow in 1939, ready to make his fortune from World War II, which has just started. After joining the Nazi party primarily for political expediency, he staffs his factory with Jewish workers for similarly pragmatic reasons. When the SS begins exterminating Jews in the Krakow ghetto, Schindler arranges to have his workers protected to keep his factory in operation, but soon realizes that in so doing, he is also saving innocent lives.
Blub Moment: The razing of the Jewish Ghetto and the young girl in the red dress.
Got any movies that make you blub?, leave a comment and let me know
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