Top 20 Tear Jerkers (Jenna)

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love a good tearjerker.  In fact it appears I love them so much that I couldn't choose just 10, I had to up it to 20 with some special mentions on top!!  Oops!  I apologise in advance also because this post DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS of various degrees, mostly because the sad bit is usually the ending, so I can't write about the sad bit without mentioning the sad bit.  If you haven't seen the film then skim past quickly to avoid spoilers :-)

I hope I don't start blubbing while I'm writing this *puts on uplifting music* just to be safe, here goes nothing:

20. Lion King (1994)

When Mufasa died it was the first time I ever cried in a film, I was pretty young and at the cinema (although I didn't do an Allie and be the kid in the cinema that shouted 'Mommy is he dead' forcing all the surrounding adults to blub into their popcorn!) but I'm pretty sure all the kids were crying.  The death of Mufasa will stay with me as the lead into my love for tearjerkers.

19.  Forrest Gump (1994)

Finally Forrest is happy, he has Jenny and his son and he is finally settled and bang Jenny's dead - what the hell writers, why?! This was so sad, it's a pretty emotional film in places throughout anyway but this just breaks your heart.  All you want is for Forrest to be happy, but nooooo! Screw you writers!!

18.  My Girl (1991)Waaaaaaaahhhhhh!  Vada and Thomas would have grown up and got married, wouldn't they? Now we will never know.  It's not Thomas's death that's actually the sad part, its Vada's reaction to it, she has been surrounded by death her whole life but this is the first time she has to actually deal with it and its heartbreaking - "Where are his glasses? He can't see without his glasses!"

17.  Up (2009)
The first five minutes of Up were incredibly emotional (and pretty much a film itself), there were no words but it showed the pain of a couple unable to have children or unable to follow their dreams and then for one to leave the other.  It was truly heartbreaking, I found myself sobbing my heart out, thank god for Russell who managed to lighten the mood for the rest of the film!!

16. Armageddon (1998)
The moment A.J is screaming and Harry not to do it and Harry tells him to look after his little girl gets me every time.  Then the video link between him and 'Gracie' has me in floods of tears, its heartbreaking.  She would have lost either her fiancé or her father.. Waaaaaaaahhhh!

15.  Marley and Me (2008)

I don't like dogs, in fact I have phobia of them, I am truly terrified of them.  I also don't particularly like any other animals so usually sad animal films do not make me cry and someone had recommended this to me and I was all 'I won't cry I don't like animals' so when I found myself balling my eyes out at the end of this I was really surprised.  Marley had become an integral character in the story and just like when a human character gets ill or dies it tugs at your heart strings.

14.  Phenomenon (1996)

My dad recommended this film to me, so off I went to watch it, 2 hours later I came downstairs nose running and puffy eyes demanding 'why he didn't warn me?'  Turns out George actually has a brain tumour and its killing him.  The whole drama of him being manipulated by the government and his eventual passing are so upsetting and John Travolta was brilliant in the lead role, so emotional.

13.  I am Sam (2001)

I've seen this film a few times and honestly I can't remember that much about it, but I do remember how sad it was when they tried to take Lucy away from Sam.  I vaguely remember crying all the way through this damn movie (although as you can probably tell from this list, it doesn't take much!)

12.  E.T (1982)

Elliot makes a friend in E.T and they bond, then the Government 'kills' him and it was heartbreaking, until that little purple flower came back to life.  Unfortunately for Elliot, ET's family came back for him so he had to leave him again.  "I'll...be....right....here" *curl in a ball, try not to try, cry uncontrollably*

11.  Ghost (1990)

Just by the title alone, this was bound to be a weepy but the first time you watch it your always hope there is a chance Sam will be able to come back and be with Molly.  But it wasn't to be, the scene where he has to say goodbye to Molly gets be every time and even the emotion when he says bye to Oda Mae Brown is intense.

10.  A Walk to Remember (2002)

My very first Nicholas Sparks outing, I hadn't read any of his books or watched any of his films.  I had no idea what to expect, it was a pretty cheesy high school love story, the popular guy falls for the not-so popular girl and chaos ensues.  This, however, ended slightly different to how I expected when Jamie admits to having cancer that eventually kills her.  Made we wish for a bog standard happy ending rom-com!

9.  Pearl Harbour (2001)

We all knew this wasn't going to end well but I could at least hope that the lead characters would survive and be happy.  Oh how wrong I was and just when you think everyone is ok and it's all going to end well, BAM another death - damn it!! This was another of those cinema trips when I wish I had worn dark glasses because I come out with mascara down my face and puffy eyes!

8.  Titanic (1997)

Similar to Pearl Harbour, again, it was not going to end well.  It was sad enough as it was with thousands of people not being able to get on the lifeboats and watching the band continue to play even though the ship was sinking.  Everything from about half way through was highly emotional anyway and then everyone knows the end. *sniff*

7.  The Notebook (2004)

So after learning who Nicholas Sparks was after watching A Walk to Remember I decided to read all his books, this one being my favourite by far.  The film was just so moving and the chemistry between Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams was amazing (I did hope they would stay together in real life!).  The emotion in Noah everytime there was some hope that Allie remembered him was heartbreaking.

6.  Jack (1996)

This feels more emotional now that Robin Williams has passed, his speech at Graduation gets me teary everytime and I love the quote "Make your life spectacular, I know I did"

5.  The Fault in our Stars (2014)

I actually read this book before I saw the film, not knowing what to expect I ended up sobbing in an airport in the arse end of nowhere!  The film was just as good, they did a really good job of making the film as good as the book and Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort were great as doomed lovers Hazel and Gus.

4.  The Time Travellers Wife (2009)

I tried to read this book and failed epically, it is so hard to understand what timezone you are supposed to be in and how old everyone is supposed to be.  The film was much easier to understand, however having never finished the book, I didn't know what was going to happen so I got quite the shock, which of course led to tears!!

3.  The Impossible (2012)

I foolishly saw this film at the cinema, I can be strong, I won't cry...FAIL! I basically cried from the first 20 minutes in to the end of the film.  There was sad tears, happy tears, the works.  The fact that its based on a true story just makes it that much more emotional to watch.

2.  To Live For (1999)

Not many people will have heard of this little made for TV movie.  It about a mother who has to try to explain to her daughter that she is sick and that she may have to go away and it follows Carson's journey in dealing with this.  I unfortunately accidently came across this move the year I lost my Mom so it hit pretty close to home and if ever I catch it on TV now it brings back a lot of emotional memories.  Its quite a nice film thought, seeing the relationship between the mother and daughter and how they cope is really well scripted and Jamie Renee Smith is brilliant as young Carson.

1.  My Sisters Keeper (2009)

My best friend Louise decided we were going to see this film, we thought it would be a really clever idea to go to the cinema.  It was not, we tried to cry silently until a fully grown large man behind us started sobbing uncontrollably we just gave up and blarted.  This isn't your typical 'cancer' movie, it shows the perspectives of not only Kate who is suffering but Anna her sister who has for years been her saviour, their parents and their brother.  Its sad pretty much from beginning to end but there are particular parts that really got me, the prom night and the beach scene (I still can't listen to Feels like Home without shedding a tear)

Special Mentions

These are films that I thought should be mentioned, however as I haven't seen them so I can't comment on them, I will update should I see any of them!!

Sophies Choice

Beaches

Schindlers List

A Normal Heart

Old Yeller

Field of Dreams

The Way we were

Philadelphia

Terms of endearment