posted
A Tale of Two Cities. One the wordiest and most ludicrous plot twist filled books I've ever read (one might almost call it Dickensian ). All that being said, however, it does have Sydney Carton, in my opinion, one of the most noble characters ever created. When, at the end, he does a "far, far, better thing" than he's ever done, I was very moved by that nobility, and, at age 15, did shed a tear or two in his honor.
Regarding the Michael Keaton movie, it's from the early '90 and is called, "My Life." The premise is this: Almost concurrently, Keaton finds out that his wife is pregnant with a son... and that he (Keaton, that is) has rapidly advancing cancer and likely won't live to see the birth. He begins to record a series of videos as a legacy for his unborn son, both as "advice I'm not here to give you" and "although I never met you, I loved you." When I saw it there wasn't a dry eye in the house, and mine were no exception.
For as goofy as Scrubs was, there were moments of tremendous poignancy, one of which is called "My Screw Up," an episode guest-starring Brendan Fraser. I won't spoil it except to say there was a twist ending that kicked me in the gut and made me cry - not only upon my initial viewing, but several years later seeing it in syndication, knowing full well what was coming. It was that good.
So the mysterious non-tearjerker is still among the remaining choice. Which is it?
1. An Alan Moore comic 2. A Grant Morrison comic 3. A Neil Gaiman comic 4. A Batman comic 5. A Michael Keaton movie 6. A Robin Williams movie 7. A Bruce Willis movie 8. An Animated movie 9. A Charles Dickens novel 10. An. F. Scott Fitzgerald novel 11. An Elton John song 12. A Nina Simone song 13. A Sinead O'Connor song 14. An episode of Lost 15. An episode of Scrubs
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All the others were more specific than this one. Is it the right answer because it sticks out?
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From: Boston | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
Good point on the generality of number 8, Quis. I couldn't think how phrase that one to not make it obvious, as I think several folks had the same reaction to the same movie recently, but, nevertheless, still incorrect. The movie was "UP". Opening 10 minutes or so - 'nuff said. Tearjerker.
The Batman comic, I think, is a pretty obscure one, that I read when I was about 12. It was called "Die Small, Die Big." Looking back, the story is pretty goofy. Basically, this mailman, Herbert Small, who considers himself worthless, learns of a plot to kill Batman, and (I forget the details) somehow gets a hold of a Batman costume to take his place. Well, sure enough, old Herbert is shot, and as he lay dying, Batman shows up. With his dying breath, he asks Batman to see who he is behind the cowl, and Batman obliges. Looking at Bruce Wayne's face, Small dies with a smile on his lips, recognizing him as someone on his mail route. There is nothing in the plot that is overwhelmingly emotional... but it's the art. In the panel where Bruce unmasks, there is something so subtle in Herbert's face that captures just how complete he is at that moment - having saved a life and died triumphantly. In any case, though I haven't read that in 25 years, at the time it did make me cry.
Which of the remaining did not?
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-------------------- Five billion years from now the Sun will go nova and obliterate the Earth. Don't sweat the small stuff!
From: Boston | Registered: Aug 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Exnihil: A Tale of Two Cities. One the wordiest and most ludicrous plot twist filled books I've ever read (one might almost call it Dickensian ). All that being said, however, it does have Sydney Carton, in my opinion, one of the most noble characters ever created. When, at the end, he does a "far, far, better thing" than he's ever done, I was very moved by that nobility, and, at age 15, did shed a tear or two in his honor.
You should check out A Far Better Rest by Susanne Alleyn. She is also a big Sydney Carton fan, and recasts ATo2C from his point of view (and irons out a lot of Dickens' over-the-top elements).
From: Vancouver, BC, Canada | Registered: Dec 2003
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-------------------- Exnihil: Novelty, if he had a power, the obvious one to me would of course be "The Power of Grayskull"
Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
Regarding Elton John - about a decade ago my father got very sick and went into a coma. I went to upstate NY to help my mother with everything. One of the things I noticed was that my dad's backyard garden had, of course, gotten very overgrown. As the days wore on, with back and forth trips to the hospital, I tried to remain very in control about the situation (you know, be strong for the family and all that). But one morning as I drove over to the hospital, the radio station played an Elton John song I had never heard, Empty Garden. It was so fitting, almost eerily so, that I just lost it, pulling over and bawling. (Happy aside: my dad came out of his coma eventually, and is once again very healthy).
Lost? Yeah, right! With that show, if the left didn't get you, the right did. My particular weepy episode was "Greatest Hits," when Charlie makes his list before going on that mission.
But... Neil Gaiman? Not one tear did he ever get out of me. Don't get me wrong, Sandman was a beautiful work with several emotional moments - The Element Girl issue, Wanda's "transformation", Morpheus' choice - but I guess the fantasy element made it, for me, not immediately relatable and, accordingly, never moved me to tears.
To wrap up the list, the Robin Williams movie was "What Dreams May Come." Another damn dog scene - they get me every time.
Kent is up next.
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From: Boston | Registered: Aug 2003
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). All that being said, however, it does have Sydney Carton, in my opinion, one of the most noble characters ever created. When, at the end, he does a "far, far, better thing" than he's ever done, I was very moved by that nobility, and, at age 15, did shed a tear or two in his honor.
