Serenity

Let’s just be straight up with each other for a minute, OK? I cry at movies. It doesn’t really matter what genre; I bawled like a school girl during “Man Without a Face.” I got a lump in my throat during “The Wedding Singer” and “Lilo & Stitch.” And let’s just not bring up “Old Yeller,” yeah?

But, for some reason, there just aren’t a lot of tear-jerking sci-fi movies out there. Maybe that’s secretly why I love the genre so much — I can go on a date without having to touch up my makeup a billion times.

But I know there were a couple out there that got me a little choked up. OK, so my biggest embarrassment is how much I sobbed when Bruce Willis had to say goodbye to his daughter in “Armageddon.” But I knew there were others out there. So I went to my most magic of 8-balls: Twitter.

“Twitter!” I called out into the abyss. “Show me the saddest science fiction movies to grace the screen!”

The first three responses came back almost instantly. “Battlefield Earth,” “Battlefield Earth” and “Battlefield Earth.” Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. “The Matrix 2 and 3″ were next. COME ON, Twitter, where’s the serious? Remind me to never ask you for medical advice (again).

But then, a series of other answers came in, restoring my faith in the medium. Their answers, mediated and moderated, below:

Serenity:

Ah, Joss Whedon. You loveable, sadistic, hairy bastard man-child. You have a track record of creating the most memorable characters to grace screens big and small, and then completely wrenching them from us in as gruesome or pointless manner possible. Wash’s death I can almost handle, seeing as how he went out as a hero. But killing Book by just letting him bake in the sun for a spell, all of that delicious backstory just evaporating with him? You’re dangerously close to “you suck” territory, bub.

The Iron Giant:

This surprise bit of sweetness about a boy and his bot packed several emotional gut punches. The most powerful, however, was when the silent titular Giant sacrificed himself to save his friend, as well as most of the state of Maine. Twitter friend Knappst3r, who evidently cries about as much as I do, cited this movie, in addition to “Serenity.”

The Fifth Element:

We’ve talked at length about this quirky cult classic, which has become a surprisingly divisive wedge in fandom (you either love it or hate it). I fall into the former camp. And, most importantly, I got a little sad at the end, when Leeloo can’t feel love, but sacrifices herself thanks to Bruce Willis and some climactic music. Zeblue Prime mentioned that he cries at lots of sci-fi movies because of the sheer epic nature, but specifically cited The Fifth Element (or E5, if you have no idea what you’re talking about, because I just made that up). And GeekGirlDiva, ever the sort to fall for romance, seconds The Fifth Element as a key climactic sobfest.

A.I.:

A few of you got a little choked up over A.I. — most notably the last scene. Elwang admits that a lot of people trash the movie, but the part where he gets his mom back for a day makes him all manner of weepy. ReallyBigPeach mentions a rough scene I’d forgotten about, when Little Robot Boy gets left in the woods alone. I blame Gigolo Jane for blotting out that memory — I can’t seem to remember anything for around half an hour either side of her appearance. Star Trek:

Very few people think of the rebooted “Star Trek” as a tear-jerker, unless bright, blinding lights make your eyes water. But at least one person was on the same page as me. Pippsta remembered that opening scene being a little sad. And I couldn’t agree more. CarrieLeighC went one further, saying it had her “sobbing faster and harder than any other movie ever has.”

I’m taking up a collection to rent “Old Yeller” for her.