Buzz's post today about TV moments that make her cry made me wonder what movies make me cry the most.

I don't know if these are necessarily my top five, but they certainly do make me cry my eyes out.

5. I am Sam (1983)
Sean Penn, Dakota Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dianne Wiest

Man, I started bawling early on in this film and didn't stop until it was over. I was so moved by this story about a mentally challenged man and his daughter. I'm not a huge fan of Sean Penn and Dakota Fanning kind of scares me because she's so precocious, but this was a beautiful film about what it really means to be family.

4. Billy Elliot (2000)
Jamie Bell, Gary Lewis, Julie Walters, Jamie Draven

Man, what a great movie!! It's about a boy growing up in the coal mining town of Durham, England, during the miners' strike of the 80s. It's filled with funny scenes and good dancing and, believe it or not, wrench-your-guts-out pathos.

The scene with Billy's dad at the mines just about rips my heart right out of my chest every single time. If you haven't seen it -- man, just go see it.

3. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Chow Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi

I'd never seen anything like this film before. I was amazed by the martial arts choreography, the crazy special effects -- and what a beautiful side story between Li Mu Bai and Yu Shu Lien. That last scene between them made me a watery mess. Chow Yun Fat does that to me.

The only reason The Killer (1989) didn't make this list is because I thought that was just too much Chow on the list and it wouldn't be fair to all the other actors.

2. The Notebook (2004)
Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, James Garner, Gena Rowlands

My friends had to trick me into watching this movie. When I'd heard that it was based on a book written by the same guy who wrote A Walk in the Clouds, I rolled my eyes and dismissed it as "chick cheese" -- manipulative, cloying, no real substance.

They rented it on the sly and didn't bust it out until I'd already driven all the way over. I figured watching it couldn't be worse than driving back home to balance my checkbook.

About halfway in, we hit the scene where James Garner's family comes to visit him at the nursing home and I had to admit defeat. You got me, Nicholas Sparks. I tried to hide the fact that I have a heart and you found it and ground it into sloppy joes -- with cheese.

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Ian Holm, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, Sean Bean, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys-Davies, Hugo Weaving, Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett

I don't care what people say about Peter Jackson; I loved this movie and thought he fleshed out Middle Earth exactly as I'd always imagined it.

If you can't shed a single tear after what happens in the Mines of Moriah, then you are dead inside. And if that last scene between Aragorn and Boromir doesn't move you, then I don't know what will.

Care to cry along with me? What movies are best at jerking the tears out of you?