Apollo 13/Awesome

• "We've never lost an American in space and we're sure as hell not going to lose one on my watch! Failure is NOT an option!" Even thought we all knew how it ended, that was certainly Gene Kranz's CMoA.
  • Kranz's autobiography, incidentally, is titled Failure is Not an Option. Apparently, he also considers it his CMoA.
    • Even though he never actually said it. But his refusal to give up on the Odyssey crew can easily be considered a CMoA.
• The launch sequence. This troper dares somebody to say they don't get goosebumps.
  • It was so realistic that Buzz Aldrin himself later asked where Ron Howard had found such great stock footage. A CMoA to the F/X folks!
• If the launch didn't get you, the re-entry sure as hell will!
  • The reentry, but particularly the NASA crew exploding with relief, excitement and overall happiness, makes this troper cry Manly Tears and might double as a CMoH.
  • Most depictions of (re)entry just show a bow-shock around the spacecraft, a gentle red glow on the heat shield, and maybe some buffeting. This was the first time this troper really got that the ship is slamming into a wall of air at supersonic speeds and punching a flaming hole through it.
• Just the movie in general. The director was so determined to get it right.
• The scene with Mrs. Lovell (with daughter Susan) trying to tell her mother-in-law (who is recovering from a stroke) about the trouble her son is in, and the Cool Old Lady response. Hilarious, D'awwwwww-worthy, AND Awesome all in one.

(To Susan, who begins to cry):"You scared, honey? Well don't you worry. If they could get a washing machine to fly, my Jimmy could land it."