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Movies help create lifelong memories between loved ones.

I want to take this week to talk about something a little different in the world of movie moments. I don't want to talk about the awesome explosions, the heartbreaking tragedies or even the infuriating amount of remakes and sequels floating around. What I want to talk about is the way that movies have a way of binding us together with the people that we love.

With the loss of a close family member still freshly aching, I think about all the moments that I shared with this person. This person was my grandmother and she happened to love classic Hollywood. I distinctly remember as a child sitting on her couch with her watching Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz and Singin' in the Rain. Great movies, every one of them, but what I remember most isn't the way that Humphrey Bogart broke my heart, or the way that Clark Gable turned out to be an idiot in the end. What I remember most is that watching those movies was our "thing," and now each time I see one of those films, memories of that time spent together are brought to the front of my mind.

Maybe you and your significant other have a favourite movie that you've watched together a thousand times, and still always reach for it first. Maybe you and your parents always watch the same children's movie during the holiday season, even now as adults, and you can hold tight to that link to your childhood. Maybe you and your best friend still watch The Hangover and crack up even though you know it by heart.

Whatever the case may be, watching movies with others is not simply something you do to fill time — okay, maybe occasionally it's something you to do fill time — but it is instead an experience that you share with another person. Don't tell me that you could watch all the Harry Potter movies with someone who has never seen them, watch them experience the epic ending, and not feel like you've shared a real experience with them. Every experience you share with people brings you closer and bonds you more tightly to one another, whether it's a bond of love, or of friendship, or of family.

So the next time you're cuddled up on the couch with your sweetheart, sharing a bag of popcorn at the theatre with your best friend or sipping tea with your mom while watching Steel Magnolias, take the time to notice how it feels; take the time to notice your bond getting stronger and appreciate that the magic of cinematic experience has done that.

Movies truly are magical in so many ways. Appreciate all that they have to offer you as much as you can.