When some people are sick, or just feeling low, they like get well soon flowers or a card or some candy. Others like to simply sleep it off, or take some medication and wake up feeling better. For me, it's all about the “get well soon” movie.

I've spent a lot of time in this column talking about the pleasure you can get from watching movies, but that's no reason to look past one of film's other extraordinary qualities: the ability to cheer me up and/or nurse me back to health, depending on what the situation calls for.

When I was a kid, every time I'd get sick, I was allowed to stay home from school, stay in bed all day and watch movies — any movies I wanted and as many as I wanted in a row. This was definitely the perk of being sick. The same went for when I was sad. I would always turn to my movie friends for comfort.

Now, as an adult, I still follow the same traditions when I'm feeling bad, only now I understand the phenomenon a little more. I know why I like watching Finding Nemo or The Lion King when I'm sick: it's because they have a guaranteed happy ending. Watching movies I've seen a thousand times is very comforting because you know exactly how and when everything is going to play out in the story. There are no surprises and there are no disappointments.

Feeling low, mending a broken heart or nursing a bruised ego may require a different kind of comfort movie. When I'm sad about something, I always reach for Singing in the Rain or The Lord of the Rings because while watching Gene Kelley sing and dance his heart out it's impossible not to smile, and watching Sam and Frodo walk across all of Middle Earth it's easy to put your problems into perspective. At least I'm not in the heart of Mordor, right?

There is a magic about movies that goes beyond a simple entertainment experience; movies have powers beyond taking you to new worlds and having new adventures beyond your wildest imagination. Movies can heal, they can comfort and they can bring you back to a place where you feel like yourself again.

So the next time you find yourself in bed for a week straight with the latest gruesome strain of the flu, or inconsolable after having an epic fight with your best friend, try turning to movies for the comfort you need. They'll get you through the tough times and will still be there to offer you nothing but joy when things are good again.

It's all in the magic of cinema.