Thank god for movies. It's not a new sentiment or a particularly original one, but in the trying times of the year past, it's one I came to over and over again. Whether the film is a distraction, a balm of relief, an irritant that inflames a spiritual reaction, or in the best cases, an actual bit of healing, cinema has always offered a means of transportation, empathy, and unhindered emotion that we rarely allow ourselves once the lights come back up. The magic between a movie and its audience is a powerful, personal thing; it takes you around the world, it plants you in another's shoes, if only for a few hours.