I wanted to write a post about the greatest movies ever made. I wanted to tell you which movies you must see. I wanted to recommend a handful of movies that would complete your life and make you a happy, fulfilled person.

The truth is that I suffer from delusions of grandeur.

I can’t provide you with a single motion picture—not even a handful of films—that will change your life for the better. The reality is that every movie you ever watch will change your life, for better or worse. That’s why it’s extremely important to select the movies that you watch with care and discretion.

Watching a psycho-thriller might give you a glimpse into a disturbed mind. Maybe you need more understanding in that realm. Maybe it will haunt your dreams for the rest of your life.

A romantic film might trigger a memory of how things used to be with your dearest love. That alone might rekindle devotion, or it might start a fight.

A comedy is a great way to get that healthy laughter back into your routine. Just remember that what is funny to one isn’t always funny to others.

Watching an action flick might inspire your imagination. It might also give you unrealistic expectations about how the world turns.

Movies play a big role in my life. They shape how I listen to and interpret what others say. They remind me that I don’t always know the “sub-plots” that are going on in other people’s lives. They sometimes give me nightmares, though usually that’s where all of my valiant deeds occur. I’ve saved the lives of kidnapped children in my dreams. In real life—not so much.

Every movie I watch alters my thinking, even if only a tiny bit. They push minute course-corrections here and there. Even the ones that I hate—the ones that make me sick to my stomach or angry beyond words—give me something to think about. Why did that person get under my skin? Who would ever think of something as awful as that?

Do I have favorite movies? Of course I do. And yes, those are probably the ones that have changed my life the most. But for many of those films, the reason they impacted me with such force is because that’s what I needed to hear and see at just that moment in my life. As with all good stories, timing is everything.

If you need a movie that will change your life, I only have one recommendation. Choose what you feed yourself carefully, and be open to the messages you receive.

That’s a wrap for this Toast to Cinema. Thanks for reading.