I have moved away from Vancouver to start a new chapter in my life. The decision came from deciding to remove myself from distraction and to refocus on my career and priorities. I will be in a 'Writer Exile', spending time in Edmonton, AB to regroup with my family and rediscover what being an Artist means to me.

Now that we have all that superfluous, introductory catch-up talk done with, let's get to the meet of bones of what we are really here for: The Top 13 of 2013

These are my TOP FILMS of 2013, they can be Oscar Nominees, tear-jerkers, hilarious comedies or infamous book adaptations - either way they made my top list and here's why.

13. Ender's Game 

Another sci-fi book adaptation that I thoroughly enjoyed. You don't expect much out of big budget Hollywood movies with movie stars like Harrison Ford. What I saw was a fun adventure film with a young cast that really holds their own. If you've read the book, you know it can be a much darker and grittier film. The adaptation does a good job of keeping that element while still making it a PG13 blockbuster. 

Kudos to the young Asa Butterfield for a great performance! 

12.  Oblivion 

11. The Great Gatsby 

10. 12 Years a Slave

A jaw dropping and heartbreaking true story about Solomon Northup, I've already written about how much I loved this film here. 

9. This Is the End 

This is just my existential rambling, so let's see why I loved the Star Trek sequel.
It was another surprise! Sequels are seriously upping their game. Into Darkness definitely brought a new level to visual storytelling; the sequence where Noel Clarke's character agrees to terrorism in exchange for a cure for his daughter, all done with no dialogue, really captured my attention.

6. Rush 

Happy New Year, and here's wishing everyone good movies, inspiration and great opportunities for 2014. 

Wow! I just saw Disney's latest, "Frozen", and am blown away. This is one of the best films I've seen this year and it's animated!

Starring two sisters, Anna (Kristen Bell) and Elsa (Idina Menzel), Princesses of Arendelle embark on an epic journey to discover themselves and each other. Elsa was born with powers of snow and ice, the sisters are loving and close with each other until an accident scares Elsa of her powers. She shuts Anna out and the years go by, the sisters becoming strangers to each other.

On the day of Elsa's coronation she and Anna fight, Elsa then loses control of her powers, throwing Arendelle into an eternal winter. She runs off and in an amazing song sequence (above) she isolates herself.  Anna pairs with Kristoff, his reindeer Sven and a magical snowman, Olaf. The three journey to the North Mountain to save Arendelle from the snow.

Anna and Elsa.

Sounds like a conventional fairy tale by Disney, doesn't it?  But wait - "Frozen" will surprise you with it's twists, turns and witty writing. The film is full of laughs and heartfelt moments.

Why am I praising this movie so much? I've never left a theatre feeling so uplifted! Frozen has it all, romance, tricks, laughs, tears, family and friendship...

Anna and Elsa are the greatest female protagonists to happen to the genre. I want my little sister to grow up looking up to these fearless females! Anna, an eternal optimist, is a full character who is quirky, brave and shows compassion for those around her. Elsa, is complicated and burdened with the guilt and responsibility of her power. She withdraws from everyone and is so scared of herself that she cuts off from human contact.

The rest of the cast are fantastic and hilarious. Olaf, the magical snowman, will make you laugh so hard it's unbelievable. Kristoff and Sven are a pair that really complete the cast. And I will say that the Prince, Hans, was well crafted.

The perfect cast!

"Frozen" is a story that really impressed me. These aren't your regular princesses who need to be saved by their prince or are waiting for a kiss; they are two sisters who discover what they're capable of and rediscover their family bond.

This is a triumph in film, not just with the visuals and writing but for women. Jennifer Lee wrote and directed, she is the first female director of an animated Disney film! The protagonists are a big step in showing multifaceted women who aren't sexualized or require men to save them.

THANK YOU Disney and Jennifer Lee for making such a beautiful film! I couldn't help but cry because this film truly touched me.

*I say this wins the Oscar for best animated feature, if it doesn't they will be ROBBED!

I was first introduced to "How I Live Now" when I worked at the library back in middle school. The YA novel by Meg Rosoff was a fresh new perspective on young love in a time when Twilight was booming.

The film, starring one of my favourite actresses, Saoirse Ronan, and directed Kevin Macdonald ("The Last King of Scotland") follows the same plot line.

In the not-so-distant future, Ronan plays Daisy, a complex American teenager. She is sent to the UK to stay with her cousins in the country side. Her cousin, Isaac (Tom Holland), a precocious fourteen year old picks her up at the airport and she is incredulous that he's driving her. Beneath this humour there is political tension, world powers are on the brink of war. Daisy arrives at the country house and is at first reluctant to enjoy the beauty and freedom that is available. Her aunt leaves the children as she must go to Geneva, they are then free to roam and enjoy the summer. Daisy quickly falls in love with the place... and her older cousin, Eddie (George MacKay).

Yes, I said cousin. Moving on.

They are quickly ripped apart when London experiences a nuclear attack. The UK is declared a military state and the girls are put into a foster home where they ration water tablets by night and work in farm labour camps by day.  The boys, sixteen and fourteen, are conscripted to fighting the unknown enemy. From here they promise to meet back at home, Daisy plans her escape, following dreams of Eddie and knowing she must return to meet him.

Watch out for this talented young cast!

Ignoring the incestuous undertones, the film really is beautiful. The young actors have so much depth and really do the story justice. Raw cinematography and strong performances move the film along. Saoirse Ronan is the perfect balance of annoying angsty-in-love teen caught in the middle of war with a cast of other talents. The writing could have been a bit better with dialogue or the use of voice overs but over all the film succeeds in telling a broken love story.

"How I Live Now" is a lesson in subtlety, Macdonald unfolds the story by what we don't see.

A masterful example of this is the scene where the nuclear bomb goes off, you don't see anything. You are just there enjoying a summer day with the children in the countryside when all of a sudden the dogs go off barking, a gust of wind comes from nowhere, the sound of something BIG goes off and then ash begins to fall.  The youngest cousin, Piper (Harley Bird), begins to dance - "It's snowing!"

How haunting and eerie.

7/10 Stars

Horror is a genre of film that can sell, it's the highest grossing genre worldwide and easy to make on a low budget. The thing with horror is that as bad as it can be people will still watch it because it's great entertainment and audiences enjoy being scared.

There is an art to making a good horror film though. It is easy to step over the line of gore or cheap thrills. I recently watched a horror film this weekend that inspired me to write this blog post.

Now, I cannot watch horror because I have a wild imagination and get scared out of my mind! I usually have to spoil the plot for myself then I can stand to watch it because I know what's coming. This film I let myself go on the ride and really enjoyed it, as scared as I was.

This blog post will study the film and be a plan for any aspiring horror writer, *warning spoilers*.

Key point of horror films/scripts: most scripts will have your ups and downs, triumphs and tragedies, the main thing in horror is that your script must always get worse for the characters.

"The Descent" (2005) is an older horror film by English Director/Writer Neil Marshall, and I think it is a fine specimen of horror that also breaks convention.

The first thing about this film is that it weaves a finer subplot into the relationships of the women that are being terrorized. We open with a close group of thrillseekers finishing a trip of white water rafting. Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) is our protagonist and we are shocked right away with a tragic freak accident where she loses her husband and young daughter.

One year later, she is reunited with her group of girlfriends, all strong women. Another bonus point for Marshall's script is that he went with an all female cast. This creates an interesting dynamic and a fresh perspective for horror films.

Sarah's best friend is Juno, played by Natalie Mendoza. Another bonus for Marshall is casting a woman of colour in one of the lead roles.

These women aren't your archetypes that you find in horror films, they are strong, smart and gutsy. Their reunion is an attempt to reconcile their friendship after the accident.

Lesson One: Strong, interesting characters with relationships - open the film with something shocking.


Cue the part where a group of friends drive out to a remote location to indulge in an adrenaline filled adventure, gone wrong. This is the plot for most horror films and as a writer or director it is up to you to twist the tale as much as you can.

In "The Descent" the women enter an unexplored cave system, their only entrance falls in on them. The film is scary already without any fantastic plots as the claustrophobia, darkness and hopelessness of being trapped in a cave system is so real it's frightening.

All female cast

Lesson Two: Your audience can be scared simply by grounding the film in reality and using basic human fears - darkness, closed spaces, no chance of rescue

The women band together to get out of the cave system. My favourite part of Marshall's script is when the characters are all panicking about being stuck and Juno speaks up - "If we stay here we die." I loved that line as it just showed truth, there's no point in dallying around and freaking out. She is a smart character with strong will.

Now, they begin to explore the cave and come across a chasm. This is a great scene that audiences cannot take their eyes off of. We watch as the women light a flare and see the width they have to pass, we tense up as they drop a rock and await the sound of rock hitting bottom - and it's a long way down.

Lesson Three: Create suspense by putting your characters into a situation that they have to solve, make the audience watch on the edge of their seats and unravel the story through this scene.

One of the women starts to climb across the cavern, inserting anchor plates into the cavern and roping across so that everyone can get through. This is a masterful scene in teaching us suspense, each anchor plate inserted tenses us up - we know something has to go wrong, what Marshall does is makes us wait and wait for it. He also reveals plot when she finds an old anchor plate in the cavern ceiling and uses it - someone's been here before.

I would say we are a third way through act two and this is where it gets good. Marshall builds tension by creating realistic circumstances - the women start to panic, one runs off and breaks her leg! The situation has just gotten worse, now what do they do?

Along with this obstacle, Sarah has seen something. The audience is with her when she shines her flashlight in the cavern, a single light searching for the source of sound... where is it? She shines her light, we watch in anticipation - and then, it's revealed! A creepy humanoid figure (humorously reminiscent of Gollum in LOTR). Then it's gone.

Lesson Four: Use darkness to your advantage, use the audience's imagination to play.

The women are now faced with a mysterious clan of cannibalistic humanoids (known as Crawlers). They are attacked in the dark, throats ripped out. It is a bloodbath, everyone runs off, scattered.

My favourite scene in this movie is when the Crawlers attack the women: one of them is down on the ground about to be devoured and Juno steps in, they fight over her friend, a bloody tug-of-war. She takes out her pickaxe and kicks it's ass, stabbing it - and then more crawlers come.

Natalie Mendoza as Juno.

This scene is amazing simply because the actress is faced with such an incredible circumstance and she does not give in. Her animal instinct comes out and she fights for her life.

Lesson Five: Give your audience a character to root for,  a champion that the audience can't help but admire in the situation - but give them flaws.

From here the film gets incredibly bloody and intense. A fight scene using a night-vision camera is admirable.

I don't want to spoil the rest of the film because it is an excellent study in horror, so I will leave the post at Five Lessons plus the Golden Lesson:

GOLDEN LESSON: This film really sticks out because of the emotional depth the characters are given: a love affair, betrayal, loyalty, friendship. All things that every film should have, regardless of genre!

The Descent is available on Netflix Canada.