Reel Women

The movie may be called 'Thor: The Dark World,' and fans are certainly buying tickets to see Thor and Loki get into some serious Asgardian action, but it's the women of the film who are really kicking ass. The clever Jane Foster, the warrior Sif, Thor's mom, and even comedic relief Darcy are dialed into the action much more this time around, giving them equal stature among their male counterparts

'You're Next,' which hits theaters today, is an inventive, fresh, clever and incredibly engaging new horror film from Simon Barrett and Adam Wingard. While it has so much going for it to make it one of the most original horror films in recent memory, there's one crucial element that sets it apart (and above) its horror forebears: the reinvention of the "final girl" trope. Goodbye, final

Sofia Coppola ('Marie Antoinette,' 'Lost in Translation') returns with a new movie about a real-life group of privileged LA teens who invaded the homes of celebrities to steal their clothing and jewelry. Unfortunately, 'The Bling Ring' is as vacant as the homes these kids pillage.

Directed by Noah Baumbach and co-written by and starring Greta Gerwig, 'Frances Ha' gives us a character study about a messy 27-year-old woman, meandering through life in New York and grappling with potentially losing her best friend to a boyfriend. Sound familiar? Thought so.

Richard Linklater brings his 'Before' trilogy to close this week with 'Before Midnight,' in which we pick up with Celine (Julie Delpy) and Jesse (Ethan Hawke) 10 years after the second film. 'Before Sunrise' found our characters making an unlikely, serendipitous connection; 'Before Sunset' examined how they evolved 10 years later, and whether that initial connection could stand the test of time; a

In Danny Boyle's 'Trance,' Rosario Dawson goes full-frontal much to the delight of many viewers, but the nudity is troublesome and lingers with you long after the film -- and not in a good way.

When are we to be held accountable for the way we react to what's on screen, and how much of our reaction is to be blamed on the director's failure to communicate clearly? For this we look to the new 'Evil Dead,' 'Tyler Perry's Temptation,' 'The Host' and 'Spring Breakers' -- four very different movies, but all with something in common.

Harmony Korine's 'Spring Breakers' is the outlaw fantasy of four college girls (or maybe just two of them) behaving very, very badly with guns and bikinis and one delightfully trashy white rapper. But the most crucial takeaway from the film isn't satire of primitive American debauchery -- instead it's how we want to perceive these women and why the agency they have over their lives and bodies feel

This week we take a look at some of the women in film and the way they're being utilized and presented at the 2013 SXSW Film Festival in movies like 'Evil Dead,' 'Spring Breakers,' and many more.

'Oz, The Great and Powerful' is in theaters this weekend, and while the film serves as an origin story for the Wizard of Oz, it's the women who are truly great and powerful.