These topless women are FEMEN, an activist group that uses “sextremism” tactics to shed light on injustices. Founded in 2008 by Anna Hutsol, FEMEN originally started in Kiev before branching out to France for both expansion reasons and political asylum for its members. As of today, there are FEMEN branches in Germany, Canada, Turkey and Israel. The documentary follows the activist group from December 2011 to August 2012, as they plan and stage protests in Kiev, Zurich, Belarus, Paris and Moscow. 

With ardent subtlety of shifting tones, a number of seemingly unconnected subplots, and breathtaking imagery, director Abderrahmane Sissako’s Timbuktu is challenging and oftentimes unbearably honest, which is precisely what makes this film a beautiful and sensational piece of political art, never at the expense of every accolade it boasts and justly deserves. 

A recent study from the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism of the University of Southern California gives cause for more than just pause. One of the findings in a study on race and ethnicity in 600 popular films conducted by Stacey Smith, Katherine Pieper and Mark Choueiti is that while Latinas were more likely to be featured in popular films than any other race or ethnicity, no other race/ethnicity is more sexualized.

Movie lovers can count on writer-director Spike Jonze to tackle fascinating projects that live outside the mainstream, but his films often meander. These competing tendencies make him one of the most exciting – and frustrating – filmmakers working today, and he displays both his gifts and limitations in “Her.” The movie is, in many ways, a work of creative genius, delivering insights on topics ranging from romantic relationships to the failures of modern technology. 

Written, directed by and starring John Turturro, Fading Gigolo is a subtle, charming comedy making an observation about the entanglements of sex and love. It could be due to the age of the cast in the film, but there is a tender treatment of the relationships portrayed, bringing out raw honesty. The premise is rather simple:  Murray (Woody Allen), a rare bookseller, literally “pimps out” his close friend Fioravante ( Turturro), a florist, for a threesome since his business is going under. After a successful venture, the two friends partner up.

Jan Svankmajer’s Alice, the esteemed Czech animator’s feature-film debut from 1988, is far more than just a strange, wonderful, and surreal trip set within the charming ambience of an Eastern bloc TV fairytale. It is a strikingly original attempt to wound the skin of the story and to reveal its body by almost entirely stripping it of Carroll’s language and converting it into a an eerie and unsettling dreamscape. 

With so many critically acclaimed films out this winter—and a stacked awards season—it’s easy to make the argument for a new Golden Age of cinema: this season, American Hustle, Wolf of Wall Street, Twelve Years a Slave and more films were garnering buzz for their nominations and reviews. Is this the sign of a new boom for cinema? Or does saying the art of film is back a self-fulfilling prophecy? American Hustle was a front-runner this award season and was initially met with fairly consistent acclaim, but with its 10 Oscar nominations, American Hustle left viewers empty-handed. 

Stories We Tell, a new documentary by filmmaker Sarah Atwood, opens with this quote offered by her father, Michael, whose writings serve as the film’s narration. What follows is a methodical investigation into the life of one woman, her mother, from the perspectives of an entire family. Through their observations and experiences, we are presented with a fractured image of a dynamic personality, loved by all but known by few: Diane.

Imagine a future where the dollar has lost its value. A future where the government has taken over housing and Americans riot in the streets over exorbitant gas prices. Considering the events of the past five years, this isn’t such a hard thing to conjure in the mind. Highbrow Magazine recently had the opportunity to review the new animated thriller, Silver Circle, by director Pasha Roberts. It’s a project that explores these economic pitfalls and how those of a certain controversial mindset might seek a resolution for those issues. 

O, gods of the box-office, why have you forsaken the female superhero lead? Superman, Batman, the Incredible Hulk and now Spiderman have been imagined and re-imagined.  This summer, second-tier comic book characters, Captain America, Thor and the Green Lantern, got their own movie with male leads. Yet, Wonder Woman and Batgirl are at home drinking tea with cotton balls between their toes watching Nights in Rodanthe for the 12^th time.