Cannes has its share of sex and violence in 2013

Sex and violence have been popular themes at the Cannes Film Festival this year. No, we’re not talking about the rampant prostitution and the gunshots fired during a live TV show: we’re talking about movies featuring sex and violence that are making a lot of waves, both good and bad.

Cannes has a long history of pushing the limits with sex and violence: think "Pulp Fiction," "Sex Lies," "Videotape," and "Antichrist." So which films are pushing moviegoers’ buttons this year?

1. Sex: "Grand Central"

Hot co-workers at a nuclear power plant fall in lust and make whoopee on their off-hours, when they’re not being decontaminated. Oh, and she’s engaged to someone else.

2. Violence: "Heli"

Two scenes in this film have commanded the most attention. In this story about the Mexican drug trade, a man is tortured and killed in a most unpleasant way, starting with his privates being doused with gasoline and set ablaze. In the second, a puppy, whose name is Cookie, has neck its cracked in two.

3. Sex: "Young and Beautiful"

This French film stars out with its pretty 16-year-old protagonist Isabelle topless on a beach, and then spins into a strange story of this rich girl deciding, for no apparent reason, to become a prostitute right after she loses her virginity. It has received mixed reviews.

4. Violence: "Only God Forgives"

Julian (Ryan Gosling) runs a boxing company in Thailand that’s really a front for his family’s drug ring. If that weren’t enough, when his brother gets killed, his mom makes him find the killer. Sounds – and looks -- painful.

5. Sex and Violence: "A Touch of Sin"

This is a Chinese film, one of the first to deal with real-life problems in China that actually received money from the government for its production. The sex is mainly absurdist, with Chinese sex workers on one scene proclaiming to their guests : “Welcome to the Golden Age.” The violence is more real, with fist fights, murders, and a woman fighting off a rape with bloody results.