An action-packed slog

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

I watched this animated film when it came out and found it very funny. This is a domestic story, wife-husband relationship, only grunts and noises, no language spoken. It could be an episode of any couple's relationship, situations that I found real, but presented in a troglodyte past. This short film will especially connect with emotionally available and adult men, who will recognize some of their struggle with women reflected in the story. However, this film is enjoyable per se because it is embedded with an universal pattern of behavior that is mocked in the film.The animation is quite chunky and unrefined for modern standards regarding quality of the 3D image. However, it suits the troglodyte world it depicts.This is an unpretentious funny film, and very enjoyable.

"In the Rough" is an award-winning 5-minute short film written and directed by Paul Taylor back in 2004, briefly after writing the semi-known "Rockfish", another animated short film. For that one there, he was not the director though. Anyway, I see Taylor worked recently in the animation department of several fairly famous feature film such as "The Green Hornet" or "The Amazing Spider-Man", but judging from his effort in this short film here, I cannot see him in commanding positions anytime soon unless he really steps up his game. Then again, it's been a long time since he made this short film here and it's not all bad, but the story is so uninteresting from a dramatic as well as comedic perspective that I just cannot recommend it. The good thing for non-English speakers is that there is no dialogue in here, so you enjoy the film no matter where you're from. But why would you? It is really very forgettable. Not recommended.

Although not seen as one of "the big boys" like Pixar, Dreamworks or Fox, tiny little Blur Studios is making a big name for itself with some tremendous short films. Not only did they make the Academy Award nominated film GOPHER BROKE, but they made some films which I think are even better, such as A GENTLEMEN'S DUEL. IN THE ROUGH is one of their earlier works, though it is every bit as beautifully rendered as their other films--as pretty as anything by the big name studios. Unlike the competition, though, the films of Blur have all been shorts. Given the quality and fun I've seen in them, I really hope they one day try a full-length film or at least keep putting out more of these lovely shorts.IN THE ROUGH is about a caveman who is in the midst of an argument with his mate. Their language is gibberish to us, but it's pretty easy to guess what is occurring. After he leaves the cave, our hero comes upon a huge and nasty beast that tries to eat him--leading to a cute conclusion where he not only defeats the creature but wins back his lady's love.Excellent animation and fun--give this one a try.