Rory Doherty looks at three films set before, during and after apocalypses, and uncovers how they reveal the strain global catastrophes can have on human life.
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Sketch & Study: Under the Skin
Jonathan Glazer taps into the poetic potential of cinema, bringing an original and alternative cinematic vision to life.
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Real, From the Heart
Reflections on the enduring power of one scene from John Cassavetes’ ‘Husbands’.
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Sketch & Study: Uncut Gems
The last thing you should try to do when watching the Sadfies’ latest film is surface for air.
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Corona Kino: How 12 Directors are Probably Going to Respond to COVID-19
Please enjoy our very 2020 David Cronenberg fanfiction xo
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Cinemascopes: Pisces
A time of heightened sensitivity, mystical intuition, and death.
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You Tried: Joaquin Phoenix in ‘Joker’
Is it just me, or are things getting crazier out there this awards season?
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The Cyber-Chaos of ‘0s & 1s’
Eugene Kotlyarenko’s proto-desktop film details life on the precipice of total internet poisoning.
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Stuck Between Presence & Absence: ‘Demonlover’ and ‘Mating’
Two films from Static Vision’s Hyperlinks Film Festival explore the type of connections that flow from relational forcefields both online and IRL.
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Cinemascopes: Aquarius
Trip out, detach (with intention), and change the world.
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Those Grey Men in ‘Leave the Bus Through the Broken Window’
A winding trip through Hong Kong’s art world digs at the cryptic muddle of art.
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‘The Lighthouse’ in Three Parts
Isolation, repression, two bodies, and a lingering stench.
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The Unexceptional Hero in ‘A Hidden Life’
Terrence Malick’s latest opus brings to the fore the unconventional heroism of ordinary people.
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Tactile Affects in ‘J’ai Perdu Mon Corps’ (‘I Lost My Body’)
After watching Jeremy Clapin’s new film in a Parisian theatre, Lauren Ironmonger reflects on the incorporeal power of touch.
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‘Little Women’, ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’, and the Significance of Materiality
Indigo Bailey admires Céline Sciamma and Greta Gerwig’s visions of female artistry – of something tangible, intimate, and real.
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What Scorsese’s ‘The Irishman’ Tells Us About Film In 2019
Elroy Rosenberg spotlights Scorsese’s creative ambition in the midst of 2019’s slick, focus-group filmmaking.
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You Tried: Richard E. Grant in ‘Spice World’
Grant’s highly-strung manager nearly turns a 90s cinematic wannabe into girl group gold.
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Cinemascopes: Capricorn
These glamorous GOATs are already married – to their work.
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Star Wars Should’ve Let the Past Die
Madeleine McRae interrogates blockbuster filmmaking through the legacy of Star Wars and reckons with its Disneyfied future.
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Let’s Fix ‘Cats’!
Eliza Janssen knows how to make 2019’s biggest critical failure less of a cat-astrophe.
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Rough Cut’s Best of the Decade (2010-2019)
To mark the end of the decade, the Rough Cut crew reveal their favourite films of the 2010s.
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Pedro Almodóvar and Quentin Tarantino: A Tale of Two Directors
Bina Bhattacharya reflects on two of her favourite directors’ latest films, and finds unlikely parallels between their filmmaking styles.
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Yesterday Is Gone: Sondheim in ‘Marriage Story’ and ‘Lady Bird’
The music and lyrics of Stephen Sondheim mean something to both Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig – Claire White figures it out.
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Cinemascopes: Sagittarius
They’re breathtaking, they’re elegant, and they’re everywhere.
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Disney Princesses and the Women Who Made Them
Tansy Gardam searches for a fairytale ending in Disney’s first century of female animators and characters.
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A Reflection on Pain and Glory
Sophie Gibson ponders Pedro Almodóvar’s latest in a series of gentle and personal reflections.
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Cinemascopes: Scorpio
It’s the spookiest, sexiest, silliest time of the year.
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Why The Boss Still Works
In the past year, Bruce Springsteen’s music has been the subject of four films ― what is it about The Boss that still resonates with audiences today?
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Guide to The Great Astor Spooktacular of 2019
From psychosexual body-horror filth to satanic panic frights, Jamie Tram steps through the line-up of Melbourne’s most anticipated Halloween filmgoing event.
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Video Essay: Big Duck Richie
A celebration of those times when a guy just comes into your workplace and dances.
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Ride Like a Girl is an Affront to Feminism
Rachel Griffiths’ Melbourne Cup biopic ignores the cruelty through which its female protagonist achieves her so-called ‘success’.
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Pubic Hair and Other Lies: The Farewell
Amidst the noise of diversity and representation discourse, filmmaker Hyun Lee reflects on why she loved The Farewell.
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Cinemascopes: Libra
Keep your ego in check, and stand up for your beliefs (if you can decide on them).
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Cinemascopes: Virgo
Get organised, team up, and listen to your instincts this season.
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Video Essay: Hae-Mi Monroe
Ivana Brehas presents a side-by-side comparison of two pivotal dance scenes from Burning (2018) and The Misfits (1961), finding parallels between characters decades and continents apart.
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And Then We Danced: A Facebook Chat
Claire White and George Kapaklis reflect on the highlights of a tender, queer love story set in Georgia.
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Baby, or The Politics of Performance and Pain
Kai Perrignon challenges the state of political art in the age of cancel culture.
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Cinemascopes: Leo
The sun is in Leo, so get glowing and dress the part.
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Huge Ackman: The Curious Case of Hugh Jackman’s Career
Sam Twyford-Moore delves beneath the shiny surface of one of Australia’s most beloved yet ‘bifurcated’ entertainers.
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Melbourne International Film Festival 2019: Top Picks
The Rough Cut team pick out the weird, the compelling, and the essential out of this year’s 375-strong MIFF catalogue.
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Scarlett Johansson: A Tree is Born
André and Jack unpack ScarJo’s tree-related acting catalogue, past, present, and future.
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Parasite: A Group Chat
Rough Cut contributors, Zach, Michael, and Claire discuss this year’s witty, biting, and wildly unpredictable Palme d’Or winner.
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Populism Projected in The Brink and Reason
Faraaz Rahman examines truth and accountability in two documentaries charting the rise of populism.
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Mother Knows Best: I Am Mother, and Searching For Non-Sexualised AI
The AI at the heart of Netflix’s latest sci-fi plunge opens up provoking questions of femininity and motherhood.
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Cinemascopes: Cancer
Be the Mom and embrace your sensitivity this season.
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Merchant of Melodrama: Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Traumatised Characters
Zach Karpinellison examines the timeless brutality of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s cinema.
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Cinemascopes: Gemini
Get weird, embrace your duality, and lighten up this season.
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Sydney Film Festival 2019: Top Picks
The Rough Cut team are here to help you compile the must-sees of the Sydney Film Festival, which have unveiled their biggest program yet.
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The LEGO Movie 2 Wants You To Break The Cycle
Samuel Harris tracks back to his own childhood LEGO obsession to untangle the clever commentary that lies beneath the innocuous optimism of The LEGO Movie’s sequel.
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This Is It, We’re Finally Leaving Neverland
Matilda Dorman reflects upon the revived abuse allegations against Michael Jackson in 2019’s two-parter documentary, Leaving Neverland — through a personal comparison to the 2009 concert film This Is It.
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