A Word About Film Capsule

Welcome to FilmCapsule.com! Here you’ll find a collection of my writing on film, from short reviews to longer critical pieces, articles to interviews.

I started Film Capsule in October 2010 as a forum to catalog my film watching and share my thoughts of the movies I watch and on the art and technology of cinema in general. The idea was to create a spot where any film writing was fair game: old films and new, highbrow and low.

Through FilmCapsule.com, I’ve covered many festivals and special screening events, conducted interviews with filmmakers, and had my work published in Cineaste Magazine and The Christian Science Monitor. FilmCapsule is also part of Indiewire’s circle of film critics, CriticWire and is featured in their weekly critic survey.

In addition to my film reviews, please check out my longer essays, video criticism and podcasts as well.

Have an idea for a film review or feature article you’d like to read? I’d love to hear from you! Please e-mail me at filmcapsuleblog@gmail.com with any requests, suggestions or comments.

A Word About Me – John DeCarli

I hold a Master of Media Studies from The New School, where I focused on cinema and media theory and received the Distinguished Thesis Award for my project “The Evolution of Cinematic Time.” In addition to FilmCapsule.com, my work has been published in The Christian Science Monitor, Cineaste Magazine, NewEnglandFilm.com and The Film Panel Notetaker. If you’re interested in using my writing for your publication, please contact me at filmcapsuleblog@gmail.com.

Over the years, I’ve worked to discover, study and write about films and filmmakers of all eras, genres and countries. Among my all-time favorites are Vertigo, The Red Shoes, Amarcord, and Playtime, as well as the films of Apichatpong Weerasethakul, John Ford and Terrence Malick. My other academic interests are in primitive cinema, the philosophy of cinematic time and the Western genre.

A Word About Star Ratings

Assigning star ratings to films is an imperfect science. All reviews on Film Capsule are rated from 1 to 5 stars, no half stars. I’ve chosen this system primarily because of mubi.com (username: filmcapsule), but I think it’s a good one. 1 star films are duds, boring and insipid. 2 star films are primarily misfires, but have some redeeming qualities. 3 star films, the vast majority, are movies I like but with some reservations. 4 star movies are great, but 5 stars are reserved for only my favorites.