Plato’s Den
@platosden.bsky.social
A journal about moving images and the cultures that create them.
By Victor Clemente
By Victor Clemente
Pinned
StoryCurrents | Victor Clemente | Substack
Culture, faith, and the stories that run through them. Click to read StoryCurrents, by Victor Clemente, a Substack publication. Launched 2 days ago.
storycurrents.substack.com
For more content from Victor Clemente on culture, faith, and the stories that run through them, subscribe to StoryCurrents on Substack.
It’s Oscar time! And once again, Ryan Coogler lands a nominee spot with a genuinely original film, unlike anything that has come before. Sinners is an ambitious combination of elements you would not expect to work. But they do, resulting in a singular achievement in filmmaking. #Filmsky #sinners
January 24, 2026 at 5:23 AM
“The world needs a hermit in the woods as much as a preacher in the pulpit.” —Claire Thompson (Kerry Condon), Train Dreams (2025)
January 18, 2026 at 7:26 PM
“The world needs a hermit in the woods as much as a preacher in the pulpit.” —Claire Thompson (Kerry Condon), Train Dreams (2025)
Clint Bentley’s Train Dreams can confidently sit alongside other haunting films about our place in the universe. (Works by Robert Redford and Terrence Malick come to mind.) If you are not still thinking about it days after seeing it, you should check your pulse. #Filmsky
January 18, 2026 at 7:20 PM
Clint Bentley’s Train Dreams can confidently sit alongside other haunting films about our place in the universe. (Works by Robert Redford and Terrence Malick come to mind.) If you are not still thinking about it days after seeing it, you should check your pulse. #Filmsky
Caught Stealing is Darren Aronofsky’s After Hours—a lean, effective New York crime noir that nevertheless feels nostalgic for the halcyon days of pre-gentrification Lower East Side and the dreamers, schemers, and bleeders who lived there. #Filmsky #caughtstealing
January 6, 2026 at 6:35 AM
Caught Stealing is Darren Aronofsky’s After Hours—a lean, effective New York crime noir that nevertheless feels nostalgic for the halcyon days of pre-gentrification Lower East Side and the dreamers, schemers, and bleeders who lived there. #Filmsky #caughtstealing
“Venezuela, that was some mean bush.” —Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang) reminiscing about a past mission, Avatar, 2009 (!)
January 4, 2026 at 8:24 PM
“Venezuela, that was some mean bush.” —Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang) reminiscing about a past mission, Avatar, 2009 (!)
Marty Supreme is a showcase for Timothée Chalamet's phenomenal talents. Beyond that, your appreciation of Josh Safdie’s athlete saga will depend on your tolerance for the director’s hyperkinetic style and the trope of the driven genius who alienates everyone around them. #Filmsky #martysupreme
January 4, 2026 at 8:07 PM
Marty Supreme is a showcase for Timothée Chalamet's phenomenal talents. Beyond that, your appreciation of Josh Safdie’s athlete saga will depend on your tolerance for the director’s hyperkinetic style and the trope of the driven genius who alienates everyone around them. #Filmsky #martysupreme
For more content from Victor Clemente on culture, faith, and the stories that run through them, subscribe to StoryCurrents on Substack.
StoryCurrents | Victor Clemente | Substack
Culture, faith, and the stories that run through them. Click to read StoryCurrents, by Victor Clemente, a Substack publication. Launched 2 days ago.
storycurrents.substack.com
January 3, 2026 at 5:16 AM
For more content from Victor Clemente on culture, faith, and the stories that run through them, subscribe to StoryCurrents on Substack.
If there was any doubt, the satisfying series finale of Stranger Things made it clear that the show was never about fastidiously crafted lore but sharply drawn characters. Giving each member of its vast ensemble a satisfying emotional coda was the episode’s singular achievement. #strangerthings
January 3, 2026 at 4:54 AM
If there was any doubt, the satisfying series finale of Stranger Things made it clear that the show was never about fastidiously crafted lore but sharply drawn characters. Giving each member of its vast ensemble a satisfying emotional coda was the episode’s singular achievement. #strangerthings
Ari Aster’s #Eddington is THE horror film for our times. The man behind Hereditary and Midsommar trains his eye for the ominous on the long, hot summer of 2020 and effectively captures the moment American society cracked and something dark was summoned through the fissure. #FilmSky
January 2, 2026 at 6:53 AM
Ari Aster’s #Eddington is THE horror film for our times. The man behind Hereditary and Midsommar trains his eye for the ominous on the long, hot summer of 2020 and effectively captures the moment American society cracked and something dark was summoned through the fissure. #FilmSky
“Hey, Turner! How do you know they'll print it?” —CIA Deputy Director Higgins (Cliff Robertson) setting whistleblower Joe Turner (Robert Redford) straight as to who is in control, Three Days of the Condor (1975) #FilmSky
December 24, 2025 at 7:20 PM
“Hey, Turner! How do you know they'll print it?” —CIA Deputy Director Higgins (Cliff Robertson) setting whistleblower Joe Turner (Robert Redford) straight as to who is in control, Three Days of the Condor (1975) #FilmSky
Pluribus’ 1st season proved to be a wild, provocative ride of the highest caliber. Vince Gilligan does the impossible by making the shopworn alien-invasion-by-assimilation premise feel fresh. It's conformity vs. individuality, with an enticing argument made for the former. #TVsky #Pluribus
December 24, 2025 at 6:46 PM
In One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson delivers a thrilling chase film featuring standout performances. However, I found its oft-cited political relevance overrated, as the film does not so much engage with politics as merely use it as a backdrop for the action. #Filmsky
December 24, 2025 at 4:58 AM
In One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson delivers a thrilling chase film featuring standout performances. However, I found its oft-cited political relevance overrated, as the film does not so much engage with politics as merely use it as a backdrop for the action. #Filmsky
With Wake Up Dead Man, Rian Johnson takes his penchant for beautifully shot, exquisitely cast, zeitgeisty whodunits to church, and the results are divine. Come for the mystery, stay for the carefully observed character study of people wrestling with belief in ultimate things. #Filmsky
December 22, 2025 at 6:59 AM
With Wake Up Dead Man, Rian Johnson takes his penchant for beautifully shot, exquisitely cast, zeitgeisty whodunits to church, and the results are divine. Come for the mystery, stay for the carefully observed character study of people wrestling with belief in ultimate things. #Filmsky
I have not heard much chatter about The Long Walk, and that's a shame. Francis Lawrence’s adaptation of Stephen King’s novel about young men on a state-sponsored death march is surprisingly moving, even as it maintains the gritty tone the dystopian premise demands. #thelongwalk #filmsky
December 9, 2025 at 6:35 AM
I have not heard much chatter about The Long Walk, and that's a shame. Francis Lawrence’s adaptation of Stephen King’s novel about young men on a state-sponsored death march is surprisingly moving, even as it maintains the gritty tone the dystopian premise demands. #thelongwalk #filmsky
The cleverly designed mayhem in Edgar Wright’s The Running Man does justice to the 1987 action classic, even as the new film represents a darker take on the source material—particularly its depiction of a gleefully cruel USA where empathy is discouraged and propaganda rules. #Filmsky
November 15, 2025 at 5:11 AM
The cleverly designed mayhem in Edgar Wright’s The Running Man does justice to the 1987 action classic, even as the new film represents a darker take on the source material—particularly its depiction of a gleefully cruel USA where empathy is discouraged and propaganda rules. #Filmsky
Setting aside my mixed feelings about the unnecessary transformation of such an excellent antagonist as the #Predator into a hero, #Badlands is, on its own, a fantastic action picture whose loud, explosive sequences are, ironically, reminiscent of the 80s original in the best way. #Filmsky
November 13, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Guillermo del Toro’s lush adaptation of #Frankenstein brims with, well, life. From the vibrant primary color palette to the impassioned performances, strong emotions reign in this retelling of the classic tale as a story about the folly of trying to live through your children. #Filmsky
November 9, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Guillermo del Toro’s lush adaptation of #Frankenstein brims with, well, life. From the vibrant primary color palette to the impassioned performances, strong emotions reign in this retelling of the classic tale as a story about the folly of trying to live through your children. #Filmsky
In The Lowdown, Sterlin Harjo brings the winning hangout vibe of Reservation Dogs to a beautifully realized rambling murder mystery anchored by another fantastic performance from Ethan Hawke as Tulsa "truthstorian" Lee Raybon. #TVsky
November 7, 2025 at 3:50 AM
In The Lowdown, Sterlin Harjo brings the winning hangout vibe of Reservation Dogs to a beautifully realized rambling murder mystery anchored by another fantastic performance from Ethan Hawke as Tulsa "truthstorian" Lee Raybon. #TVsky
In Richard Linklater’s fascinating Blue Moon, Lorenz Hart, as portrayed by a never-better Ethan Hawke, is the picture of charming self-delusion in a film that finds the famed lyricist in a frantic battle against professional jealousy over one illuminating evening. #bluemoon #Filmsky
October 30, 2025 at 5:13 AM
"Fear will keep the local systems in line."
―Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing), Star Wars (1977)
―Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing), Star Wars (1977)
October 4, 2025 at 6:54 AM
"Fear will keep the local systems in line."
―Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing), Star Wars (1977)
―Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing), Star Wars (1977)
“O what a circus! O what a show / Argentina has gone to town / Over the death of an actress called Eva Perón / We've all gone crazy / Mourning all day and mourning all night / Falling over ourselves to get all of the misery right.” —Che (Antonio Banderas), Evita (1996)
September 23, 2025 at 10:50 PM
“O what a circus! O what a show / Argentina has gone to town / Over the death of an actress called Eva Perón / We've all gone crazy / Mourning all day and mourning all night / Falling over ourselves to get all of the misery right.” —Che (Antonio Banderas), Evita (1996)
“I have often thought that in the hereafter of our lives, when I owe no more to the future and can be just a man, that we may meet, and you will come to me and claim me as yours, and know that I am your husband. It is a dream I have” —King Arthur to Guinevere, Excalibur (1981)
September 5, 2025 at 9:48 PM
“I have often thought that in the hereafter of our lives, when I owe no more to the future and can be just a man, that we may meet, and you will come to me and claim me as yours, and know that I am your husband. It is a dream I have” —King Arthur to Guinevere, Excalibur (1981)
Noah Hawley’s pilot for Alien: Earth is one of the strongest I have seen in a long time. It quickly and effectively establishes its own compelling narrative while building on a solid IP foundation without succumbing to empty or mercenary fan service. #AlienEarth #TVsky
September 5, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Noah Hawley’s pilot for Alien: Earth is one of the strongest I have seen in a long time. It quickly and effectively establishes its own compelling narrative while building on a solid IP foundation without succumbing to empty or mercenary fan service. #AlienEarth #TVsky
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is an enjoyable introduction to Marvel’s First Family. And yet, despite the clever Mad Men-inspired production design and solid performances, the whole thing felt less like a movie event and more like an undercooked pilot for a Disney+ TV show. #fantastic4 #Filmsky
July 29, 2025 at 6:17 AM
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is an enjoyable introduction to Marvel’s First Family. And yet, despite the clever Mad Men-inspired production design and solid performances, the whole thing felt less like a movie event and more like an undercooked pilot for a Disney+ TV show. #fantastic4 #Filmsky