Greatest Films (spades 2-10) 7th in an ongoing series

Spades represent a refinement of wit and skill. They derive from the tarot suit of swords and as a sword is a fine tool, films that are represented by spades are witty, skillfully constructed and able to cut to the bone.

2 of Spades, The Lavender Hill Mob, Charles Crichton (dir)
A skillful comedy, not as darkly humorous as The Ladykillers (don't even let a stray thought of this cross your mind), or as thoughtful as The Man in the White Suit, but of the Alec Guinness comedies from the 50s this is the best. Sir Alec has few equals when it comes to comic acting. The script is smart, the film breezy, and the caper enjoyable. That they are desecrating this film with a remake also just speaks to the corruption of current day Hollywood.

3 of Spades, The Big Clock, John Farrow (dir)
This is one of my favorite, man wrongfully accused, films. Elsa Lanchester has a small but excellent supporting role. Charles Laughton is always a fantastic heavy, and Ray Milland at the center of this holds everything together.

4 of Spades, The Lady Eve, Preston Sturges (dir)
I love me some Barbara Stanwyck. Henry Fonda holds up his end of the bargain, too, but this is her film. No other actress could be so formidable and so vulnerable simultaneously. The supporting cast is outstanding, it's a nearly perfect romantic comedy (shhhhh, don't tell any producers our else you'll be seeing a remake of this as the next Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie project)

5 of Spades, Vertigo, Alfred Hitchcock (dir)
I could have filled up most of this deck of cards with Hitchcock films. This one though resonates on so many levels and he pushes Jimmy Stewart so far outside of his usual comfort zone that this has to be the one that stands for all the rest.

6 of Spades, Lola Rennt, Tom Tykwer (dir)
Fractured, repetitive, yet mesmerizing. (The Simpson's version was pretty good too). It's a bit arty for art's sake but don't hold it against this well filmed, well realized film. (and Franka Potente holds the whole thing together, hard to imagine a better performance given this role)

7 of Spades, The Incredibles, Brad Bird (dir)
What the hell is that film doing here? Well Pixar films have been the most consistently good major studio films since their inception. Not a single stinker and many classics amongst them. This is the best though. From the throwback modern architecture to the playful manipulation of the conceits of the superhero genre this film fires on all cylinders. Plus the anti-PC, pro-Libertarian message (at least some have argued) doesn't hurt in my book.

8 of Spades, Duck Soup, Leo McCarey (dir)
Best Marx Brothers film? Probably, inspired madness regardless. A series of stagey set-pieces stitched together with a thin plot. But still freakin' awesome. 'Nuff said.

9 of Spades, Amores Perros, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (dir)
A confluence of coincidence, this one does it right. So much right with this film, can't think of anything wrong with it. Hard to put in words what's so right about it though, just see it already (unless you have a low tolerance for bloody violence).

10 of Spades, Ridicule, Patrice Leconte (dir)
Sweet Jesus this is a damn fine film. A film centering on the courtly arts of wit and ridicule wouldn't be anyone's conception of a thrilling, exciting film, yet that's what this is. The use of language in this film is stunning (and the English subtitles may be one of the best translation jobs ever in film as this is conveyed despite the difficulties of translating English from the original French). Fanny Ardant, and Jean Rochefort in major supporting roles doesn't hurt either.



UPDATE:

For ease of navigation, and just in case anyone comes to any of these individual posts randomly, I'm adding a link to each of the nine posts within each posts.

Summary
2-10 of Hearts
JQKA of Hearts
2-10 of Clubs
JQKA of Clubs
2-10 of Diamonds
JQKA of Diamonds
2-10 of Spades
JQKA of Spades
Jokers