Good Sandra Bullock Movies
Good Sandra Bullock movies are in high demand these days, especially due to the success of films like The Proposal and The Blind Side. It doesn’t hurt that she’s funny and pretty, with the type of beauty that actually makes normal guys think they might have a shot (yeah, right). The following list details ten good Sandra Bullock movies, with an emphasis on the overall production as opposed to her individual performance.
All of the films listed below can be obtained through Netflix, the world leader when it comes to renting movies online. With multiple pricing plans, pre-paid postage, and hundreds of thousands of titles to choose from, becoming a member should be one of the easier decisions you’ve ever made.
Before we examine the list of good Sandra Bullock movies, let’s look at a few interesting facts about the actress:
- Her father was an executive and voice coach, and her mother was a voice teacher and opera singer.
- Fluent in German, Bullock lived in Nuremberg, Germany until the age of 12.
- During her high school years, Bullock was a cheerleader and dated a football player. She attended the same high school as Warren Beatty and Shirley MacLaine.
- Her maternal grandfather from Germany was a rocket scientist.
- Despises musicals and has vowed to never star in one.
- Bullock is the only performer to win an Oscar and a Razzie in the same year.
- After winning a Worst Actress Razzie for All About Steve, Bullock showed up in person to accept her award.
- Films starring Bullock have earned over $3 billion at the box office.
- Served as an executive producer for The George Lopez Show.
- Bullock is allergic to horses.
Now that you know a little bit more about the multi-talented actress, let’s take a look at some good Sandra Bullock movies.
Speed (1994) – Bullock shot to stardom as Annie Porter, a passenger on a public bus who’s forced to take the wheel and make sure its speed doesn’t fall below 50 mph (which would trigger a bomb). Luckily, she’s had her driver’s license suspended, so she knows a thing or two about moving violations. Between navigating through traffic and cracking wise, Bullock gets ample opportunity to demonstrate her likable persona and chemistry with star Keanu Reeves. If you consider yourself a Sandra Bullock fan, this actioner from Jan de Bont is required viewing.
Infamous (2006) – The actress gives an understated performance as author Harper Lee, friend and companion to Truman Capote while he researched his novel In Cold Blood. While Toby Jones is magnificent as Capote, Bullock deserves equal credit as the grounded author of To Kill a Mockingbird. She especially stands out among the artistic elite during the scenes set in New York, a chain-smoking calm in the center of a rather flamboyant storm.
Hope Floats (1998) – Forest Whitaker helmed this Texas-based romance about Birdee Pruitt (Bullock), a mother and wife who learns of her husband’s infidelity during an appearance on a national television program. Humiliated by the experience, she takes her daughter and moves back to her hometown in Texas. There, she must reconnect with her parents (including Gena Rowlands), endure the snickers of former high school rivals, and support the young daughter who mistakenly blames Birdee for the collapse of her marriage. Fortunately, she gets some support in the form of Justin Matisse (Harry Connick, Jr.), a hunky local with a hankerin’ for love. One of the lesser-known Sandra Bullock movies, Hope Floats remains a delightful romance about making lemonade when life hands you lemons.
Murder by Numbers (2002) – One of the more complex roles of Bullock’s career, Det. Cassie Mayweather is a strong-willed and often unlikable cop on the trail of two wealthy teenage murderers (including Ryan Gosling). Not willing to concede defeat, Cassie alienates everyone around her while following up her own theories on the case. Bullock carries the film admirably and shows a side not often seen in her showbiz career.
A Time to Kill (1996) – After his 10-year-old daughter is raped and nearly killed, Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson) guns down the white men responsible. Now facing the death penalty, Carl Lee is represented by Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey), a laid back Mississippi lawyer. Bullock co-stars as Ellen Roark, a card-carrying member of the ACLU and Massachusetts law student who offers her assistance for free. Sparks nearly fly between Jake and Ellen, and Bullock once again demonstrates her ability to generate chemistry with her leading men. The movie itself is part courtroom drama and part Southern-fried thriller, but the strong casting more than makes up for frequent overdoses of sentimentality.
28 Days (2000) – Bullock shows off her dramatic side in this tale of a journalist with a drinking problem. Forced to enter rehab to avoid a jail sentence, she slowly begins to take stock of her life and work towards positive change. Steve Buscemi co-stars as a counselor, Dominic West is her unsupportive boyfriend, and the members of rehab include Viggo Mortensen, Diane Ladd, Alan Tudyk, and Mike O’Malley. Betty Thomas directs.
The Blind Side (2009) – Not only did this become the highest-grossing film to feature just a female lead above the credits, but Bullock also received the Academy Award for Best Actress. Playing real-life Southern spitfire Leigh Anne Tuohy, Bullock displays plenty of sass as the kind-hearted wife and mother who takes in a homeless teenager (Quinton Aaron) and watches him grow into an NFL player.
While You Were Sleeping (1995) – Lucy Moderatz (Bullock) is a lonely Chicago railroad clerk with a crush on frequent commuter Peter Callaghan (Peter Gallagher). When he’s pushed onto the tracks by a mugger, Lucy saves his life and accompanies him to the emergency room. There, a simple misunderstanding results in the embarrassed Lucy being introduced as the fiancée of the comatose Peter, something which she fails to clear up for his relatives. But as she’s warmly accepted into the Callaghan family, things get even more complicated when she begins to fall for Jack (Bill Pullman), Peter’s brother. Bullock once again portrayed a likable gal with a sense of humor, and this film continued to push her star higher into the heavens.
Crash (2004) – Winner of three Oscars, Crash features an ensemble cast and weaves together multiple narratives in The City of Angels. Bullock plays Jean Cabot, the wife of the city’s District Attorney (Brendan Fraser), a man not above using issues of race to advance his career. After being robbed, Jean must deal with her own preconceived notions about race in this thought-provoking film from director Paul Haggis. Co-starring Matt Dillon, Don Cheadle, Terrence Howard, Thandie Newton, and Ludacris.
Miss Congeniality (2000) – Sandra Bullock has starred in numerous comedies, but Miss Congeniality allows her to act goofier than all the other films put together. She stars as Gracie Hart, a tough FBI agent who must go undercover at a beauty pageant to catch a terrorist. But transforming from tomboy into her glamorous alias, Gracie Lou Freebush, won’t be easy. Luckily, she’ll get plenty of help from gay pageant expert Victor Melling (Michael Caine) and partner/potential love interest, Eric Matthews (Benjamin Bratt). Fans of the goofy side of Bullock will get a kick out of watching her snort while she laughs and demonstrate self-defense techniques for the talent portion of the pageant.
If you would like to rent these good Sandra Bullock movies instead of rent, be sure to become a member of Netflix. We do receive a commission if you follow our link and sign up, but I’ve been using their services without complaint since 2005. Besides, any money we make goes right back into the site.
Also recommended:
- List of Razzie Award Winners
- 100 Actors Who’ve Turned Down Big Movie Roles
- 25 Best Movies to Watch on Mother’s Day
This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 at 12:44 pm and is filed under Good Movies, Movie Babes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.