Top 5 Sandra Bullock Movies

On March 7, 2010, Sandra Bullock was awarded the Oscar for Best Actress for her work in feel-good football film The Blind Side. As a double whammy, the talented Ms. Bullock also won Best Actress at that other awards show - The Golden Globes. She wasn't always lauded for her acting talent, however.

This year Sandra Bullock also won - or lost, depending on how you look at it - at the Razzie awards. This annual awards show is dedicated to the worst offerings in film. Her performance in poorly-received goofball comedy All About Steve won her the Worst Actress of the Year award over at the Razzies. As a testament to her good humor, Sandra Bullock showed up to accept the award with copies of All About Steve for the entire audience.

I've been a fan of Sandra's films for most of my life. Her breakout film, Speed, wasn't a favorite - but I'm not much of an action-movie girl. Here's a look at my five favorite films from this year's Oscar winner.

#5 Miss Congeniality

In this film, Sandra stars as an FBI agent sent undercover to participate in a beauty pageant. Her character, Gracie Hart, starts out poorly-groomed and rough around the edges, but is given a pageant makeover by fairy godfather Michael Caine. It's not Citizen Kane, but it is an easygoing comedy that I believe just about anyone could enjoy.

One of Sandra Bullock's trademarks is her clumsiness as a means of physical comedy, and that's given special attention here.

#4 Practical Magic

This movie stars Sandra and Nicole Kidman as sisters, in a New England family long-cursed when it comes to men. Following their parents' death, the sisters are raised by their aunts - beautifully played by Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest. The catch? They're witches. After growing apart, an unfortunate event draws the sisters back together as adults.

This has a strong message of sisterhood and family sticking together no matter what. Even more beautiful than the message is the imagery in the film. The small town the film is set in is absolutely picturesque, and to this day I'm jealous of the house used as the aunts'. Watch the movie and you'll see what I mean.

#3 Infamous

In this film, Sandra Bullock stars as novelist Harper Lee of To Kill A Mockingbird fame. This movie focuses on Truman Capote during the research and work on his final book, true crime thriller In Cold Blood. Until watching this movie, I hadn't known that Capote and Lee were childhood friends. Lee drops everything to travel to be with her friend in middle-of-nowhere Kansas, to help him uncover the story. Her role was definitely that of a supporting actress, but was memorable.

I felt this was a very different kind of role for Sandra Bullock. I'd seen her work in Crash which was deemed to be quite serious, but here it was almost like she was a different kind of actress entirely. I walked away very impressed by her performance, and the movie as a whole.

#2 While You Were Sleeping

This sweet romantic comedy stars Bullock as Lucy, a ticket seller for Chicago's elevated train. Each day she sees the same handsome, well-heeled man getting on the train and believes she falls in love with him. One day he's mugged and thrown onto the tracks, and Lucy manages to save his life. He winds up in a coma, but she goes to visit him in the hospital - and his family mistakenly believe she's his fiance. Things get even more complicated than that, but the story winds up with a happy ending.

This is pretty standard romantic comedy fare, but Bullock's portrayal of Lucy and the comatose man's crazy Callahan family make this worth watching whenever I happen to catch it on television.

#1 28 Days

A story of addiction and redemption. This film stars Sandra Bullock as Gwen - an alcoholic writer sentenced to rehab after a drunken car accident on the day of her sister's wedding. She doesn't believe she has a drinking problem, but commits to the rehabilitation program to avoid jail. She meets several diverse characters at rehab, including the ever-adorable Alan Tudyk and Viggo Mortensen as a baseball player with addiction issues. The other patients help her to see that she does have a serious problem, and teach her how to start making progress on her issues.

This film has serious subject matter, but it also holds several funny moments that keep from being called a tearjerker. One of the best films I've seen dealing with the hardships of conquering addiction.

What are your favorite Sandra Bullock movies? Do you think the Oscar win was deserved, or do you feel she's overrated? Feel free to leave comments below.