Sandra Bullock’s Super Seven : Classics to Contemporary

There are a very few people in my life that I look upto or who I could call my idols. Actually ‘idols’ is a strong word, but there are a few who I would count as my inspiration as I admire and appreciate them for who they are and their importance in my life is significant. And that list always includes people I know personally. Never does it involve celebrities. But there is always an exception to the rule and though this is no rule, it does have an exception. And her name is Sandra Bullock. Strong, powerful, successful and driven and who I believe is extremely kind and unabashedly herself thus, as per me, is the complete package.

As this stunning woman of substance turned 54 yesterday, I managed to do the impossible (for me) and chose seven of her best works that could be a part of your weekend watch list. So here we go.

Two Weeks Notice (Netflix)

Starring Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant two weeks notice is the quintessential ‘opposites attract’ romcom. Hired by George Wayde, this Harvard law graduate is the best attorney he has ever had. But slowly he realizes he is unable to do anything without first knowing what she thinks. So after a year of starting out from doing all his legal work she decides to quit after she realizes she cannot pick out another suit selection for his high profile outings. A movie that again sets a very real law in place that two people who spend most of their time together in spite of being poles apart are bound to fall in love. This was one of my first films I watched of hers and yes, it was love and appreciation at first sight that only grew over the years.

Miss Congeniality and Miss Congeniality 2 : Armed and Fabulous

Sandra Bullock. Check. Plays an FBI agent. Check. Has a loaded gun on her at all times. Double Check. Now why wouldn’t you love that deadly combination? Playing Officer Gracie Hart, Sandra Bullock in this feature film plays an FBI officer that is planted in the Miss America Pageant as a contestant as the agency has reason to believe a terror activity could have its next target there. Now, if you thought preparing to be a beauty queen was easy and frivolous then trust me, this one will change your perception. One of the best comedies without the romance factor, this one is a movie that has both, beauty and brains.

Also very rarely do the second franchise films turn out as good as the first. This one is that rare masterpiece that is followed by a second that is equally entertaining. What I love is how the FBI agent now, becomes the beauty queen mascot and Bullock is plain and simple armed and fabulous. My two favorite things.

The Proposal (Netflix)

This beauty is a 2009 Romcom that I watched thrice, in the movie theatre and even today seems as fresh as a daisy. Starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, The proposal is the story of a highly acclaimed publishing house’s very successful editor who is being deported back to Canada and the only way to avoid this is to marry her American assistant Andrew, who like most of the employees of the world, dreams of his Boss dying. Circumstances put them on a plane together that is flying to Andrew’s hometown and things will never be the same again for the two of them. Electrifying chemistry, two very accomplished actors, dialogues that will make you smile from the start to finish and a photo finish setting in the Alaskan mountains, this one has it all.

All About Steve (Hotstar Premium)

What do you do when you fall in love with a guy on the first date and he does not? Well, apparently you persuade him that he does too. This movie is one of those odd balls that has so much subtext beneath the apparent storyline and if you have Bullock to play the role of an intelligent stalker who creates crosswords for a living, you definitely have a winner. This film was not appreciated by majority of its audience but it’s a different story, where the girl is totally bonkers for the guy in yes, a creepy way and will do anything to get to him. Not your typical romantic comedies, but so much more which is why it finds a place in this list.

Gravity (Netflix/ Amazon Prime)

I somehow missed this one when it came out and watched it only recently. And yes, it did change my perception about how something that I absolutely love to spend my nights watching (the night sky) can be such a dangerous place for us. George Cloony pairs up with Sandra bullock and it is one of the most gripping Science fictions films I have seen. When hit by sudden space debris an engineer on her first mission along with an astronaut on his last expedition are left literally hanging on to each other by a belt in space, after losing all contact with earth, are now subjected to Murphy ’s Law, in outer space. This one gives you the chills and if you watch it with your earphones on, wrapped in your blanket with the air conditioner blasting away, I believe you’ll come pretty close to the Imax experience that I missed.

Our Brand is Crises (Netflix)

This was an accidental discovery and I absolutely love such accidents. The name just made me think for a whole minute and I was completely blown away with the first 10 minutes of the film and the fact that ‘crises’ is actually a brand that is sold and bought all over the world. In this political drama, Sandra Bullock plays the role of a modern king maker, who is brought back from obscurity to win a presidential election in Bolivia. Her task is not the win, but simply to hold her ground against the opposition’s consultant Pat candy played by the talented Billy Bob Thornton, who was the reason for her leaving this game years ago. A power packed drama that showcases how elections are won in other parts of the world but the politics that fuel it are identical across the globe.

The Blind Side (Amazon Prime)

Playing mom to an adopted African- American homeless teenager while stirring him away from his own surroundings so as to give him a real chance at making his own life at the same time making him feel like that you are for real, his family is a task that can only be achieved by the brave and portrayed on screen with absolute honesty and vigor by Bullock. The story based on a true experience as written by Michael Lewis about the Tuohy’s and Michael Oher is heartwarming and gut wrenching all at once. The blind side is Bullock’s most fierce performance ever and is the one that rounds up this must watch list.