Premonitions

After the veritable box office frenzy of The 300 last week, this week looks a bit, well, spartan. The 300 took in $70 million last week, and this week's top contenders won't come anywhere close to that number. They're a sad lot - a new Sandra Bullock, a new Chris Rock and a horror flick about ventriloquist dummies. Don't get me wrong -those dummies are scary as hell. But wasn't this already an episode of Buffy?

Based on previews and reviews, Rock's latest - I Think I Love My Wife - looks likely to continue Rock's Pootie Tang, Head of State craptacular streak. Seems like Rock should stick to movies where he is either an animated character (Madagascar) or hanging out with Adam Sandler. Or better yet, find a way to bring his incendiary, hilarious stand-up persona to the screen.

Which leaves us with Sandy Bullock. Premonition looks bad. Bad, bad, bad. Poor Sandy. Oh Sandy, how we love you in romantic comedies and hate you in everything else. Let's skip this week's offering and take a look through Miss Bullock's back catalogue for the real gems:

The Best of Bullock

Miss Congeniality
The quintessential Sandy. Goofy, funny and a splash of sexy. Plus, it has one scene that sums up the Bullock appeal perfectly. Gracie walks out the airport hangar post-makeover to the guitar riffs of Mustang Sally. Perfect hair, tight dress, saucy attitude- the girl is smokin'. Until she promptly trips and falls flat on her face. A quick comedy recovery and she's captured the elusive beautiful goofball essence that was so popular in the 1950s but which lives on almost exclusively with our Sandy. With a brilliant supporting cast - Michael Caine, Candice Bergin and William Shatner (William Shatner!)- this one's a high point.

Speed
Knowing their previous and subsequent careers, who would have though Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves would makes such a compelling, convincing and downright sexy pair? In her most successful early film, Sandy drives her part beyond the pretty-girl-in-peril sterotype to someplace funnier, warmer and way more interesting. Plus, the bus has to go fast or it'll blow up. Cool. C'mon - admit you love it too. You know you do.

While You Were Sleeping
As gentle as Speed is adrenalin-charged, While You Were Sleeping gives us the befuddled everygirl Sandy, lonely and wounded but not so wounded that she can't find true love in the end after some cute and gently embarrassing adventures along the way. Think of a cute puppy with a sore paw. That's Sandy in this flick. Pair her with the undeniably puppyish Bull Pullman and this movie has the potential to be too sweet to bear. Yet, somehow they pull it off. I think it may help that we are all transfixed by Peter Gallagher's eyebrows.

Supporting Sandra

Crash
She's barely in it, but as a viperish political wife, Bullock shows a side we've rarely seen. And looks damn good doing it.

Only for Serious Sandy Fans

Forces of Nature
She's pretty good as the flighty party girl who nearly derails Ben Affleck's wedding. The movie's not so good though. And it has Ben Affleck

Two Weeks Notice
Hugh Grant plays yet another riff on his charming rake persona (the one that replaced his bumbling good guy persona after the whole Divine Brown incident). Sandy's flustered and neurotic and little Diane Keatonish (in both good and bad ways). The movie is intermittently diverting and there's a hint of some chemistry between Hugh and Sandy - which seems both bizarre and fitting if you think about it.

Hope Floats
The plot has some potential - dumped on TV for her trashy best friend, Birdie uproots her daughter and moves back home with mom in dusty smalltown Texas. But the plot meanders and drawls, like a lazy Texas afternoon. Harry Connick Jr.'s pretty good as the high school pal who never quite got over his crush on our heroine. And it's just way better that Speed 2, the movie she agreed to make to get the greenlight to make this one.

28 Days
Nope, not the one with the zombies. This dramedy has party-girl Sandy drying out in rehab. Too earnest by half, the film's not so great. But it's got Viggo Mortensen, Dominic West and Steve Buscemi. I'll watch almost anything with Steve Buscemi. Even Armageddon. And that has Affleck in it.