Bullock's tough charm pays off

The first time anyone paid much attention to Sandra Bullock she was close to being thrown under a bus in the 1994 action thriller "Speed." But then tough has always suited the actress. Even when the game was romantic comedy, which it often was, Bullock was more likely to tackle than kiss -- the undercover FBI klutz in "Miss Congeniality," the publishing shark in "The Proposal."

By Betsy Sharkey, Times film critic

March 8, 2010