28 Days / The Net / Forces Of Nature (Sandra Bullock Box Set) (DVD)

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28 DAYS-

This time around Sandra Bullock stars as Gwen, a women who's the life of every party, that is if she only had a life of her own without being drunk and on drugs.
After totally wrecking her sisters wedding day with her thoughtless antics, not to mention actually being involved in a car crash while trying to mend some of the damage she has already done to her sisters wedding, she is charged with being ...
...think the Net was good, 28 Days had to be my favourite as it was fantastic, and Forces Of Nature was watch-able but indifferent to it.
It's certainly a good purchase, with some very gifted actors in each movie. And for all you people that like Sandra Bullock, and don't already have these movies, it's a must.

I think Sandra Bullock apart from being completely stunning, is an amazingly talented actress, who can play so many different ... more

When I saw this product advertised on Ciao I nearly fell off my bloody chair, I had to be the first to write about it.
So I hope your in a patient mood as I try and let you know as much as I can on all THREE movies.

Ok so lets begin with the first movie in this box set

THE NET -

Sandra Bullock stars as Angela Bennett, who is a computer wiz who's only recreation other than her links with a modem is her mother.
She has had a cyber relationship with someone called Dale she has never met apart from her net-meetings on the computer and the odd phone call now and then. He has sent her a program with a glitch on it for her to de-bug. However the night he left to meet up with her he was killed in a plane crash.
Angela de-bugs the program and finds top secret information, that could cause a lot of trouble if word got out. However she was just about to take her first vacation in years but unfortunately for her, someone really does not want this to leak out, and will stop at nothing to turn her life upside down and kill her. Her identity is stolen, she has been given a police record for crimes she did not commit, deeply involved in computer espionage, her bank accounts have been tampered with, and soon finds herself on the run with no one she can really trust. She takes on a new identity as Ruth Marx, as she struggles to find out who is doing this to her and why.

Other cast include- Jeremy Northam, Dennis Miller, Diane Baker, Wendy Gazelle, Ken Howard, Dale McKinnon.

Directed By: Irwin Winkler

My Views on this movie -

The Net is a very good movie, but I think it will only appeal to the computer literate audience or that of other Sandra Bullock fans.
It is certainly a movie with a lot of suspense with a thrill a minute storyline.
I found it had a few similarities to the movie Pelican Brief starring Julia Roberts, so I think if you enjoyed that movie, you would like this one. I really liked the way they all underestimated Sandra Bullock as the computer nerd who pulled all the stops to get her own identity back and clear her name.
Some parts of the movie are a little far fetched, but then again a lot of movies are like that if they want to give us an explosive storyline.
Also I think the movie carries a very clear and direct warning, that you may have heard instances of the same thing on the news, and that is that you never really know who you are getting involved with when it comes to cyber relationships on the internet, no matter how much you really think you do.

Overall I would say this movie is more than just watch able, with some very good drama and action making it a very enjoyable movie.

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OK, the SECOND movie in this box set

28 DAYS-

This time around Sandra Bullock stars as Gwen, a women who's the life of every party, that is if she only had a life of her own without being drunk and on drugs.
After totally wrecking her sisters wedding day with her thoughtless antics, not to mention actually being involved in a car crash while trying to mend some of the damage she has already done to her sisters wedding, she is charged with being drunk and reckless driving. She has a choice of either going to prison or attending re-hab. The easy option she thinks and goes for is the re-hab.
She is extremely resistant to any help from the doctors or the treatment she is meant to follow. Her Sister has more or less given up on her, and nobody but her ridiculously, party hard, dumb witted boyfriend has much time for her.
She hits rock bottom, and realises her life is worth nothing to her or anybody else for that matter. After getting to know the patients, Gwen starts to take the treatment more seriously realising she wants to turn her life around, and maybe to win some respect back from her sister, who deep down she really loves. Her recovery is not easy, but she is determined to try her best, and discover some sort of redemption for herself.

other cast include- Viggo Mortenson, Dominic West, Elizabeth Perkins, Azura Skye, Steve Busemi, Mike O' Malley

Directed By: Betty Thomas

My views on this movie -

I think this is easily one of Sandra Bullocks best, along with a really good cast.
I have a recovering alcoholic in my family, and I really related to this movie. It had a lot of comedy, drama and some very emotional parts in the movie. Sandra played a blinding role as Gwen, I really felt sorry for her (and no, not just because I fancy the pants of her), but I was hoping all the way through she would redeem herself.
Again, similar to other movies, 'When A Man Loves A Women' springs to mind, but in my view, this movie was far better.
Elizabeth Perkins role as Gwen's sister was very good, and I liked how they portrayed her as a snobby sister who could not care about her sisters troubles which were meaningless to her, but then discovers her love for her again when Gwen decides to revamp her life. There is a lovely scene When Sandra Bullock and Elizabeth Perkins are sitting on a bench near the re-hab centre trying to re-kindle their relationship, it's a real tear jerker.

All the characters were down to earth, making them very believable, and enjoyable to watch. The movie itself takes the effect of alcoholism and drugs very seriously rather than exploiting it or poking fun at the matter.

Overall, I would say that this was a fantastic movie, and if you have never seen it, you really are missing out. Great storyline with some superb acting.

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And Finally the THIRD movie.

FORCES OF NATURE -

This movie tells us of a man (Ben Affleck) who is soon getting married who meets a crazy but exciting stranger (Sandra Bullock) when the plane they are both taking encounters some trouble while taking off.
Ben Holmes (Ben Affleck), is trying to get back in time for his own wedding, but the plane is grounded, forcing him to make alternative arrangements to get him back in time. Also Sarah Lewis (Sandra Bullock) has a very important date with her child. With both of them urgently trying to get back in time for there own agendas they get a rental car together. However a bizarre set of circumstances again force them into each others company, and sparks of true romance could really begin to take effect. Ben is fighting against his true feelings that him and this beautiful stranger that has entered his life might actually be made for each other, and needs to decide between his imminent marriage or Sarah. Either way, his heart is giving him all sorts of signs, while the outcome is sure to break another's heart.
Who will he choose?

Other Cast Include- Maura Tierny, Steve Zahn, Blythe Danner, Ronny Cox, Michael Fairmen, Richard Schiff, Janet Carroll

My views on this movie -

This movie has a lot of laughs, and an outcome you may not actually be able to predict.
However, it's not one I would scream about. Sandra plays a character outside of her best, and as for Ben Affleck's character, he bored the life out of me. There was a scene where he was asked to strip in front of a gay audience to get some money for there trip which was quite funny, but could of been so much better.
I was a little disappointed with this one to be honest, but I can't slag it down to much because it did have some really good instances in it that was well worth viewing.
If I was trying to sell this movie to you, I would describe it as an acquired taste, maybe for some, but definitely not for others. However its not an overall bad addition to the box set.

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OVERALL OPINION ON THE BOX SET ITSELF-

I think the box set would contain at least one story that everyone would enjoy. I think the Net was good, 28 Days had to be my favourite as it was fantastic, and Forces Of Nature was watch-able but indifferent to it.
It's certainly a good purchase, with some very gifted actors in each movie. And for all you people that like Sandra Bullock, and don't already have these movies, it's a must.

I think Sandra Bullock apart from being completely stunning, is an amazingly talented actress, who can play so many different roles. Her latest film 'Crash' just shows how many different types of characters she can play, considering going to that, from the likes of her portrayal as Gracie Hart in Miss Congeniality 1 & 2.
I have liked her ever since I saw her in the films Demolition Man and Speed. And her movies just keep getting better and better.
This box set shows off some of her talents very well, taking into account that within each role on each movie, she is completely different to each character.

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BONUS MATERIAL NOTE-

I have viewed each film seperately, and I fear with this being a box set, the bonus material may be different to that I have seen.

But the bonus material that I have seen on each movie are as follows:

THE NET

Extras include - Audio commentary by director, editor, composer and producer of 28 Days (2000)
HBO making-of featurette for 28 Days (2000).

The audio commentary was quite interesting, with the views they had on the movie and alchol realted issues.

28 Days

There was only scene selection with this, and no bonus material.

Forces Of Nature

4 deleted scenes, which were interesting to view, plus comments from cast members and their views, which was actually quite funny.

I hope you have found this information interesting and helpful. Thank you for reading. Dempsey :-) 

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