The ten highest-grossing spy films of all time share a common theme: a male spy as their main character. In keeping with a tried-and-true box-office tradition, that's how the new Angelina Jolie espionage thriller, Salt, originally started out. In the film, which is directed by Phillip Noyce (Patriot Games, Rabbit-Proof Fence), Jolie plays Evelyn Salt, a CIA agent on the run after she's accused of being a Russian spy within the storied American intelligence agency.

Screenwriter Kurt Wimmer (The Recruit, Sphere) first wrote the script with a fictional male CIA agent, Edwin Salt, as the title character. Tom Cruise was in talks to take on the role. But, after several story revisions, Cruise decided that Edwin Salt was a little too close to Ethan Hunt -- Cruise's spy character in the megasuccessful Mission: Impossible franchise -- and he dropped out of the project.

I'm having random thoughts about movies this week. And now I'm going to share them with you. Because that's how this gig works. Says so right here on my contract.

1. Here's what I was thinking as I was watching Toy Story 3: you know what would be cool? A Buzz Lightyear movie. Not starring the toy Buzz Lightyear -- I'm talking about the character the toy represents, the one the toy thinks he is in the first Toy Story. That guy. Yes, I know there was an animated TV show on the Disney Channel. (I am a nerd, thank you very much.) But you know what? That show stunk, in no small part because it wasn't actually made by Pixar. Now imagine a real Buzz Lightyear movie, made by Pixar, on a big screen. It would be funny, it would be thrilling, it would probably be in 3-D (because that's just the way it is these days) -- and it would be awesome. Come on, Pixar, make daddy happy here.

2. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked Predators. It was the first Predator sequel that didn't plain suck right out of the gate -- I'm including the Alien vs. Predator films in here, obviously -- and the reason was that it was clear that the filmmakers (including producer Robert Rodriguez) actually understood what made the first film in the series work. Despite its classic status at this point, the first Predator flick was not a brilliant piece of filmmaking. Instead, it was extremely competent entertainment: it moved fast, it gave you action on a regular basis, and it killed off cast members at a standard clip, so that the hero could thump on the Predator alone at the end. Seems simple, but it's apparently harder than it looks, since three separate sequels failed to pull it off.

Predators, on the other hand, hit the formula smack on because, I think, Rodriguez and crew weren't too proud to just plain entertain the crowd. I'd hesitate to say it was a good film -- I started ticking off all the ridiculous plot holes as soon as the credits started to roll -- but it was a good time in the theater and had me shoveling popcorn into my maw just like it was supposed to. As I said, seems easy, but it's not.

3. Inception raked in $62 million in its opening weekend, filling film observers with joy (finally proof that you don't have to be a sequel or a comic-book movie to rake in tons of money) and making them speculate on whether its success signaled a turning away from the tired formula of sequels, series, and remakes, which seems to be sputtering this season.

My thought on this: whoa there, kiddies. As nice as it would be to think sequels and remakes would get a rest, a quick look at the current top five films of the year -- Toy Story 3, Alice in Wonderland, Iron Man 2, Eclipse, and Shrek Forever After (four sequels and a remake) -- suggests that the formula may not be as tired as some might hope. Inception's clearly going to do well, but, if it cracks the top ten for the year, as an original film it'll be in the minority.

It's also worth noting that as much as Christopher Nolan is a seriously talented director who would be successful one way or another (one hopes), it wasn't just his talent that made it possible for him to make Inception. It was also the fact that his last film -- a sequel, based on a comic-book character -- made a billion dollars worldwide. In other words, Inception is the $160 million hard-to-describe science-fiction head trip that The Dark Knight built. This doesn't justify all the sequels and remakes flooding the market, to be sure. But it does kind of take the edge off.

4. Right now, the number-one science-fiction movie of the year is Iron Man 2. Number two? Despicable Me. (Hey, when a dude plans to shrink the moon, that qualifies as science fiction.) Inception will probably be number three by this time next week. But for now, you know what the third most successful science-fiction film of the year is? The Book of Eli. And you're all, like, what? And I'm, like, dude, I know. But it's true: this postapocalyptic Denzel Washington flick grossed just shy of $100 million when apparently no one was paying attention -- which is to say in January, usually one of the deader times of the year for films and, this year, also when Avatar was rampaging through theaters. It just goes to show that not every film that does well does so loudly.

And now I'm done with my random thoughts. So I'll stop writing. That, too, is part of the gig.

From Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning's rock biopic, The Runaways, to the Tracy Morgan-Bruce Willis comedy Cop Out, here's an extremely opinionated glance at what is coming out this week on DVD and Blu-ray.

The Runaways
Twilight's Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning play Joan Jett and Cherie Currie in this attitudinal biopic about the groundbreaking mid-seventies all-girl rock band the Runaways. While our critic was happy enough with the subject matter, he found that the film as a whole was "shopworn and all too familiar."

Cop Out
Kevin Smith took time out from making films about Jay and Silent Bob to direct this cop-buddy comedy with Tracy Morgan and Bruce Willis, which was widely seen as a throwback to the genre classics of the eighties, classic synth score and all. We found it to be "serviceable fodder for a buddy-cop flick, and Willis and Morgan are game, bouncing banter off each other with aplomb."


The Losers
Another somewhat tongue-in-cheek eighties homage, this movie is an adaptation of the action-packed comic series about a band of highly-trained special-ops soldiers left for dead in the Bolivian jungle who plan to take revenge on the guy who sold them out. While our critic said "such a throwback mentality is refreshing," he thought the film "kind of limps along, stopping off every now and then to favor us with a gun battle or beat down before continuing on its casual way."

A Town Called Panic
Our critic sums up his take on this manic stop-motion-animated film this way: "Imagine, if you will, that the Robot Chicken, Wallace, and Gromit had a child. Then imagine you could watch that child in fast motion and that child never stopped screaming. In French."

Mother
Rightfully acclaimed South Korean director Joon-ho Bong (The Host) returns with this bracing small-town procedural about a troubled young man accused of murder and the shocking lengths his mother will go to defend him. We were very impressed by the film's "twisted psychological terrain," calling it a "troubling and ambiguous thriller."

The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
This Oscar-nominated documentary tells the story of the man who, at the height of the Vietnam War, leaked the sensitive military-planning documents that became known as the Pentagon Papers, which, ultimately, helped lead to the war's end. While the subject matter couldn't have been more dramatic, our critic found the film nothing more than suitable, saying "it fails spectacularly to capture or convey anything that wouldn't be covered in a high-school history class."

With the announcement that Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger will be released in 3-D, comic-book movies have officially caught up with the rest of Hollywood. Whether we like it or not, 3-D is here to stay. But is this a good thing for our favorite superheroes? Fans are concerned that "up converting" (shooting in traditional 2-D and converting in postproduction) will result in muddy, less-than-stellar films that tarnish their beloved characters. (Witness the current backlash for The Last Airbender.)

While 3-D makes sense for the splashy adventures of Spider-Man, the trend could spell doom for the gritty, realistic world of Batman. Let's take a look at how 3-D could positively (and negatively) affect some upcoming comic-book-movie releases.

Thor
Next May, the Mighty Thor will be the first Marvel hero to battle evil in 3-D. (Though Superman Returns got the Imax treatment at select theaters, back in 2006.) The 3-D technology could be just what director Kenneth Branagh needs to bring Asgard to life. From Odin's palace to the rainbow bridge that connects the Earth to Asgard, the world of Thor is simply begging to be seen in more than two dimensions. (Besides, anyone worried about realism should pick up some Thor comics -- there's a lot of crazy stuff going on.)

Green Lantern
No speculating here: Warner Brothers has already confirmed that Ryan Reynolds will be wielding the Green Lantern ring in 3-D. As with Thor, 3-D could help Hal Jordan's chances at the box office. Fans will want to see all sorts of eye-popping creations from Green Lantern's ring, which can do whatever the wearer imagines. (Not to mention that the recently unveiled CGI costume will pop in 3-D.) Superhero cops battling aliens is exactly the sort of big-screen spectacle 3-D was made for.

Captain America: The First Avenger
While Marvel's Thor plans make sense, having Captain America punch out Nazis in 3-D smacks of bandwagon jumping. Cap's origin story should be a straightforward World War II tale, not an eye-popping extravaganza. (Outside of Cap's shield, what else could possibly leap from the screen? Bucky Barnes tossing liberty cabbage at Red Skull?) Meanwhile, director Joe Johnston is also wary, calling 3-D "overused" and "gimmicky" in the pages of the Los Angeles Times.

X-Men: First Class
With its cast in place (word is Kevin Bacon will play villain Sebastian Shaw), Matthew Vaughn's X prequel is all but guaranteed to get a 3-D makeover. After petering out with the flat X-Men: The Last Stand, the franchise could use a visual boost to get it back on track. We've yet to see Cyclops's optical blasts in 3-D, and with new mutants like Banshee and White Queen onboard the potential for nifty special effects has increased. Plus, getting a face full of Wolverine's claws could be pretty intense.

Untitled Batman Project
With news that the third Bat flick will commence production in April, fans are already speculating whether director Christopher Nolan will take the Caped Crusader into the third dimension. Considering that a follow-up to The Dark Knight is basically a license to print money, it's safe to say that DC Comics and Warner Brothers will push for 3-D, in an effort to inflate ticket prices. Word has it that Nolan would rather shoot entirely in Imax, in order to retain the epic look of his previous Batman outings. Here's hoping the great director sticks to his guns.

Nick Nadel writes for places like HBO and Asylum.com and is the "geek" blogger for GuySpeak.com. Follow the "Comic Book Movies" column on Twitter.  

Jay Roach knows comedy. Since 1997, the director has helmed three Austin Powers films, two Meet the Parents comedies, and the underrated Mystery, Alaska, with Russell Crowe. He also helped produce Sacha Baron Cohen's one-two punch of Borat and Brüno. His latest, Dinner for Schmucks, finds Paul Rudd inviting Steve Carell to a mean-spirited game played by prestigious bullies. Before dinner was served, Roach called AMC FilmCritic to discuss editing, his comedy dream-team, and the future of the Austin Powers franchise.

Q: What, exactly, is a schmuck?

A: When you look it up in a dictionary, it says that, in modern usage, it's either a jerk or a fool. If you say "Don't be a schmuck," you usually mean one of those two things. To me, that was the essence of what this film is about. When you meet Steve Carell, you think he's an idiot, but he turns out to be sort of wise. Then you meet Paul Rudd, and he turns out to be a jerk. But he has a choice, and he can be inspired by Carell's character. So it had a lovely double meaning. But it's also just a funny word, and I laugh when I hear people say it. Yiddish is such a great language. There are so many words that are better than any comparable English words for describing certain phrases, and most of them sound really funny. Schlemiel or putz. They're just great Yiddish words.

Q: You have called this cast a dream team of comedy, with supporting players like Zach Galifianakis, Jemaine Clement, Ron Livingston, and David Walliams.

A: It definitely is. You hear directors say that all the time. But, really, when you consider the shows that I watch -- from Flight of the Conchords to Little Britain -- I just poached my favorite actors from all of my favorite TV shows and comedy movies.

Q: Does that make Steve Carell the LeBron James of your new comedy superpower?

A: [Laughs] That's so funny that you say that because we were just talking about how -- much like LeBron James -- Carell is this valuable free agent because he's leaving The Office. He is up for grabs, and I want to work with him again and again. I'm glad that he'll have more free time. I'm not happy that he's leaving The Office, but I am happy he'll be available. I'll happily be the Pat Riley of comedy. That would be a nice compliment.

Q: How heavily do you rely on the editing process to find your best jokes?

A: Well, I shoot a ton of extra footage, because I like to improvise so much with my actors. We usually shoot two and a half to three hours of really good stuff, and then there are a few items that are not so good. We use an audience's interaction to pick what's working. I sort of constantly rewrite the movie. I always keep my writers around. During the process, [screenwriters] David Guion and Michael Handelman were with me for two years of development and a year of shooting. Then, during postproduction, they came into the editing room and wrote jokes for me. So, yeah, we keep it growing and evolving the whole time. It's different for a drama. I did Recount a couple of years ago for HBO, and we used a very tight script. We hardly changed anything. In a comedy, though, it's just a conversation with the audience. That's how I approach it.

Q: Coming off a political drama like Recount, were you eager to get back to making an audience laugh again?

A: You know, I'm going to keep doing both. I love doing both. I like making films that are about ideas and how to organize civilization to work a little better. I love politics. But I've gotten hooked on making people laugh, and I hope I can always keep going back and forth.

Q: Why didn't you continue with the Meet the Parents franchise for the upcoming sequel, Little Fockers?

A: I didn't really have a choice. The schedule didn't allow it. When Ben [Stiller] and Bob [De Niro] popped free and the planets sort of aligned, I was booked on Schmucks. We shot them exactly at the same time. They finished a week before us and ended a week after us. It just wasn't in the cards. But Paul Weitz is a great director, so I'm happy to be a supportive producer. He has a great take on it. I worked with the writers on a script for a long time before we brought Paul in. So I still feel a pride of ownership on it. Fortunately, I didn't have to be the one losing sleep over it during the shoot, though. [Laughs]

Q: Do you think you'll reteam with Mike Myers for a fourth Austin Powers comedy?

A: I don't know. That's always up to Mike. And there are rumors about every six months that he is about to jump in. But I honestly don't know the answer to that. I think it's when the spirit moves him, and he always knows when that is. I'll happily join him whenever, but there's nothing specific scheduled at the moment.

Leonardo DiCaprio, Christina Ricci, Toby Maguire, Scarlett Johansson -- they all started out as child actors. And while, sometimes, an early beginning in the biz can morph into an adult-size career, often being a child star can be the kiss of death. Time will tell what will become of the Dakota Fannings and Haley Joel Osments of the world. Perhaps they can learn something from the fates of these actors.

10. Anna Chlumsky, My Girl
A whole generation cried its eyes out at the romantic tragedy occasioned by a mere bee sting. (Don't know what I'm talking about? Just watch the movie: My Girl is a tween Crying Game.) Chlumsky turned in a lovely performance as a tomboy in this bittersweet coming-of-age story but getting roles in later years has proven difficult for her. Although she recently landed a part on 30 Rock -- as Tina Fey's doppelgänger, Liz Lemler -- for us she'll always be My Girl.

9. Austin O'Brien, Last Action Hero
If you remember this movie at all, you probably know it as the first bomb to blemish Arnold Schwarzenegger's career. (That is, before he became governor.) One of the more distracting elements of the picture is the child-tagalong role played by Austin O'Brien. Last Action Hero wasn't the young actor's last movie job, but it might just as well have been. His next starring role was in the equally forgettable My Girl 2.

8. Jonathan Ke Quan, The Goonies
Having starred first as Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and then the gadget-obsessed Data in The Goonies, Ke Quan owes his career to Steven Spielberg -- and Spielberg probably owes him an apology. Racial stereotyping aside, Ke Quan projected a genuinely precocious energy as a boy. But while fellow Goonies Sean Astin and Josh Brolin went on to big-screen successes, he never found his own Lord of the Rings or No Country for Old Men. Too bad.

7. Jonathan Lipnicki, Jerry Maguire
One thing I can't stand is when kids are used as props in movies. Cherubic little dolls ready to extort sympathy. Where -- pray tell -- are the obnoxious little brats I see in real life every day? Nowhere in Jerry McGuire. Lipnicki's debut -- as an adorable, bespectacled toddler in need of a father figure -- will either melt your little heart or harden your anger at the whole world. Still, playing the perfect cute-child role in a hit movie doesn't mean you'll flourish as an adult actor.

6. Jake Lloyd, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Mark Hamill didn't exactly have an extraordinary career after playing Luke Skywalker, but things could have been worse: he could have been Jake Lloyd, playing Anakin Skywalker, in The Phantom Menace. Lloyd's performance has all the charm of watching a kid play a video game for two hours. George Lucas's turgid script and lackluster directing are mostly to blame for that: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, and even Samuel L. Jackson come off as stagnant, too.

5. Michael Oliver, Problem Child
Oliver's role as a redheaded hell-raiser in Problem Child should have made him the preteen Malcolm McDowell. Like Alex in A Clockwork Orange, Oliver's Junior was the ultimate trickster, and his was the ultimate anti-child-actor performance -- obnoxious, grating, and deliciously evil. Oliver continued the mayhem in Problem Child 2 -- an unaccountably great sequel, despite lackluster box-office returns -- but it was the last audiences were to hear of Oliver's maniacal laugh.

4. Fred Savage, The Princess Bride
Savage was a pleasure to watch in The Princess Bride, his face a transparent instrument communicating everything without ever saying a word. But his film roles never matched his memorable performance as Kevin Arnold on TV's Wonder Years. Savage's problem is that, even as an adult, he looks like a 12-year-old. After starring in the short-lived sitcom Working, Savage moved on to directing episodes of Party Down and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

3. Ralph Macchio, The Karate Kid
Let's get this out of the way: I like Macchio. Whether it's as Johnny in The Outsiders, Daniel in The Karate Kid, or even supporting Joe Pesci in My Cousin Vinny, he's a distinctive actor who's a joy to watch onscreen. But he probably overdid a good thing -- yes, I'm talking about The Karate Kid's multiple sequels, which all but ensured that Macchio would remain in moviegoers' minds forever the shy kid from New Jersey who crane kicked his way to a sense of self-worth.

2. Macaulay Culkin, Home Alone
Hollywood's pint-size answer to J.D. Salinger, Culkin wasn't able to build on his early stardom. After the blockbuster Home Alone and a darker role in The Good Son, it appeared as though he were in the biz for the long haul. But Culkin threw it all away. Likely overwhelmed by stardom, he pulled a disappearing act after 1994's Ri¢hie Ri¢h. Although he's resurfaced in recent years in low-key roles (Saved!, Party Monster), it's unlikely he'll return to the heights of yore.

1. Shirley Temple, Curly Top
Yes, we're taking it old-school with this one. Temple was one of the biggest stars of the thirties -- and one of the youngest. Starting at the age of 3, she delighted Depression-era audiences with her dancing, singing, and winsome personality. But so ingrained was the image of Temple as a living doll that the actress found it difficult to play even teen roles. Despite being an icon for her age, Temple earns our top spot. Baby, take a bow.

Inspiration comes from the strangest places at Walt Disney Pictures. Recent films released by the studio can trace their roots back to classic works of literature (Alice in Wonderland, A Christmas Carol), video game franchises (Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time), and a popular theme-park ride (Pirates of the Caribbean).

Yet even in this potentially limitless realm of adaptable, creative ideas, Jon Turteltaub's kid-focused fantasy The Sorcerer's Apprentice boasts a unique muse. It owes its existence to an eight-minute animated sequence found in a 70-year-old film. Granted, both the film and the clip are famous in their own right. We're talking about Mickey Mouse's magical "Sorcerer's Apprentice" routine from the 1940s classic, Fantasia. But it's still an odd clip to use as a springboard for an effects-laden 21st century summer blockbuster.

Not so odd that it doesn't work, however. Turteltaub and his screenwriting team start deep in the past, where apprentices of the legendary Merlin find themselves in a battle with Morgana (Alice Krige), a vicious foe. Former ally Horvath (Alfred Molina) has gone rogue, siding with Morgana in the fight. Balthazar (Nicolas Cage) tries to stop them, but doesn't act fast enough to rescue his beloved, Veronica (Monica Bellucci), from an elaborate prison. Our distraught hero is told only one person -- the Prime Merlinian -- has the power to defeat Morgana, so Balthazar spends centuries looking for this fabled individual.

Having established the mystical elements, Apprentice quickly modernizes its story. Stepping in for Mickey is the mousy Jay Baruchel, the lanky guy from Tropic Thunder and Knocked Up, who stammers through the part of Dave, a book smart teenager with a nose for science and a knack for magic only Balthazar can see. Together, they dance through a traditional formula of teacher and student combining talents to defeat a greater power.

Apprentice succeeds because Turteltaub rarely forgets the age-range, and attention span, of his target audience. Cage tailors his gonzo riffs to the film's family-friendly antics and finds sizable laughs. Perhaps inspired by his cartoon source material, the star makes for an animated master tutoring an eager Baruchel in all things sorcery. Neither he nor Molina unleash their inner scene-chewer, allowing Turteltaub the freedom to fill his canvas with vibrant effects. Showing a good eye for grand spectacle, the director brings a dragon to life in a memorable parade scene, conjures villains made of creepy crawly cockroaches, morphs vicious wolves into adorable puppies, and soars over Manhattan's skyline on an iron eagle ripped from the side of the Chrysler Building. The requisite Fantasia tribute -- complete with dancing mops and buckets -- feels forced. But it's not long before Cage is piloting a sports car through a floating mirror, and Apprentice is right back in its turbo-charged, entertain-at-all-costs mode.

It's safe to say that imaginative kids who felt deflated after trudging through M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender will find the movie-making magic tricks they've been waiting for here. Parents may find certain sequences loud and overbearing. That, of course, will make the kids like it even more.