Family --Friendly Live Action

“Big Fat Liar,” “Clockstoppers,” “The Country Bears,” above, “The Crocodile Hunter,” “E.T. the Extraterrestrial 20th Anniversary Edition,” “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” “The Rookie” (featuring Dennis Quaid, above), “The Santa Clause 2: The Mrs. Clause,” “Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams,” “Stuart Little 2,” “Tuck Everlasting,” “The Tuxedo,” “The Young Black Stallion.”

Frequent Sightings

Brian Cox in “Adaptation,” “The Bourne Identity,” “Ring,” “The Rookie,” “Super Troopers.”

Colin Farrell in “Hart’s War,” “Phone Booth,” “Minority Report,” “The Farm,” “Daredevil.”

Catherine Keener in “Adaptation,” “Death to Smoochy,” “Full Frontal,” “Lovely & Amazing,” “Simone.”

G-Men

Various FBI or other government agents, some serious, some less so, figure in the plots of “Big Trouble,” “Blood Work,” “Catch Me if You Can,” “Ecks vs. Sever,” “The Hunted” (with Benicio Del Toro, left, and Tommy Lee Jones, above) “National Security” and “ “Men in Black 2.”

Numerology, Divisible by 8

“24 Hour Party People,” “24 Hours,” “Adam Sandler’s 8 Crazy Nights,” “8 Mile,” “8 Women,” “Eight Legged Freaks.”

X-Philes

“Jason X,” “Marci X,” “Triple X,” “Ultimate X.”

Crossovers

Britney Spears, pop star, in “Crossroads.”

Eminem, rapper, in “8 Mile.”

Beyonce Knowles, one-third of Destiny’s Child, in “Austin Powers in Goldmember.”

Mandy Moore, pop singer, in “A Walk to Remember.”

Samantha Mumba, Irish pop singer, in “The Time Machine.”

Lil’ Bow Wow, rapper, in “Like Mike.”

Women’s Network

It turns out there are quite a few movies in which women are central figures--strong, smart and funny women, and some troubled ones too:

“The Banger Sisters,” “Chambermaid,” “Chicago,” “Crossroads,” “Crush,” “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood,” “8 Women,” “Enough” (featuring Jennifer Lopez, above), “Frida,” “Heaven,” “High Crimes,” “The Hours,” “Kissing Jessica Stein,” “The Lady and the Duke,” “Life or Something Like It,” “Lovely & Amazing,” “Mostly Martha,” “Murder by Numbers,” “No Such Thing.”

Also “The Panic Room,” “Perfect Stranger,” “Powerpuff Girls: The Movie,” “Prozac Nation,” “Pumpkin,” “Rabbit-Proof Fence,” “Resident Evil,” “Ring,” “Sunshine State,” “Sweet Home Alabama,” “Untitled Surf Girls Project,” “View From the Top,” “White Oleander,” “Y Tu Mama Tambien.”

Comics/Cartoons

Comic books and cartoons continue to be a source of inspiration for many filmmakers (maybe this explains a lot about the state of affairs in Hollywood), with this year’s crop consisting of, among others, “Blade 2” (with Wesley Snipes, above) “Bulletproof Monk,” “Daredevil,” “Constantine” (based on “Hellblazer”), “Scooby-Doo,” “Spider-Man.”

We Spy

Of all the different types of movies scheduled for this year, more seem to be in one way or another spy-themed, whether deadly serious or tongue-in-cheek:

“The Accidental Spy,” “Assassination Tango,” “Austin Powers in Goldmember,” “Bad Company,” “Bond 20,” “The Bourne Identity,” “The Farm,” “I Spy,” “Master of Disguise,” “The Quiet American,” “Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams,” “ The Sum of All Fears,” “The Tuxedo,” “Undercover Brother.”