Jolie next took the lead role in Clint Eastwood's Buy Bulk SMS Service drama Changeling (2008). Based in part on the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders, the film centers on Christine Collins, who is reunited with her kidnapped son in 1928 Los Angeles, only to realize the boy is an imposter. Chicago Buy Bulk SMS Service Tribune critic Michael Phillips noted, "Jolie really shines in the calm before the storm, the scenes when Buy Bulk SMS Service one patronizing male authority figure after another belittles her at their peril." She received nominations for a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a BAFTA Award, and an Academy Award for Best Actress.
Jolie also voiced the DreamWorks Buy Bulk SMS Service animation Kung Fu Panda (2008), the first work in a major family franchise, later reprising her voice role in the sequels Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) and Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016). After her mother's death in 2007, Jolie appeared in Buy Bulk SMS Service fewer films, later explaining that her motivation to be an actress had stemmed from her mother's acting ambitions. Her first film in two years was the 2010 thriller Salt, in which she starred as a CIA agent who goes on the run Buy Bulk SMS Service after she is accused of being a KGB sleeper agent. Originally written as a male character with Tom Cruise attached to star, agent Salt underwent a gender change after.
A Columbia Pictures executive Buy Bulk SMS Service suggested Jolie for the role. With revenues of $293.5 million, Salt became an international success. The film received generally positive reviews, with Jolie's performance in particular earning praise; Empire magazine critic William Buy Bulk SMS Service Thomas remarked, "When it comes to selling incredible, crazy, death-defying antics, Jolie has few peers in the action business. Jolie starred opposite Johnny Depp in the thriller The Tourist (2010). The film was a critical failure, though Roger Buy Bulk SMS Service Ebert defended Jolie's performance, stating that she "does her darndest" and "plays her femme fatale with flat-out, drop-dead sexuality.