n Silver Linings Playbook, we get Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper), a former teacher, newly released from a mental institution after a violent psychotic incident, heading back into the hornet’s nest that he calls home, the South Philly domicile of his parents, Pat Sr. (Robert De Niro) and Dolores (Jacki Weaver).  

The screenwriting and directing team of Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal pile on with the story of Rory Jansen (Bradley Cooper), a writer at the top of his game who must face the consequences of stealing — not just ideas or a few phrases, but an entire story.  

A former getaway driver (screenwriter and co-director Dax Shepard) in witness protection has to high tail it on his own, with his girlfriend (Kristen Bell) in tow, once his old gang (led by a dreadlocked Bradley Cooper) comes a-knocking, seeking a secret stash of money from their last heist.  

Director Neil Burger returns with a gleefully addled thriller starring the suddenly ubiquitous Bradley Cooper as Eddie Marra, a sputtering aspiring writer whose life is turned upside down when he starts taking an experimental drug that allows him to unlock his brain's full power. Grade: C-plus.  

Renee Zellweger stars as a social worker investigating an abusive family with the intention of saving the young daughter, but slowly comes to realize that she is the one in danger as as she continues digging into the situation. There might have been a fun and freaky avenue to explore if the movie had focused more on the parents, but that route gets bypassed for the demonic kid expressway, which has far too many signs pointing in the obvious direction of recent fare like 'Orphan.' Grade: D-.   

Joe Carnahan ('Narc' and 'Smokin' Aces') brings his usual explosive energy to this big-screen adaptation of the hit television series. The story, or the shorthand outline that's in place, matters very little. The movie is all about comic-book-style propulsion: being faster than a speeding explosive bullet and barreling over tall buildings in a tank dropped from a plane. Grade: D-plus.  

Sandra Bullock's summer confirms the acceleration of the downward slide she's on, and there would appear to be nothing to hinder her journey to even greater depths. Without a single spark of romance, this quirky comedy borders on offensive tastelessness with its celebration of stalking by a woman with an undiagnosed socio-affective disorder. Grade: F.