The Stream: A few lulls and dumb characters slow the momentum of the movie.

The Big Screen: Truly wild and shocking twists with an incredible score by Michael Giacchino.

The Final Bill: A very entertaining family movie that has a bit of a suspension of disbelief problem.

– Trip Fontaine
Director: David Robert Mitchell
Writers: David Robert Mitchell
Stars: Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor, Maisy Stella, Christian Convery
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Rating: PG-13 for some strong violent content, bloody images, some strong language and suggestive material.
Runtime: 1 hour 32 minutes
Production Companies: Bad Robot, Good Fear Content, Jackson Pictures, Tommy Harper Productions, Warner Bros. Discovery
Platform: In theaters August 14, 2026
Notable Trailers: By Any Means, Avengers: Doomsday, Hope, Violent Night 2, Primetime, Digger, Practical Magic 2

What’s up, Streamers!?! August is the dumping ground for the summer movie season. This year the big blockbusters have come and made bank; and, now, we have to pick up the scraps. Hopefully, some good movies can emerge from out of the shadow of the likes of The Odyssey and Spiderman. In that vein, I was able to catch the potential dinosaur blockbuster, The End of Oak Street. In this sci-fi adventure film set in 1982, the Platt family’s suburban neighborhood gets plucked from its ho-hum existence and is plopped into prehistoric times filled with dangerous dinosaurs and treacherous landscapes. Um…what?!? Allosaurs and other bloody hijinks ensue.

David Robert Mitchell has written and directed a fun and entertaining genre mash-up. This film combines the wholesomeness of a family film, the terror of a monster movie, and intriguing wonder of a sci-fi flick. Mitchell has integrated many elements that turn this into an entertaining film. What’s really great is that the movie is fast-paced and wastes very little time getting to the good stuff. This premise is really fun. While you will be thinking about what the explanation for this is, the film doesn’t get distracted from having fun with all of the dinosaurs and danger that is around every corner. There are very good twists – some that are funny and some that are truly shocking. This movie hits a lot of highlights with its action and visual effects. Additionally, Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor give really good performances that make this fanciful film feel grounded and emotional. Anne Hathaway is having a really good summer, and she proves to be a standout as the harried and quick-thinking mother, Denise.

On the other hand, there are some lulls that almost grind the movie to a halt. My eyelids did get heavy for a few moments, but they don’t last for long. Also, every family movie suffers from having dumb kids as plot distractions. They add a little sappiness to the movie, which is not the best. That gets annoying, but it doesn’t ruin the movie.

Ultimately, The End of Oak Street is an enjoyable and entertaining mash-up of movie genres. The film does a great job with the sci-fi, action-adventure stuff, but some of the family movie elements are lackluster. This quick-paced film uses its interesting premise for laughs and shocking twists. There aren’t any great philosophical questions posed, so just come for the fun of a non-Jurassic dinosaur movie. Grab a bowl of popcorn and transport yourself to the theater.