Mini Film Review – The End Of Oak Street

Yesterday I watched The End of Oak Street; and it was pretty good! Directed by David Robert Mitchell, and starring Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor, Christian Convery, and Maisy Stella; The End of Oak Street is a science fiction survival film, about a family, who discover that their neighbourhood has been transported back in time, to the age of the Dinosaurs! Being a fan of Dinosaurs, I was very interested to watch this film, but that didn’t stop me having some concerns about it. The beginning doesn’t really help alleviate any of these concerns either, as it begins in a very corny 1980’s American landscape, simillar in style to films like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and It. But my main concern though, was despite it’s obvious science fictional situation, I was worried it was going to be just another Jurassic Park 3 (you know, the one where they are on the island, just being chased by dinosaurs…and that airplane scene). Well, when time does turn back, it doesn’t disappoint. It’s very simillar in style to Krampus, in how it takes the family away from modern luxuries, and into a more primal survival state. The dinosaurs also like to take their time in appearing, but the build-up is well done, as the film teases their arrival, before then becoming a prime feature, choosing to start with the smaller ones, before building-up further to the larger ones. Plus it is rather fun to try and work out which species are on show. But the film’s direction is a bit predictable. It’s obvious that Hathaway and McGregor are in a situation where they are looking to seperate, but current events help them learn to appreciate each other more. Also, the ending, whilst interesting, doesn’t really explain the full story as to how or why this has happened; which is a grave mistake in the world of movie science fiction. But, whilst it may be corny, obvious, predictable, and lacking explanation; the film is also exciting, scary, shocking, and interesting; and altogether a really cool movie!