THE END OF OAK STREET (2026)

You know it, we know it. A certified hit is a nudge. Together as fractions of the masses we flock to these trusted blockbuster lights. Unfortunately for The End of Oak Street, the lights of The Odyssey (2026), which was released mid July, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) in late July, where too bright and audiences were still not done flocking to those hits by the time The End of Oak Street made its appearance in mid-August. And the result led to the decimation of this and many other of this year’s summer movie offerings. She died in the theatres, but is now surviving thanks to the pivot to home-viewing for this dino surprise. Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor star as 80s suburbanites whose trouble in paradise goes from bad to savagely worse when their street transports 200 million years back in time to a primeval jungle overrun with dinosaurs. It’s absurd and thankfully doesn’t take itself too seriously as all the players take it seriously. Parents get to smirk and identify with the 1982 suburban life and setting, while the pace and scares are enough to keep kids’ attention, all while it flys under (albeit pushing) a PG-13 umbrella. It’s popcorn cinema done right, thanks in large part to Hathaway, who carries the film and brings the right amount of intensity as a mom who’s trying to save her marriage while keeping her kids from being eaten by a bevy of prehistoric animals. McGregor rests on his lightness and charm as dad Greg, and though he comes across rather passive amongst the chaos, he’s lovably normal. The dinosaurs look awesome, and the dog?…not so much; and although we loved the arc of said dog, this is but another time when CGI hurts, whereas a real life dog would have elevated the dynamic between him and the family and the audience. Dogs aren’t extinct, so what gives?

WATCH OR NOT: WATCH