The End of Oak Street: A Review - A Delicious Dinosaur Disaster Tale

****THIS IS A SPOILER FREE REVIEW!! THIS REVIEW CONTAINS ZERO SPOILERS!!****

My Popcorn Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

My Recommendation: SEE IT.  A flawed but fun piece of summer entertainment with lots of delectable dinosaur action.

The End of Oak Street, written and directed by Robert David Mitchell, tells the story of a suburban family of four in middle America in 1982 who through some strange scientific anomalies have their entire neighborhood transformed into a pre-historic, dinosaur-filled, killing zone.

The film, which stars Anne Hathaway and Ewen McGregor as parents Denise and Greg Platt – and Maisy Stella and Christian Convery as their teenage daughter Audrey and son Brian, hit theatres last Friday – which is where I checked it out. The film has done moderately well at the box office – bringing in a $60 million haul over its first week.

The End of Oak Street is a delightful and delicious bit of summertime movie going that has a crisp ninety-nine-minute run time that never lags or leads you astray. The film is definitely flawed in terms of plot, but it is also a stylish homage to the Spielbergian ethos that drove popular filmmaking in the U.S. in the 1980s and 1990s.

The familiar culture of suburban America (in this case Michigan), with the close-knit, mostly homogenous neighborhood and the seemingly perfect nuclear family as protagonists is right out of the Spielberg playbook. And so are the very apparent cracks in that seemingly perfect façade once you get a closer look.

Getting a closer look is something that writer/director David Robert Mitchell did with his previous film Under the Silver Lake (2018), which is a weird, wild and wonderful piece of work that speaks quite profoundly about not only conspiracy culture but the corruption and depravity of elites whose power and secrecy generate such a culture.

In The End of Oak Street Mitchell does something that seems more and more rare these days when it comes to Hollywood filmmaking…he actually seems to care.

That care takes the form of subtle but very effective and deft bits of directorial style that elevate otherwise mundane scenes into captivating pieces of visual drama. For example, there is an extended scene of simple dialogue between all four family members in their living room which in lesser hands would have been a throw away exposition scene. But Mitchell goes into his bag of tricks and pulls out the old split diopter to give those scenes some much needed visual flair – so much so that I leaned forward in my seat out of interest. (The split diopter is a device used to create dual areas of focus, one close to camera and one further away – with everything in between them blurry – Brian DePalma loves the split diopter as did many filmmakers in the 1970s)

A split diopter shot from the film “Carrie” - directed by Brian De Palma

Mitchell’s script is strong in some areas and weak in others. For instance, the plot of the film revolves around time portals that bring pre-historic dinosaurs to 1980’s America…but the way they ultimately try to resolve this plot point is pretty confusing and unsatisfying.

There are also some extraneous characters and storylines, like that of a bully and also a black girl who goes to private school, that do not propel the story forward or add much insight or interest.

The movie is helped though by the glorious Anne Hathaway absolutely devouring every scene she inhabits like the ravenous dinosaurs that hunt her character. Hathaway has been a busy lady this year with five feature films coming out this calendar year…and she’s also pregnant. Good for her. And good for her for buying in and bringing the goods in this film as the wanderlust wife who wants to break out of her confines but then those dastardly dinosaurs get in the way.

The rest of the cast are just fine. Both Maisy Stella and Christian Convery are okay as sort of annoying teenagers, and Ewen McGregor is decent enough as the rather soft and spineless husband who is trying to keep up appearances.

The real stars of The End of Oak Street are, of course, the dinosaurs. The End of Oak Street fits neatly into the classification of being a dinosaur film – the meaning of which is pretty straight forward…namely that it is a movie with dinosaurs in it. I love dinosaur movies…as does my young son. We will watch any piece of crap movie featuring dinos doing their dirty work…especially if it involves devouring dopey people.

Every year we rewatch the entire Jurassic Park/Jurassic World films. Some of them are good, most of them are mostly not-good…but we don’t care because they all have scenes of dinosaurs wreaking havoc and chewing people…and that’s good enough for us.

The End of Oak Street definitely fits near the top of the dinosaur movie pantheon. That’s not to say that it’s a great movie…it isn’t – although it isn’t bad either. But it does feature a plethora of delectable dinosaur kills set in suburban middle America during the Reagan revolution…and that makes it top-notch in my book.

The dinosaurs in this film are much more realistic than in the Jurassic Park/World franchise only because there is nothing awe-inspiring or noble about them, just fear-inducing. These dinos are all apex predators and humans are easy prey…and there are a lot of savage kills in this movie that proves that point.

The other interesting parts of The End of Oak Street are all more subtle and somewhat political or at least cultural. I won’t get into too many of them but the notion of Reagan’s revolution unleashing primordial powers (in Reagan’s case the powers of the “free market” which isn’t so free) upon the idyllic middle-class America of the 1980’s – and devouring it…as someone who has lived through all of that – including the Bush/Clinton/Bush/Obama/Trump/Biden/Trump sequels…is entirely spot on. (And this also recalls another very good genre film – Barbarian (2022) – which is also set in Michigan and which also uses the unleashing of the venal and vile Reagan revolution as a crucial but subtle plot point.)

Also spot on is the human reaction to those predatory powers…there is no coming together of people…no families or neighborhoods banding together to share resources, knowledge or man power to fight against his powerful enemy…no…in Reagan’s America for the last 46 years it is every man for himself and those who try to help others are nothing but fools and food for the hungry beasts.

The film is riddled with that kind of commentary if you have the eyes to see it and the will to look for it. I found that sub-text to be one of the most compelling parts of the film even though my son was oblivious to it all but still loved the movie because dinosaurs were kicking ass.

The bottom line regarding The End of Oak Street is that while the premise of the film is not perfectly sketched out, and it ultimately sort of falls apart when trying to reach a coherent conclusion, the film is completely compelling and entirely engaging.

This is not a great, Oscar-worthy, prestige film, but it is the type of film that is smart, perfect summer fun and is a throw-back to a better time when more of these kinds of films, if not these types of films, were made.

My recommendation is to go check out The End of Oak Street in the theatres, gobble down some popcorn and enjoy some solid dino-destruction while you still have the chance.

©2026

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom - A Review

****THIS IS A SPOILER FREE REVIEW!!! THIS REVIEW CONTAINS ZERO SPOILERS!!****

My Rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars                  

Popcorn Curve Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

My Recommendation: SKIP IT. No reason to see this movie. Another regurgitated rehash of a retread from the creatively bankrupt studios of Hollywood.       

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, written by Colin Treverrow and Derek Connolly and directed by J.A. Bayona, is the story of genetically resurrected dinosaurs being rescued from their now shuttered island park in order to save them from extinction via a volcanic eruption. The film stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard with supporting performances from Rafe Spall, Justice Smith, Daneilla Pineda and James Cromwell.

I, like most children big and small, like dinosaurs…I admit it. Now, do I like them enough to pay $12.50 to see them run around and cause havoc on the big screen? No. But do I like them enough to use MoviePass to basically see dinosaur inspired chaos for free? You betcha. It was in this state of mind that I ventured out to see Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom which is the fifth film of the Jurassic Park series and the second film in the Jurassic World trilogy which began in 2015 with the film Jurassic World. The good thing is, if you have seen any of the other four Jurassic Park films, you have basically seen this one. The stories in this franchise are all, ironically enough, clones of one another, with characters making idiotic or nefarious decisions that lead to a plethora of carnage when dinosaurs are unleashed and end up behaving like…well...dinosaurs. 

In regards to the specifics of Fallen Kingdom, the good news is...that Chris Pratt has developed into a totally serviceable movie star, sort of a poor man's Harrison Ford. Another bit of good news is that Bryce Dallas Howard is an appealing screen presence who is able to carry the weight of a big budget action movie, which is no small feat. That is the end of the good news section of this review. 

Now for the bad news…writers Colin Treverrow and Derek Connolly, who wrote Jurassic World (2015) and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom as well as the next Jurassic World film, are maybe the worst screenwriters working in Hollywood. Treverrow and Connolly are remarkably inept at writing a cogent and clear narrative, instead deciding to embrace a multitude of flaccid story lines that completely lack originality and drama . Treverrow and Connolly are so devoid of talent, skill and craft that one has to wonder what compromising material they have on Hollywood big wigs that allows them to have careers…it must be a substantial bit of dirt considering how awful they are at what they do.

The screenwriter's failures are only overshadowed by another bit of bad news…director J.A. Bayona's inability to piece together an even remotely coherent film. Bayona's failure is even more disturbing as unlike his screenwriters, he at least showed some signs of promise with his film A Monster Calls (2016). Sadly, with Fallen Kingdom, Bayona churns out a piece of ham-fisted garbage that is riddled with such egregiously poor editing that it is stunning. Bayona's decidedly anemic storytelling combined with Treverrow and Connolly's wretched script, make for a predictable and dull cinematic affair. 

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is basically a satire of itself, cannibalizing other better films like Raiders of the Lost Ark or every other Jurassic Park film, for second rate thrills that are so familiar as to breed contempt. For example, Fallen Kingdom repeatedly tries to recreate Spielberg's original iconic scene from Jurassic Park where a T-Rex gives a dominant roar to proclaim his resurgence…so much so that I felt like I was watching auditions for a new MGM lion. Then there is Chris Pratt going full Indiana Jones when he runs away from a volcanic explosion with dinosaurs chasing him just like Indy ran down a hill with natives chasing him in Spielberg's original action/adventure gem…the shots are nearly identical. 

The writing, directing and editing aren't the only things wrong with Fallen Kingdom, it also boasts some truly atrocious acting. James Cromwell plays some old guy in a wheelchair, but his legs aren't the only thing that don't work as Cromwell's dreadful British accent falls in and out so much I thought he was playing a schizophrenic with multiple personalities. Cromwell has been around forever and is a consistently terrible actor, but he has been doing it for so long we've just become accustomed to his awfulness. 

Speaking of terrible acting, Rafe Spall plays some other guy that no one cares about or believes and is totally forgettable in every single way. His compatriot Toby Jones plays what I assume is supposed to be an evil auctioneer or something which is exactly as moronic as it sounds. You could've cast cardboard cutouts and had stage hands dressed in black bodysuits move them around and you would've gotten more genuine performances.

To no one's joy but his own, Jeff Goldblum took time away from his work on apartment.com commercials to reprise his role of Dr. Ian Malcolm from earlier Jurassic Park films. Goldblum is a total mystery, why he has a career and people think he is interesting is beyond me. His performance in Fallen Kingdom is noteworthy though mainly because he is able to maintain continuity by meticulously repeating his earlier abysmal performances from the other Jurassic Park films. The only person who thinks Jeff Goldblum is giving an intriguing performance in this film is Jeff Goldblum…and he is damn sure of it.

Fallen Kingdom is so riddled with inconsistencies and illogic the film couldn't help but collapse upon itself. For instance, the prices for the dinosaurs, of which there are only a dozen or so left on the planet, run around $10 million each…which will buy you a decent, but not extravagant, house here in Los Angeles. When a four bedroom, three bath house costs as much as a Tricerotops, you know our economy has gone to hell in a hand basket. The economics of Fallen Kingdom are obviously as illogical as the characters actions and as shitty as the storytelling. 

Another equally inane thing about Fallen Kingdom are its politics. As long time readers know, my Historical Wave Theory posits that the arts, and in this day and age cinema in particular, can be leading indicators for the mood of the collective unconscious. With that said, there are films that are lagging indicators…and Fallen Kingdom falls into that category at least as far as its surface/conscious politics are concerned (the dominant color scheme of the film, green - both dark and light - and vibrant orange, and the archetypal narrative at the foundational core of the film, actually say a great deal more about what's happening in the collective unconscious than the movie's politics, but that is a very long discussion for another day) . 

Fallen Kingdom's politics are decidedly neo-liberal, with government seen as a benign or benevolent force. Every villain in the film is a White man, and one of them even utters the Trumpian phrase "what a nasty woman" in regards to the film's feminist character Zia, who is quick to say she is a doctor and is not as delicate as men think. In one scene, Zia's actions (I won't describe them in order to avoid spoilers - but her particular act is important to note for its symbolic meaning) lead to numerous villains getting their comeuppance, all of whom are the vilest of creatures…the generic White male. 

Keeping with the lagging indicator theme, there is one bad guy singled out who is a Russian oligarch. He is the baddest of the bad guys, no doubt because he is Russian and we all know Russians are pure evil…and may not even be human they are so barbaric…at least that's what Hollywood has taught me. The Russian bad guy, the Trumpian dino-hunter and the generic woman-hating, patriarch enforcing White men are all such obvious and blatant bits of pandering it is cringe-worthy.

It is interesting to note that Steven Spielberg is Executive Producer of Fallen Kingdom, and he was also director of last year's The Post, another lagging indicator film that was well behind the times in regard to the collective unconscious. It is telling that Spielberg is no longer in touch with the collective unconscious, but that is the fate of all propagandists who try and control collective consciousness rather than connect with it. By trying to manage and manipulate audiences or to "give them what they want", Spielberg has detached from his artistic muse which is how he connected with the collective unconscious in the first place. Spielberg's quest to manipulate audiences has thus rendered his films, even those he only produces, as being culturally irrelevant at best, and at worst insidious propaganda. 

In conclusion, even if you are looking for just a little bit of summer movie escapist fun, Fallen World would seem to fall short on that account too as at the screening I attended, more than half of the audience checked their phones periodically throughout the movie, so much so that it looked like random fireflies lighting up on a hot summer's night. Apparently these folks (many of whom were retirees and middle aged people, not the usual cell phone suspects - teenagers and millennials) wanted to escape from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom as much the dinosaurs wanted to get off that volcanic island. Me…even though I dig me some dinosaurs, I would rather be stuck in hot lava with a T-Rex chomping on my groin than ever watch another Jurassic World movie. 

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a repetitive, moronic mess of a movie that's only justification for existing is as a commercial for the accompanying Universal amusement park ride and the inevitable mindless sequels coming in its wake, therefore…there is absolutely no need to see it…ever.

©2018