The Mosley Review: The End of Oak Street

I believe we've all been waiting for this day to finally come. We've all wanted a new and original take on dinosaurs roaming the Earth in modern day. The Jurassic Park and Jurassic World franchise has dabbled in this scenario and has reigned the dino genre of film for the longest time. Where that franchise fell off is when it stopped being about the thrill of survival and the horrific thought of being brutally eaten alive. This film brings back those thrills and horror of the situation that is unpredictable and fun. This film had that classic slice of Americana that is missing from films today and flips it just enough that it doesn't forget its purpose or identity once the beast start to show up. It was the slow build of the tension before the first reveal and escalation that kept me invested the entire time. The characters themselves had depth as well and were not forgotten for the sake of spectacle.

Ewan McGregor was great as the husband and father of the house, Greg Platt. Greg was ever the optimist and sometimes passive husband that was trying his best to scrape by and support his family. Even though he was sometimes a little too thick, he still was good hearted. Anne Hathaway was great as his wife and mother of the house, Denise Platt. She was the classic image of a caring and perfect wife to the neighborhood, but the layers of pain were much deeper. As an aspiring novelist, you really get to see her dump all of her feelings into the memoir about how she truly felt disconnected from her family and husband. The two of them worked off each so well as they deal with their deteriorating marriage. I loved that we get both perspectives of their relationship explored and how its affecting the kids in such little time. Christian Convery was fun as their son, Brian Platt. Christian was excellent at showing the raw amount of fear and heartbreak as the film goes on. I wish he was a little braver and more capable though. Maisy Stella was good as his sister, Audrey Platt and I liked that she smart. Not overly smart, but enough to help figure out how her family and the neighborhood was transported back to the age of dinosaurs. In a particular scene involving a snake, I found it funny how much screaming the kids did instead of finding a weapon. At least Denise and Brian stepped up. P. J. Byrne is always great at playing that one guy whose irate and annoying manor is great for laughs. As their neighbor, Mel Jacobs, he excels at it so well and at one point, you kinda feel bad for the guy.

The score by the great and busy composer Michael Giachinno was excellent as you’d expect. After his work in the majority of the Jurassic World films, it was fun to see him revisit a dino centric story again and deliver more on the horror and thrilling aspects. Its sharp, bombastic and emotional toward the last half and I loved every bit of it. The dinosaurs looked great and were used very well in this film as monsters and I loved the suspense and brutality they bring. For a PG-13 film, it was very gory and I loved it. It didn’t shy away from the violence and terror to protect the children and I was so happy that nobody was safe. The only problems I had aside from the classic dumb decisions of characters making too much noise or not using their environments, was the ending. Its a good ending, but it just leaves some real logical and logistical questions that needed to be answered. Either way, this was a fun thrill ride that brought back the excitement and terror that the other dino franchise is sorely missing. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!