Video summary
The reviewer begins by discussing the film *The End of Oak Street*, noting that despite initial expectations of it being a *Cloverfield* style disaster movie, it ultimately turned out to be a contained neighborhood adventure featuring Ewan McGregor and Hathaway alongside dinosaurs. The director, known for the hit film *It Follows*, brings a distinct visual style to the project, utilizing long slow zooms, split-screens, and double focuses that evoke the spirit of 1980s and 90s Steven Spielberg adventures. While the production operates on a modest budget compared to blockbusters like *Jurassic Park*, the film cleverly relies on practical effects and visual trickery to build suspense around its prehistoric creatures, avoiding the immediate reveal tactics often seen in later dinosaur films.
As the story unfolds, the movie balances humor with tension, starting with funny moments involving eccentric neighbors and random occurrences before shifting into a serious tone that draws viewers into the characters' plight. The central emotional drive of the narrative is the desperate effort to find a lost dog, a relatable goal that anchors the chaos of the situation. Although the reviewer acknowledges that some of the children's characters are portrayed as somewhat foolish, the film succeeds in making the audience invested in their survival. The pacing is described as decent and entertaining, offering a fun experience that does not attempt to break box office records but still provides a solid viewing time for those looking for something new to watch.
However, the reviewer expresses significant reservations regarding the film's ending and its underlying logic, particularly concerning the time paradox involving a wormhole that transports characters back five minutes into the past. Upon reflection, the plot holes become apparent; saving Ewan McGregor in one timeline seemingly dooms the group in another, raising questions about why other neighbors were saved while the protagonists struggled to escape their own loop. The reviewer points out inconsistencies, such as the fate of the little girl who is seen twice at the end, suggesting that the more one thinks about these elements after the credits roll, the less coherent the story feels. Despite these narrative issues and a narrow focus on how the characters get out rather than explaining why things happen, the film remains an enjoyable watch for its unique premise and execution.
In conclusion, the reviewer rates *The End of Oak Street* four out of seven stars, characterizing it as a "mid good" movie that is fun but not groundbreaking enough to generate massive financial or critical success. While the script's narrow scope and unexplained plot mechanics prevent it from being a masterpiece, the director's talent and the film's clever handling of dinosaur teases make it worth seeing. The reviewer admits they might not seek out a second viewing but remains hopeful for future projects from the director, especially given that he is already working on a sequel to *It Follows*. Ultimately, the film serves as an entertaining diversion that offers a fresh take on the dinosaur genre without needing to live up to the massive budgets of its predecessors.
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Hey, didn't turn out to be a Cloverfield
movie. In some ways I almost kind of
wish it did.
Woo, that's a hot mug, guys.
Hey guys, [snorts] this is my review for
the end of Oak Street. This stars Ewan
McGregor and Hathaway, a bunch of kids,
and some dinosaurs. This was a movie
that really, really did make me think it
was going to be a Cloverfield Lane
[music] film. Not only from seeing all
of the business with J.J. Abrams
attached to it, which that's a name that
has kind of become a ghost now in film
after The Force Awakens. The whole Bad
Robot IP has uh basically gone
underground. I know he tried to make a
television show for HBO, which
apparently was very good, but it was
apparently so high budget that they just
couldn't keep going. Seeing this concept
also with the director of hit It Follows
[music]
at the helm of it, I was curious to see
what seemingly looked like just a
neighborhood [music] that somehow
randomly gets transported back to the
prehistoric ages would work. And for the
most part, it's actually a fairly
decently contained little adventure
movie. It has the hearkenings of [music]
a Spielberg adventure movie from the
'80s and the '90s while still having a
lot of the storytelling [music]
effects and camera work that the
director used quite often [music] in It
Follows with long, slow zooms and
follows, as well as a lot of
split-screen uh double focuses, which
was a fun thing to see. You don't see
that too often in movies nowadays. The
thing that I kept finding quite humorous
about this movie is how many times you
have a little chuckle about what was
going on, whether it would be the
neighbor being a dickwad or things
slowly starting to appear a little
randomly, and then the slow emergence of
the situation revealing itself to the
characters. And after a a bit of that
initial ha-ha-ha, it does get a bit
serious to the point where
it gets rather serious and you are
invested with these characters even if
the kids are a little bit stupid. There
is the the heart of it is like trying to
find the dog and I can relate to that. I
I would want to find the dog, too. I
think that the thing that I really
appreciate about this movie is it
reminded me a lot of the initial
tease of the dinosaurs from Jurassic
Park because it takes a minute before
you see them and even when you have seen
them there's this slow [music] build up
to them because this movie what it
doesn't have the Jurassic Park budget to
it. It's working on a like if I'm
correct like an $80 million budget and
you see these tricks and these teases
[music] and these maneuvers both with
practical effects as well as visual
trickery.
It is very smart in how it [music] is
building up these dinosaurs and these
creatures and it doesn't
rip off the band-aid right away. It
doesn't Oh, look, big thing, big thing,
big thing. No, it's building up to these
things. And the amount of teases that
happen, too, it doesn't feel as stupid
as any of the Jurassic World movies are.
There are maybe a couple of moments
where like, all right, could you really
not hear that? Could you really not see
that in your peripheral vision? But in
comparison to Jurassic World, th- this
movie is basically written by Albert
Einstein in comparison. That being said,
I do have a little bit of a nitpick with
the ending, but I only will reveal that
at the end of the movie and it's more so
the further thought of it. Overall, I
was very entertained with this movie.
It's not gangbusters. It's not something
that's going to break the bank. It
admittedly is
>> [music]
>> kind of mid good mid, but mid and that
might attribute as to why you haven't
seen this movie do gangbusters for money
or even do gangbusters for reviews. It's
just like,
good time.
What else is there to watch? Overall,
End of Oak Street, I is a fun time, but
I wouldn't blame people if they went and
saw it on a Tuesday or if they waited to
see this at home because while I did
enjoy what was done for this movie,
I felt like the script and the [music]
premise was so very narrow focused, so
very to the core of
this is what they're in,
how do they get out?
And even to the point of how
things happened, it's not explained
whatsoever. And I'm not looking for that
either. I'm not looking for an
explanation unto that.
It just more so there's a secondary
element to it that the more you thought
about it, the more the movie broke for
you. But that wasn't until the credits
rolled. In the end, my rating for The
End of Oak Street is is is a four out of
seven. I thought it was fun.
And that's it. But admittedly, I don't
think I'd ever care if I never saw this
movie again. But I am hopeful that
It Follows director gets more work. I
know he is making It Follows 2, so we'll
see how that goes. But yeah, but now
that the review's over, I am going to
talk about the ending. [music] So this
is spoilers, so if you've seen the
movie, stay. If you don't want it
spoiled, obviously, go on to your next
video. The more and more you think about
the time paradox thing with the whole
wormhole taking them back about 5
minutes before everything, the more the
movie breaks because then you think
about it, it's like, oh, you save Ewan
McGregor in that timeline, but then you
doomed yourself and the kids to that
timeline and they probably won't survive
to go back into that loop. So are now
you in a parallel universe? Are you
breaking the loop? Why did you save all
the other neighbors except yourselves?
Hello sky. Hello. Sky bigger. And if
there might be the thought of like,
well, why didn't they didn't save
themselves because they didn't want a
paradox, but then if I'm correct at the
very end of the movie, the little girl
who they found and saved, she saved her
parents and herself. So there's two of
her at the end of the movie. It correct
me if I'm wrong about that. But uh
yeah.
The more and more I thought about this
ending, the more and more I didn't like
the ending.
But that's just me. Either way, curious
to see what you guys have to say. Let me
know in the comments below. Otherwise
guys, that's all for me. Hope you
enjoyed this review and if you did,
leave a like and if you want some more,
subscribe. And until then, see you guys
next time.