THE END OF OAK STREET is one of the year’s best movies, and I say that knowing it is probably about to get its butt kicked at the box office by SPIDER-MAN.

That’s too bad, because this is exactly the kind of original-ish, big-hearted, weird, scary, nostalgic summer movie people claim they want more of. It’s not quite an A from me, but as of this writing, it is leaning hard into A- territory.

Written and directed by David Robert Mitchell, THE END OF OAK STREET follows the Platt family – Greg, Denise, and their kids Audrey and Brian – whose quiet suburban Michigan neighborhood is suddenly transported into a mysterious, prehistoric nightmare full of dinosaurs and other very hungry problems. What starts as a slice of familiar 1980s Americana turns into a survival story where cul-de-sacs, bikes, family tension, and dinosaur teeth all collide.

And honestly? I loved it.

This thing is a love letter to the ’80s in the best way. Not the cheap “remember this toy?” kind of nostalgia. The real stuff. The little details. The way neighborhoods felt bigger when you were a kid. The way summer seemed endless. The way riding your bike felt like freedom until the older neighborhood bullies showed up and reminded you freedom had terms and conditions.

There’s a scene where the kids are chased on their bikes by mean older kids, and it yanked me right back. That was the price of doing business in the ’80s. If you were outside on a bike, the threat level for neighborhood big-kid violence was always at DEFCON 1. You either learned to pedal like your life depended on it, or you got pantsed, shoved, mocked, or emotionally ruined until dinner.

The movie feels like Ray Bradbury, Steven Spielberg, and Stephen King somehow pushed out a baby. It has Bradbury’s ache for childhood and memory, Spielberg’s wide-eyed sense of wonder and family peril, and King’s understanding that childhood can be magical and terrifying at the same time. That combination could have turned into mush, but Mitchell keeps it grounded.

I also love that Mitchell sets the story in Michigan. He filmed IT FOLLOWS in Detroit, and as someone whose family all hails from the Mitten State, I love seeing Michigan get this kind of affection on screen. There’s a texture to it – the neighborhoods, the weathered Midwestern feel, the sense that ordinary places can become extraordinary with just the right amount of dread.

The cast is strong. Anne Hathaway is stellar, as usual. No notes, Anne. None at all. She gives the movie emotional gravity without ever making it feel like she’s trying to drag the material into awards-bait seriousness. Maisy Stella and Christian Convery are also very good as the kids, giving the movie that necessary Spielbergian “children in danger, but not helpless” energy.

Ewan McGregor is a quality actor, and I don’t want to pretend otherwise. That said, I continue to struggle with him in American-accent roles. For whatever reason, I get big-time Gerard Butler marble-mouth vibes when he’s doing American. It’s not enough to derail the movie, but every once in a while my brain went, “Nobody sounds like this in real life!” Still, he’s solid, and the family dynamic works.

One caution: THE END OF OAK STREET earns and maximizes its PG-13 rating. If you’ve seen the trailer, you know there’s a dinosaur element, and we all know what happens when dinosaurs meet humans. Buffet time for our prehistoric friends. I would think twice before taking super young kids, especially if they are expecting something closer to JURASSIC PARK wonder than “oh no, that person is now lunch.”

What impressed me most is that THE END OF OAK STREET balances nostalgia, fear, family drama, and creature-feature fun without losing its sense of wonder. It is scary enough to tense you up, heartfelt enough to stick with you, and specific enough in its ’80s details to feel like it was made by someone who remembers the era instead of someone who just watched a bunch of commercials from it.

All in all, this is one of the year’s best movies so far. It may not dominate the box office, and it may get steamrolled by bigger franchise machinery, but I think people who find it are going to remember it fondly.

Grade: A-

Check out the trailer below, listen live on today’s KVNU For The People Movie Show, or check back later to listen to the podcast.