Starting with The Devil Wears Prada 2 in May and continuing through July and August with the continued box office successes of The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, it’s been a summer filled with hits. (Let’s just ignore Supergirl – everyone else has.)
The summer season may be winding down, but there’s one surefire hit left – The End of Oak Street. The Ewan McGregor/Anne Hathaway sci-fi adventure is a surprise hit with critics, and it’s poised to make some serious cash the rest of the month.
Seeing the film, or even hearing about its story about a family transported back in time to fight dinosaurs, might have piqued your interest in other films just like it.
If so, Watch With Us has some great movies to stream after you’ve watched The End of Oak Street.
‘Jurassic Park’ (1993)
A lot of the reviews for The End of Oak Street claim it’s the best dinosaur film since Steven Spielberg’s original Jurassic Park, so it’s only appropriate to include it on this list. This groundbreaking 1992 film stars the late Sam Neill as Alan Grant, an expert paleontologist who can’t believe his eyes when he sees dinosaurs roaming the earth once again at the soon-to-be-open theme park, Jurassic Park. But to paraphrase Jeff Goldblum’s Ian Malcolm, life finds a way to make things messy, and these genetically modified dinos soon break out of their cages and wreak havoc on the park.
You’ve probably seen Jurassic Park – it was that big of a hit in 1993 and continues to be hugely influential. In some ways, the film’s groundbreaking special effects have only improved over time, making the impossible visuals of watching a Tyrannosaurus rex chasing after a speeding car seem realistic. While the film’s action still holds up, it’s the film’s innate sense of awe at watching these ancient creatures roam among humans that makes it so memorable – and yes, touching.
Jurassic Park is available to rent or purchase on Amazon Prime Video and other digital vendors.
‘Jumanji’ (1995)
Robin Williams in Jumanji. Columbia/courtesy Everett Collection
Way back in the ‘60s, wealthy kid Alan (Adam Hann-Byrd) disappeared after playing a mysterious board game named Jumanji. 26 years later, Judy and Peter (Kirsten Dunst and Bradley Pierce) start playing the same game and unwittingly find Alan (Robin Williams), who is now a disheveled, nearly insane grown man. They also unleash all the game’s exotic creatures and monsters, who terrorize the town and threaten to injure everyone in it. The only way to stop them is to finish the game Alan started all those years ago, and he’ll need the help of his former friend, Sarah (Bonnie Hunt), to do it.
Unlike the recent sequels with Dwayne Johnson and Jack Black, the original Jumanji is primarily a family film that focuses more on a broken family trying to heal itself while being chased by big, scary creatures. Like Oak Street, Jumanji blends convincing special effects (you will believe a hippopotamus can casually crush a car like it’s a soda can) with a big heart, resulting in a fun, all-ages adventure film that will make you want to be a kid again.
Jumanji is streaming on Netflix.
‘The Goonies’ (1985)
Ke Huy Quan (aka Jonathan Ke Quan), Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman and Jeff Cohen in The Goonies Warner Bros./courtesy Everett Collection
When young Mikey (Sean Astin) finds One-Eyed Willy’s treasure map in his attic, he’s sure that’s the answer to saving his home from foreclosure. He persuades the rest of his friends, the Goonies, to help him find it, but they’re not alone. The criminal Fratelli family wants all the loot for themselves, and they’re willing to kill each one of them to make that happen. Can Mikey, big brother Brand (Josh Brolin) and best friend Data (Ke Huy Quan) find Willy’s treasure before the Fratelli’s?
As far as ‘80s-set adventure films go, nothing beats The Goonies. The Richard Donner-directed classic is beloved by Gen X and millennials alike, and it’s still as massively entertaining now as it was 41 years ago. A big reason why is that it taps into a universal desire we all share as kids – to embark on a secret adventure without adult supervision. The Goonies prove not only that they can hold their own against grown-ups like Mama Fratelli (Anne Ramsey), but they can outsmart them and save the day, too.
The Goonies is streaming for free on The Roku Channel.
‘65’ (2023)
Adam Driver in 65. Patti Perret / © Sony Pictures Entertainment / courtesy Everett Collection
Time travel? Dinosaurs? An intriguing sci-fi premise that doesn’t have an obvious ending? It sounds like I’m describing The End of Oak Street, but that logline also sums up 65, an underrated 2023 film starring Adam Driver. He plays Mills (Driver), an astronaut who loses control of his ship and crashes on what looks like an alien planet. Along with fellow survivor Koa (Ariana Greenblatt), they eventually realize this planet has a name – Earth! And this prehistoric world is filled with dinosaurs who have one thing on their mind – their next meal. And if Mills and Koa can’t find a way back home, they’re next on the menu.
65 makes the most of its modest budget, convincingly creating a world filled with dense forests and menacing dinos. Like Oak Street, 65 executes its intriguing premise with intelligence and style, creating a compelling adventure that also doubles as a touching father/daughter story not unlike The Last of Us.
