Anne Hathaway Stars in Time-Travel Disaster 'The End of Oak Street

The year for Anne Hathaway has suddenly hit the gas pedal. After the legacy sequel to "The Devil Wears Prada," the independent film "Mother Mary," and right behind Christopher Nolan's massive "The Odyssey," she jumps into another project called "The End of Oak Street." She is still got a movie lined up for this fall, too.

She teams up with Ewan McGregor to play Denise and Greg Platt, a couple who keep smiling while their teenage kids, Audrey and Brian, played by Maisy Stella and Christian Convery, deal with the stress at home. They live in what looks like a perfect neighborhood on Oak Street back in Summer 1982.

Then one night, a strange light shines through their windows. When they go outside to check it out, there is no electricity, no water running from the taps, and the radio just goes dead. Denise and Greg leave the house quickly because things are clearly wrong. Dinosaurs have appeared everywhere.

The whole neighborhood got transported back to a time before humans existed. The end of the street ends at a huge cliff where jungles now grow in people's backyards. The Platts must fight for their lives and figure out how to get home, if getting home is even possible.

Someone in Hollywood probably pitched an idea like "What if it were 'Jurassic Park' but set in suburbia?" The premise makes no logical sense, and that is perfectly fine as long as the audience accepts it. Writer-director David Robert Mitchell handles the execution so well on a pure entertainment level that people do not need to understand how it works to enjoy it.

Mitchell made his name with the 2014 horror film "It Follows." He knows how to build suspense and put together fun action sequences. Cinematographer Mike Gioulakis, editor John Axelrad, and Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino all help him out. Giacchino delivers another great score that fits perfectly.

J.J. Abrams also produced this sci-fi action thriller. He is famous for "LOST," the "Cloverfield" trilogy, and recent "Star Trek" and "Star Wars" movies. His involvement adds weight to the project.

Hathaway shines in this role more than any other part she has taken on this year. She plays the no-nonsense mother of the family while McGregor brings some lightness as a father who might be too optimistic. All of them, including Stella and Convery, take turns fighting off dinosaurs. Some of those creatures are quite terrifying!

The Verdict "The End of Oak Street" is a fun ride for crowds that mixes laughs with suspense. It feels like a throwback to the movies Hollywood used to make in the past. If you want to see one more movie with your family before school starts again, consider this one. ★★★ ½, SEE IT NOW

The film is rated PG-13 for strong violent content, bloody images, some strong language and suggestive material. It runs for about an hour and thirty-nine minutes and plays in theaters now.