Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

I don't remember why I was drawn to Little Miss Sunshine when I first watched —it was probably on some list featuring dark comedies—, all I know is that I ended up loving this quirky road trip indie movie, and I loved it every single other time I watched it over the years. It's quite embarrassing that I've never written about it, so here it is. 

Just in case you are not familiar with this —I'm judging you if you are not though—, the story follows the Hoovers, a dysfunctional family composed of Richard (Greg Kinnear), his wife, Sheryl (Toni Collette), his father, Edwin (Alan Arkin), his brother-in-law, Frank (Steve Carell), his step-son, Dwayne (Paul Dano), and his daughter, Olive (Abigail Breslin). When Olive qualifies for the finals of the Little Miss Sunshine pageant, the family goes on a road trip on their old Volkswagen bus to take her to the contest. 

Swiss Army Man (2016)

I first heard about Swiss Army Man when someone picked it for a Thursday Movie Picks post —I'm pretty sure it was Brittani from Rambling Film— and I added on my neverending watchlist because of the cast. 

The story follows Hank (Paul Dano), a man stranded on a deserted island who is about to kill himself as he's lost all hope. Suddenly, a dead body named Manny (Daniel Radcliffe) is washed up on the shores and, when Hank is about to try to hang himself again, the strangest thing happens, Manny starts farting. Hank soon learns that Manny can help him survive and find a way back and strikes up a friendship with him in the meantime.

Wildlife (2018)

I really like Paul Dano as an actor and Zoe Kazan is really growing on me, so the two of them co-writing a script and Dano directing the movie is definitely something I cannot overlook. If you have Carey Mulligan and Jake Gyllenhaal, you get a movie one an idiot can pass. So yeah, I had huge expectations for Dano's directorial debut, Wildlife. 

Set in 1960, the story follows the Brinson family, Jeanette (Carey Mulligan), Jerry (Jake Gyllenhaal) and their teenage son, Joe (Ed Oxenbould), as they move to Great Falls, Montana. When Jerry loses his job and refuses to take it back out of pride, he decides to join a group of volunteers to fight fires. As soon as Jerry leaves, something awakens in Jeanette and Joe is suddenly forced into the role of an adult.