Stream these 10 great films you might've missed this year
Mad Max: Fury Road, Spotlight and Creed are a few of the critical heavyweights to pack a punch with moviegoers in 2015 (and land on USA TODAY's Brian Truitt's 10 best movies of the year list). But what about the films that played in only a handful of theaters or have gotten a second wind during awards season? Here are 10 more under-the-radar picks that are worth a look:
1. Mistress America
Noah Baumbach's latest made an OK $2.5 million in limited release, but it didn't take off quite like his ensemble While We're Young this spring or critically adored Frances Ha in 2013. That's a shame, because this acerbic comedy is even more hilariously cringe-worthy. Greta Gerwig gives nuance to her obliviously vain character — a thirtysomething New Yorker — while Lola Kirke is winsome as her future stepsister.
Where to watch: Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Google Play
2. Tangerine
The Duplass brothers, who produced Tangerine, launched an awards campaign this fall for transgender stars Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor. Although Oscar nominations are unlikely, it's still worth checking out this bawdy and surprisingly poignant dramedy about prostitutes in search of a wayward pimp on Christmas Eve. Adding to the film's allure: It was shot entirely on an iPhone in Los Angeles.
Where to watch: Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Google Play
3. Phoenix
A sleeper hit at the specialty box office this summer, this German-language drama follows a Holocaust survivor who returns to Berlin after World War II in search of her husband, who may have betrayed her to the Nazis. Expertly paced and gorgeously realized, Phoenix is a beautifully understated noir film with one of the most haunting final scenes of any movie this year.
Where to watch: Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Google Play
4. Goodnight Mommy
For those who relished hip horror entries It Follows and The Babadook this past year, here's your next sinister obsession. This slow-burning Austrian thriller follows twin brothers whose mom returns after extensive facial surgery — only they suspect it's not actually their mother under the bandages. Goodnight Mommy is suspenseful and at times sadistic, with a third-act twist that will make you queasy.
Where to watch: Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Prime (starting Jan. 9)
5. The Look of Silence
Many pundits consider this a shoo-in for a best-documentary Oscar nomination and a strong contender for the win. Regardless of where it lands in the awards pile, Joshua Oppenheimer's companion to his Oscar-nominated The Act of Killing is necessary viewing although harrowing to watch as a man confronts the death-squad leaders who killed his brother during the 1965 Indonesian genocide.
Where to watch: Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Google Play
6. Eden
Eden is a dreamy sojourn to the raves and nightclubs where Daft Punk and other Parisian DJs came up in the 1990s and 2000s, but to be clear, it's not a Daft Punk biopic. Instead, this low-key French drama tracks the rise and fall of a lesser-known DJ (inspired in large part by co-writer Sven Hansen-Love's life), and features a killer soundtrack of soul- and funk-infused house music.
Where to watch: Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Google Play
7. Meru
If you were disappointed by the star-studded but pedestrian Everest this fall, Meru may be the exhilarating antidote you need. Telling the stories of three climbers determined to conquer India's foreboding Mount Meru, this dizzying documentary not only features breathtaking cinematography but also gets to the core of why these thrill-seekers risk their lives to scale mountains.
Where to watch: Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Google Play
8. The Duke of Burgundy
Fifty Shades of Grey has nothing on this overlooked lesbian drama, which examines the kinky relationship between a professor who studies butterflies and moths, and her young student role-playing as a maid. In this atmospheric, unsettling and elegantly shot film, Peter Strickland crafts a mesmerizing world you'll want to keep watching (although, maybe not with Mom and Dad).
Where to watch: Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Google Play
9. Mommy
The guy who directed Adele's cinematic Hello music video? That would be provocative young Canadian director Xavier Dolan, who won the Jury Prize at last year's Cannes film festival for this vibrantly edited French-language drama. Charting the explosive relationship between a resolute widow and her violent teen son, Mommy is as erratic and heartwrenching as its characters.
Where to watch: Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Google Play, Hulu (starting Jan. 26)
10. White God
Think Planet of the Apes, but with dogs. If your interest is piqued, there's a lot to mull over in this Hungarian fable-meets-revenge-thriller, which tracks an abandoned mutt that leads an uprising against people with hundreds of canine followers. If you fawn over friendly pooches like Lassie or Toto, be forewarned: These vicious hounds and even crueler humans have more than chew toys and tennis balls in their arsenals.
Where to watch: Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Google Play