Stunning video montage counts down critic's 25 favorite movies of the year

It will make you want to see all of these movies (again)

Published December 2, 2014 10:50PM (EST)

This image released by Sony Pictures Classics shows Tilda Swinton, left, and Tom Hiddleston in a scene from "Only Lovers Left Alive."  (AP Photo/Sony Pictures Classics, Gordon A. Timpen)
This image released by Sony Pictures Classics shows Tilda Swinton, left, and Tom Hiddleston in a scene from "Only Lovers Left Alive." (AP Photo/Sony Pictures Classics, Gordon A. Timpen)

It is December, which means with the significant drop in temperature, there's ample indoor-time to be spent catching up on movies you may have missed over the year -- and if you don't know where to start, there's a sufficient number of countdown lists to serve as a guide.

In this spirit -- the spirit of snuggling up with a hot toddy and catching up on the year's best movies -- I'd like to share this amazing video montage created by the editor at large of Little White LiesDavid Ehrlich. The video, which is beautifully crafted, counts down some of the best films of 2014.

Of course, this is just one man's opinion, and you may vehemently agree or disagree. Or perhaps you have not seen many of these films; in that case, this video essay could be a window to a whole new set of must-see movies. Watch below:

A list of films below, via Little White Lies:

25. Lucy

24. We Are the Best!

23. Timbuktu

22. Selma

21. Love Is Strange

20. Listen Up Philip

19. Godzilla

18. Starred Up

17. Why Don’t You Play in Hell?

16. Mommy

15. The Babadook

14. Palo Alto

13. Ida

12. Goodbye to Language

11. Boyhood

10. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

9. Force Majeure

8. God Help the Girl

7. The Double

6. Only Lovers Left Alive

5. Gone Girl

4. Nymphomaniac

3. Under the Skin

2. Inherent Vice

1. The Grand Budapest Hotel

And here's the criteria by which the films were selected:

"It’s been a great year for movies, and a tireless year for me doing my best to see as many of them as possible.

"In order to be eligible for this list, a film had to be formally distributed in the United States in the calendar year of 2014. When needed, I extended that to films that have been submitted to the Best Foreign Language Film category at the upcoming Oscars, even if they weren’t required to have a qualifying run in NY or LA (those movies are opening really soon anyway, so it’s all good)."


By Sarah Gray

Sarah Gray is an assistant editor at Salon, focusing on innovation. Follow @sarahhhgray or email sgray@salon.com.

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Related Topics ------------------------------------------

2014 Birdman Boyhood Films Gone Girl Movies Only Lovers Left Alive The Grand Budapest Hotel Video