🔗 Share this article Binge-Watching The Latest Christmas Films: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good. It is the time of year to relax on the sofa and demolish a box of holiday pastries in front of a good movie, a awful feature, or one that’s awesomely awful. This year, a selection of new holiday movies strives to join part of our seasonal watchlist—potentially even earning a place alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments). Thus, in a vital public service to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to embrace the Christmas spirit, I marathoned as many recent festive movies as possible in a single day. 7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Kicking off, hopefully, on a positive note. This release is the exclusive 2025 movie on a popular review site's list of the best 100 festive features of all time. The musical trio find themselves stuck in the UK after finishing their world tour and must return for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an evil Santa, who breaks into song to state they won’t get home until they “rediscover their sibling bond.” The repartee between the arguing trio is amusing even for the non-fan, while followers will no doubt pick up on lots of easter eggs as they try to get back using any means of transport necessary. It’s a journey of epic proportions. It’s not legendary, but is superb for fans and a positive start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who must sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland stars as a celebrity roped into a "panto". “A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and older lead Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose manager has tricked him into thinking he’s starring in high-class London stage. His Aladdin cast-mates tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he insists angrily. It's easy to predict their response. Unless you’re not acquainted with traditional British theatre traditions. There are some very funny lines, some touching side stories, and the supporting actors is cracking, too. It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit cheesy at any other time of year, but is a great entertainment at Christmas. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma Danny Dyer appears at the start of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the second film in a row. Is this a new Christmas tradition? This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who encounters Mr Sood, the newest interpretation on Mr Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Mr Sood is played by a star of Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale develops as the stingy Mr Sood is confronted by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This Indian Scrooge is at least distinct from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s acting is flat—a problem when he’s so central to everything. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 12.04pm - Stuffed There’s time for a major broadcaster's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “avoids Christmas.” But after he receives an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) talks him into splurging the cash on a vacation to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he finds out there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to pay back the remainder. Enjoyable but forgettable. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the festive trappings are in the background—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels cosy and festive all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is assigned to a vineyard to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. En route, she encounters a fellow in a bookshop who vows to show her the holidays in the City of Light. A critic recently stated this is the finest new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a Christmas romance with a dash of elegance and gives the necessary warm and fuzzy feels. The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is particularly strong too. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, despite the attempts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the reality. The truth is to be discovered, and Chris sets out to find it with the expert help of a group of well-known experts and celebrities. It’s low-key but charming, and good viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a quarrelling American family who come back together for the holidays—including other Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer starts by mentioning Christmas classics like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before stating: “They need to make a movie about the true heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the premise, but in practice it’s really a mash-up of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last takes center stage. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s taken a dip, but happily here’s a new offering in the crowded field of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and highly entertaining—seasonal comfort food. It’s a narrative as old as time: An American woman journeys to a picturesque cold country and ends up finding romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
It is the time of year to relax on the sofa and demolish a box of holiday pastries in front of a good movie, a awful feature, or one that’s awesomely awful. This year, a selection of new holiday movies strives to join part of our seasonal watchlist—potentially even earning a place alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments). Thus, in a vital public service to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to embrace the Christmas spirit, I marathoned as many recent festive movies as possible in a single day. 7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Kicking off, hopefully, on a positive note. This release is the exclusive 2025 movie on a popular review site's list of the best 100 festive features of all time. The musical trio find themselves stuck in the UK after finishing their world tour and must return for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an evil Santa, who breaks into song to state they won’t get home until they “rediscover their sibling bond.” The repartee between the arguing trio is amusing even for the non-fan, while followers will no doubt pick up on lots of easter eggs as they try to get back using any means of transport necessary. It’s a journey of epic proportions. It’s not legendary, but is superb for fans and a positive start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who must sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland stars as a celebrity roped into a "panto". “A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and older lead Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose manager has tricked him into thinking he’s starring in high-class London stage. His Aladdin cast-mates tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he insists angrily. It's easy to predict their response. Unless you’re not acquainted with traditional British theatre traditions. There are some very funny lines, some touching side stories, and the supporting actors is cracking, too. It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit cheesy at any other time of year, but is a great entertainment at Christmas. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma Danny Dyer appears at the start of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the second film in a row. Is this a new Christmas tradition? This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who encounters Mr Sood, the newest interpretation on Mr Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Mr Sood is played by a star of Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale develops as the stingy Mr Sood is confronted by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This Indian Scrooge is at least distinct from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s acting is flat—a problem when he’s so central to everything. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 12.04pm - Stuffed There’s time for a major broadcaster's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “avoids Christmas.” But after he receives an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) talks him into splurging the cash on a vacation to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he finds out there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to pay back the remainder. Enjoyable but forgettable. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the festive trappings are in the background—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels cosy and festive all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is assigned to a vineyard to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. En route, she encounters a fellow in a bookshop who vows to show her the holidays in the City of Light. A critic recently stated this is the finest new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a Christmas romance with a dash of elegance and gives the necessary warm and fuzzy feels. The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is particularly strong too. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, despite the attempts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the reality. The truth is to be discovered, and Chris sets out to find it with the expert help of a group of well-known experts and celebrities. It’s low-key but charming, and good viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a quarrelling American family who come back together for the holidays—including other Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer starts by mentioning Christmas classics like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before stating: “They need to make a movie about the true heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the premise, but in practice it’s really a mash-up of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last takes center stage. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s taken a dip, but happily here’s a new offering in the crowded field of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and highly entertaining—seasonal comfort food. It’s a narrative as old as time: An American woman journeys to a picturesque cold country and ends up finding romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher