🔗 Share this article Binge-Watching The Latest Holiday Movies: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good. ‘Tis the season to lounge on the sofa and devour a tin of holiday pastries in front of a good movie, a awful feature, or one that’s terrible yet terrific. As always, a crop of new Christmas films hopes to be part of our festive viewing—perhaps even finding a spot alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments). Therefore, in a noble effort to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to embrace the holiday mood, I marathoned as many recent festive movies as possible in a single day. 7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Starting, optimistically, on a good foot. This release is the sole 2025 movie on a popular review site's list of the top 100 Christmas movies of all time. The Jonas Brothers are trapped in the UK after finishing their world tour and must make it back for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an evil Santa, who sings to state they won’t get home until they “rediscover their sibling bond.” The repartee between the arguing trio is amusing even for the casual viewer, while fans will certainly pick up on lots of in-jokes as they endeavor to get back using any means of transport necessary. It’s private planes, trains and automobiles. It’s not legendary, but is superb for devotees and a solid start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who must sit through it. Late Morning: Tinsel Town A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity roped into a traditional British stage show. “A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and older star Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose representative has tricked him into thinking he’s appearing in high-class London stage. His Aladdin fellow actors tell him he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he protests. One can imagine their reply. Except if you’re ignorant of traditional stage call-and-response. There are some great jokes, some touching side stories, and the ensemble is brilliant, too. It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit cheesy at a different time, but is a great entertainment at Christmas. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 10.19am - Christmas Karma A familiar face shows up at the beginning of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the next movie straight. Could this be a budding festive ritual? This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who collects 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 tight-fisted Mr Sood is haunted by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This cultural adaptation is at least different from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s performance is flat—a major flaw when he’s so central to everything. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Lunchtime: Stuffed There’s time for a network's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “avoids Christmas.” But after he is awarded an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) talks him into spending the sum on a vacation to Lapland. There’s just one snag—he learns there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to pay back the excess. Enjoyable but forgettable. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the decorations and snow are in the backdrop—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its main point—but it feels cosy and festive all the same. High-powered businesswoman Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a country estate to do a deal for a champagne business. En route, she runs into a fellow in a bookshop who offers to show her Christmas in Paris. A critic recently stated this is the top new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a Christmas romance with a touch of class and gives the necessary heartwarming sensation. The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is notable too. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 A Charming Quest Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, regardless of the attempts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him otherwise. The secret is to be discovered, and Chris sets out to find it with the expert help of a team of well-known experts and celebrities. It’s understated but endearing, and good viewing while anticipating Santa to visit. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a quarrelling American family who reunite for the holidays—including other acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer opens by name-dropping Christmas classics like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before saying: “They need to make a movie about the real champions of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the concept, but in reality it’s really a jumble of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally comes into her own. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Formulaic Fun The day’s gone downhill, but happily here’s a new offering in the crowded field of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and utterly watchable—festive fodder. It’s a tale as old as time: An American woman travels to a far-off wintery locale and ends up discovering romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
‘Tis the season to lounge on the sofa and devour a tin of holiday pastries in front of a good movie, a awful feature, or one that’s terrible yet terrific. As always, a crop of new Christmas films hopes to be part of our festive viewing—perhaps even finding a spot alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments). Therefore, in a noble effort to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to embrace the holiday mood, I marathoned as many recent festive movies as possible in a single day. 7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Starting, optimistically, on a good foot. This release is the sole 2025 movie on a popular review site's list of the top 100 Christmas movies of all time. The Jonas Brothers are trapped in the UK after finishing their world tour and must make it back for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an evil Santa, who sings to state they won’t get home until they “rediscover their sibling bond.” The repartee between the arguing trio is amusing even for the casual viewer, while fans will certainly pick up on lots of in-jokes as they endeavor to get back using any means of transport necessary. It’s private planes, trains and automobiles. It’s not legendary, but is superb for devotees and a solid start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who must sit through it. Late Morning: Tinsel Town A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity roped into a traditional British stage show. “A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and older star Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose representative has tricked him into thinking he’s appearing in high-class London stage. His Aladdin fellow actors tell him he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he protests. One can imagine their reply. Except if you’re ignorant of traditional stage call-and-response. There are some great jokes, some touching side stories, and the ensemble is brilliant, too. It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit cheesy at a different time, but is a great entertainment at Christmas. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 10.19am - Christmas Karma A familiar face shows up at the beginning of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the next movie straight. Could this be a budding festive ritual? This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who collects 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 tight-fisted Mr Sood is haunted by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This cultural adaptation is at least different from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s performance is flat—a major flaw when he’s so central to everything. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Lunchtime: Stuffed There’s time for a network's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “avoids Christmas.” But after he is awarded an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) talks him into spending the sum on a vacation to Lapland. There’s just one snag—he learns there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to pay back the excess. Enjoyable but forgettable. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the decorations and snow are in the backdrop—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its main point—but it feels cosy and festive all the same. High-powered businesswoman Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a country estate to do a deal for a champagne business. En route, she runs into a fellow in a bookshop who offers to show her Christmas in Paris. A critic recently stated this is the top new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a Christmas romance with a touch of class and gives the necessary heartwarming sensation. The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is notable too. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 A Charming Quest Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, regardless of the attempts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him otherwise. The secret is to be discovered, and Chris sets out to find it with the expert help of a team of well-known experts and celebrities. It’s understated but endearing, and good viewing while anticipating Santa to visit. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a quarrelling American family who reunite for the holidays—including other acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer opens by name-dropping Christmas classics like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before saying: “They need to make a movie about the real champions of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the concept, but in reality it’s really a jumble of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally comes into her own. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Formulaic Fun The day’s gone downhill, but happily here’s a new offering in the crowded field of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and utterly watchable—festive fodder. It’s a tale as old as time: An American woman travels to a far-off wintery locale and ends up discovering romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher