🔗 Share this article Marathon Viewing The Latest Holiday Movies: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good. It is the season to slob out on the couch and consume a box of mince pies in front of a good movie, a poor film, or one that’s terrible yet terrific. This year, a crop of fresh holiday movies aims to become part of our holiday traditions—perhaps even finding a spot alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it). Thus, in a helpful attempt to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to embrace the Christmas spirit, I binged as many recent Christmas films as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Beginning, hopefully, on a high. This release is the only 2025 movie on a popular review site's list of the top 100 festive features of all time. The Jonas Brothers end up stuck in the UK after wrapping up their international trek and must get home for Christmas. Their endeavors are hampered by an evil Santa, who sings to declare they won’t get home until they “find their sibling bond.” The back-and-forth between the bickering brothers is enjoyable even for the casual viewer, while devotees will certainly notice lots of in-jokes as they try to get back using any means of transport necessary. It’s private planes, trains and automobiles. It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is excellent for devotees and a positive start to the day. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who will have to sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland appears as a movie actor cast a traditional British stage show. “A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and older star Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose manager has tricked him into thinking he’s starring in high-class London stage. His pantomime fellow actors tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he insists angrily. It's easy to predict their reply. That is, unless you’re not acquainted with traditional panto catchphrases. There are some great jokes, some touching sub-plots, and the ensemble is cracking, too. It’s the type of film that would be a bit naff at any other time of year, but is a lot of fun at Christmas. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 A New Spin on Scrooge An actor pops up at the outset of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the second consecutive movie. Is this a fresh holiday staple? This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who encounters Mr Sood, the latest spin on Mr Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Mr Sood is played by The Big Bang Theory’s Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale unfolds as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is confronted by the apparitions of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This Indian Scrooge is at least unique from all the others, but sadly he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s portrayal is lifeless—a problem when he’s so the focal point. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Lunchtime: Stuffed There’s time for a channel'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 holiday to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he discovers there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to reimburse the excess. Fun while it lasts but not lasting. Festive score: 🎄🎄 1.12pm - Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the festive trappings are in the background—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its main point—but it feels cosy and festive all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is assigned to a country estate to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. En route, she encounters a man in a literary haven who offers to show her a festive Paris. A critic recently claimed this is the best new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a festive dalliance with a touch of class and gives the necessary cozy feelings. The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is particularly strong too. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 A Charming Quest Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, despite the persuasion of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him otherwise. The answer is to be discovered, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the assistance of a team of well-known experts and celebrities. It’s understated but charming, and ideal viewing while waiting for Santa to visit. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a dysfunctional American family who gather for the holidays—including fellow acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer begins by referencing holiday staples like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before saying: “They need to make a movie about the true heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the premise, but in reality it’s really a mash-up of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally takes center stage. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Formulaic Fun The day’s taken a dip, but fortunately here’s a new offering in the saturated market of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and strangely compelling—holiday fare. It’s a tale as well-worn: An American woman goes on a quest to a far-off wintery locale and ends up finding romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
It is the season to slob out on the couch and consume a box of mince pies in front of a good movie, a poor film, or one that’s terrible yet terrific. This year, a crop of fresh holiday movies aims to become part of our holiday traditions—perhaps even finding a spot alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it). Thus, in a helpful attempt to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to embrace the Christmas spirit, I binged as many recent Christmas films as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Beginning, hopefully, on a high. This release is the only 2025 movie on a popular review site's list of the top 100 festive features of all time. The Jonas Brothers end up stuck in the UK after wrapping up their international trek and must get home for Christmas. Their endeavors are hampered by an evil Santa, who sings to declare they won’t get home until they “find their sibling bond.” The back-and-forth between the bickering brothers is enjoyable even for the casual viewer, while devotees will certainly notice lots of in-jokes as they try to get back using any means of transport necessary. It’s private planes, trains and automobiles. It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is excellent for devotees and a positive start to the day. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who will have to sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland appears as a movie actor cast a traditional British stage show. “A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and older star Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose manager has tricked him into thinking he’s starring in high-class London stage. His pantomime fellow actors tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he insists angrily. It's easy to predict their reply. That is, unless you’re not acquainted with traditional panto catchphrases. There are some great jokes, some touching sub-plots, and the ensemble is cracking, too. It’s the type of film that would be a bit naff at any other time of year, but is a lot of fun at Christmas. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 A New Spin on Scrooge An actor pops up at the outset of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the second consecutive movie. Is this a fresh holiday staple? This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who encounters Mr Sood, the latest spin on Mr Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Mr Sood is played by The Big Bang Theory’s Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale unfolds as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is confronted by the apparitions of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This Indian Scrooge is at least unique from all the others, but sadly he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s portrayal is lifeless—a problem when he’s so the focal point. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Lunchtime: Stuffed There’s time for a channel'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 holiday to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he discovers there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to reimburse the excess. Fun while it lasts but not lasting. Festive score: 🎄🎄 1.12pm - Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the festive trappings are in the background—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its main point—but it feels cosy and festive all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is assigned to a country estate to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. En route, she encounters a man in a literary haven who offers to show her a festive Paris. A critic recently claimed this is the best new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a festive dalliance with a touch of class and gives the necessary cozy feelings. The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is particularly strong too. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 A Charming Quest Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, despite the persuasion of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him otherwise. The answer is to be discovered, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the assistance of a team of well-known experts and celebrities. It’s understated but charming, and ideal viewing while waiting for Santa to visit. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a dysfunctional American family who gather for the holidays—including fellow acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer begins by referencing holiday staples like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before saying: “They need to make a movie about the true heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the premise, but in reality it’s really a mash-up of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally takes center stage. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Formulaic Fun The day’s taken a dip, but fortunately here’s a new offering in the saturated market of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and strangely compelling—holiday fare. It’s a tale as well-worn: An American woman goes on a quest to a far-off wintery locale and ends up finding romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher