Devouring This Year's Christmas Films: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good.

It is the time of year to relax on the couch and demolish a packet of mince pies in front of a terrific flick, a awful feature, or one that’s awesomely awful.

Once again, a selection of new holiday movies aims to become part of our seasonal watchlist—potentially even earning a place alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it).

Therefore, in a noble effort to separate the winners from the losers, and to get into the holiday mood, I marathoned as many fresh holiday releases as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Beginning, ideally, on a high. This is the exclusive 2025 title on a famous website's list of the best 100 holiday films of all time.

The musical trio find themselves trapped in the UK after wrapping up their international trek and must return for Christmas. Their efforts are thwarted by an malevolent Father Christmas, who sings to declare they won’t get home until they “find their sibling bond.”

The repartee between the arguing trio is amusing even for the casual viewer, while devotees will undoubtedly pick up on lots of in-jokes as they try to get back using any means of transport necessary.

It’s a travelogue of mishaps.

It’s not an all-time classic, but is excellent for fans and a positive start to the day.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who are obliged to sit through it.

8.45am - Tinsel Town

Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a movie actor tricked into a pantomime.

“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and older lead Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose representative has misled him into thinking he’s performing in prestigious English theatre.

His Aladdin fellow actors tell him he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he retorts. You can guess their retort. That is, unless you’re not acquainted with traditional panto catchphrases.

There are some great jokes, some touching sub-plots, and the ensemble is brilliant, too.

It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit cheesy at another season, but is a great entertainment at Christmas.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

A familiar face shows up at the outset 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 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 an actor from Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by the filmmaker behind Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story develops as the stingy 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 distinct from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s acting is flat—a significant issue when he’s so the main character.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Noon: A BBC Special

There's just enough time for a major broadcaster's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “avoids Christmas.”

But after he receives an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) persuades him spending the sum on a family trip to Lapland.

There’s just one problem—he discovers there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to pay back the difference.

Enjoyable but forgettable.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

1.12pm - Champagne Problems

This is one of those Christmas films where the decorations and snow are in the setting—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same.

Ambitious executive Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a French chateau to do a deal for a sparkling wine company. During her travels, she runs into a fellow in a literary haven who promises to show her a festive Paris.

A commentator recently declared this is the best new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a Christmas romance with a hint of sophistication and gives the obligatory heartwarming sensation.

The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is very good too.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas

Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, regardless of the persuasion of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the reality.

The secret is out there, and Chris sets out to find it with the guidance of a team of well-known scientists and personalities.

It’s gentle but sweet, and perfect viewing while anticipating Santa to visit.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

A Star-Studded Family Drama

Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a dysfunctional American family who gather for the holidays—including fellow 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 unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s the premise, but in practice it’s really a combination of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually comes into her own.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Formulaic Fun

The day’s gone downhill, but happily here’s a new addition in the crowded field of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and highly entertaining—seasonal comfort food.

It’s a story as old as time: An American woman travels to a picturesque cold country and ends up discovering romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher