‘Tis the time of year to slob out on the sofa and consume a box of holiday pastries in front of a good movie, a bad movie, or one that’s so bad it’s good.
Once again, a selection of latest seasonal stories aims to become part of our seasonal watchlist—potentially even finding a spot alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments).
Thus, in a helpful attempt to separate the winners from the losers, and to get into the festive feeling, I binged as many new festive movies as possible in a single day.
Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie
Kicking off, optimistically, on a positive note. This release is the sole 2025 entry on a well-known aggregator's list of the top 100 holiday films of all time.
The popular band end up stranded in the UK after concluding their international trek and must get home for Christmas. Their attempts are hindered by an villainous Saint Nick, who sings to state they won’t get home until they “find their sibling bond.”
The repartee between the squabbling siblings is entertaining even for the casual viewer, while fans will no doubt pick up on lots of references as they endeavor to get back using every mode of travel possible.
It’s a travelogue of mishaps.
It’s not an all-time classic, but is superb for devotees and a positive start to the day.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who will have to sit through it.
Next: A Star in Panto
A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland stars as a movie actor tricked into a traditional British stage show.
“A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and ageing lead Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose agent has misled him into thinking he’s starring in high-class London stage.
His pantomime cast-mates inform him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he insists angrily. You can guess their retort. That is, unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional stage call-and-response.
There are some great jokes, some heartwarming storylines, and the rest of the cast is excellent, too.
It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit cheesy at a different time, but is a great entertainment at Christmas.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄
Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma
A familiar face appears at the outset of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the next movie straight. Is this a fresh holiday staple?
This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who encounters 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 director of Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale progresses as the stingy Mr Sood is haunted by the ghosts of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.
This South Asian reinterpretation is at least different from all the others, but sadly he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s performance is lifeless—a major flaw when he’s so the main character.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄
Noon: A BBC Special
There's just enough time for a network's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “isn't big on Christmas.”
But after he gets an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) persuades him spending the sum on a family trip to Lapland.
There’s just one snag—he learns 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.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄
A Classy Netflix Romance
This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the background—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same.
Driven corporate star Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is sent to a French chateau to do a deal for a champagne business. En route, she runs into a guy in a bookshop who vows to show her a festive Paris.
A commentator recently stated this is the top new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a festive dalliance with a dash of elegance and gives the required heartwarming sensation.
The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is particularly strong too.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄
3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas
Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, despite the attempts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the truth.
The answer is to be discovered, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the assistance of a panel of well-known experts and celebrities.
It’s gentle but sweet, and good viewing while anticipating Santa to visit.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄
4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun.
Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a quarrelling American family who reunite for the holidays—including other Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.
Pfeiffer starts by mentioning holiday staples like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before declaring: “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 combination of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually finds her strength.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄
Formulaic Fun
The day’s gone downhill, 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 old as time: An American woman goes on a quest to a picturesque cold country and ends up finding romance.
In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
