Marathon Viewing The Latest Christmas Films: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good.
‘Tis the time of year to relax on the couch and devour a box of holiday pastries in front of a great film, a awful feature, or one that’s awesomely awful.
As always, a crop of new holiday movies strives to join part of our holiday traditions—potentially even joining the ranks alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments).
Thus, in a noble effort to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to find the Christmas spirit, I watched as many new festive movies as possible in a single day.
7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie
Kicking off, hopefully, on a positive note. This film is the exclusive 2025 movie on a famous website's list of the greatest 100 Christmas movies of all time.
The popular band find themselves trapped in the UK after concluding their international trek and must get home for Christmas. Their attempts are hampered by an villainous Saint Nick, who sings to state they won’t get home until they “rekindle their brotherly magic.”
The repartee between the squabbling siblings is amusing even for the non-fan, while devotees will no doubt notice lots of easter eggs as they endeavor to get back using every mode of travel possible.
It’s a journey of epic proportions.
It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is superb for fans and a good start to the day.
Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 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 Hollywood star roped into a pantomime.
“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and ageing lead Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose agent has tricked him into thinking he’s starring in renowned British drama.
His pantomime fellow actors inform him he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he protests. It's easy to predict their retort. Except if you’re not acquainted with traditional panto catchphrases.
There are some very funny lines, some cockle-warming storylines, and the ensemble is excellent, too.
It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit cheesy at any other time of year, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄
Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma
An actor appears at the outset of this film, too, insulting someone for the second film in a row. Might this become a new Christmas tradition?
This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who picks up Mr Sood, the modern take 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 classic narrative progresses as the miserly 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 distinct from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s acting is wooden—a problem when he’s so the main character.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄
Noon: A BBC Special
There’s time for a major broadcaster's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “doesn’t really do Christmas.”
But after he is awarded an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) persuades him blowing the money on a vacation to Lapland.
There’s just one issue—he learns there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to return the remainder.
Enjoyable but forgettable.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄
A Classy Netflix Romance
This is one of those holiday movies where the decorations and snow are in the background—Christmas is the setting 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 vineyard to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. During her travels, she encounters a fellow in a book store who promises to show her the holidays in the City of Light.
A critic recently stated this is the best new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a Christmas romance with a touch of class and gives the required warm and fuzzy feels.
The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is particularly strong too.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄
A Charming Quest
Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, regardless of the attempts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the reality.
The truth is to be discovered, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the guidance of a team of well-known scientists and personalities.
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 bickering 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 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 real champions of the holidays—moms.”
So that’s what this is, but in practice it’s really a mash-up of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last finds her strength.
Festive score: 🎄🎄
Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret
The day’s waned in quality, but thankfully here’s a new entry in the saturated market of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and utterly watchable—seasonal comfort food.
It’s a story as old as time: An American woman goes on a quest to a picturesque cold country and ends up discovering romance.
In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher