🔗 Share this article Marathon Viewing This Year's Christmas Films: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights. It is the season to relax on the sofa and devour a box of mince pies in front of a great film, a poor film, or one that’s so bad it’s good. This year, a selection of new seasonal stories hopes to be part of our festive viewing—potentially even joining the ranks alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it). So, in a noble effort to separate the winners from the losers, and to find the holiday mood, I binged as many recent holiday releases as possible in a single day. 7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Beginning, hopefully, on a good foot. This film is the only 2025 entry on a well-known aggregator's list of the best 100 holiday films of all time. The musical trio end up stranded in the UK after concluding their world tour and must return for Christmas. Their attempts are thwarted by an villainous Saint Nick, who bursts into melody to declare they won’t get home until they “rekindle their sibling bond.” The back-and-forth between the bickering brothers is entertaining even for the casual viewer, while devotees will no doubt catch lots of easter eggs as they try 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 positive start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who must sit through it. Next: A Star in Panto Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity cast a traditional British stage show. “A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and older lead Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose agent has tricked him into thinking he’s starring in high-class London stage. His pantomime co-stars tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he retorts. It's easy to predict their reply. Unless you’re not acquainted with traditional British theatre traditions. There are some very funny lines, some touching storylines, and the ensemble is cracking, too. It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit cheesy at any other time of year, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 10.19am - Christmas Karma A familiar face appears at the start of this film, too, insulting someone for the second film in a row. Might this become a fresh holiday staple? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who picks up Mr Sood, the latest spin 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 Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story progresses as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is confronted by the ghosts of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This Indian Scrooge is at least different from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s portrayal is flat—a significant issue when he’s so the focal point. Festive score: 🎄🎄 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 “doesn’t really do Christmas.” But after he gets an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) convinces him blowing the money on a vacation to Lapland. There’s just one snag—he finds out there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to reimburse the excess. 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 raison d’etre—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is sent to a French chateau to negotiate a purchase for a champagne business. During her travels, she encounters a man in a book store who promises to show her Christmas in Paris. A commentator recently stated this is the best new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a holiday love story with a touch of class and gives the obligatory heartwarming sensation. The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is particularly strong too. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, despite the efforts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the reality. The answer is to be discovered, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the expert help of a group of well-known figures. It’s low-key but sweet, and good viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a quarrelling 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 real champions of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the premise, but in reality it’s really a jumble of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually comes into her own. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Formulaic Fun The day’s gone downhill, but happily here’s a new entry in the packed genre of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and highly entertaining—holiday fare. It’s a narrative as old as time: An American woman journeys to a picturesque cold country and ends up discovering romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
It is the season to relax on the sofa and devour a box of mince pies in front of a great film, a poor film, or one that’s so bad it’s good. This year, a selection of new seasonal stories hopes to be part of our festive viewing—potentially even joining the ranks alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it). So, in a noble effort to separate the winners from the losers, and to find the holiday mood, I binged as many recent holiday releases as possible in a single day. 7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Beginning, hopefully, on a good foot. This film is the only 2025 entry on a well-known aggregator's list of the best 100 holiday films of all time. The musical trio end up stranded in the UK after concluding their world tour and must return for Christmas. Their attempts are thwarted by an villainous Saint Nick, who bursts into melody to declare they won’t get home until they “rekindle their sibling bond.” The back-and-forth between the bickering brothers is entertaining even for the casual viewer, while devotees will no doubt catch lots of easter eggs as they try 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 positive start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who must sit through it. Next: A Star in Panto Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity cast a traditional British stage show. “A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and older lead Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose agent has tricked him into thinking he’s starring in high-class London stage. His pantomime co-stars tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he retorts. It's easy to predict their reply. Unless you’re not acquainted with traditional British theatre traditions. There are some very funny lines, some touching storylines, and the ensemble is cracking, too. It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit cheesy at any other time of year, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 10.19am - Christmas Karma A familiar face appears at the start of this film, too, insulting someone for the second film in a row. Might this become a fresh holiday staple? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who picks up Mr Sood, the latest spin 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 Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story progresses as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is confronted by the ghosts of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This Indian Scrooge is at least different from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s portrayal is flat—a significant issue when he’s so the focal point. Festive score: 🎄🎄 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 “doesn’t really do Christmas.” But after he gets an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) convinces him blowing the money on a vacation to Lapland. There’s just one snag—he finds out there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to reimburse the excess. 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 raison d’etre—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is sent to a French chateau to negotiate a purchase for a champagne business. During her travels, she encounters a man in a book store who promises to show her Christmas in Paris. A commentator recently stated this is the best new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a holiday love story with a touch of class and gives the obligatory heartwarming sensation. The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is particularly strong too. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, despite the efforts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the reality. The answer is to be discovered, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the expert help of a group of well-known figures. It’s low-key but sweet, and good viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a quarrelling 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 real champions of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the premise, but in reality it’s really a jumble of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually comes into her own. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Formulaic Fun The day’s gone downhill, but happily here’s a new entry in the packed genre of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and highly entertaining—holiday fare. It’s a narrative as old as time: An American woman journeys to a picturesque cold country and ends up discovering romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher