🔗 Share this article Devouring 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 demolish a tin of festive treats in front of a good movie, a awful feature, or one that’s awesomely awful. Once again, a crop of fresh holiday movies strives to join part of our seasonal watchlist—maybe even earning a place alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). Thus, in a vital public service to separate the winners from the losers, and to get into the holiday mood, I watched as many recent holiday releases as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Starting, hopefully, on a high. This release is the sole 2025 title on a popular review site's list of the top 100 holiday films of all time. The popular band find themselves stuck in the UK after finishing their world tour and must make it back for Christmas. Their attempts are hampered by an evil Santa, who sings to announce they won’t get home until they “find their sibling bond.” The back-and-forth between the bickering brothers is amusing even for the casual viewer, while devotees will undoubtedly notice lots of easter eggs as they endeavor to get back using all transportation available. It’s a journey of epic proportions. It’s not legendary, but is superb for fans and a solid start to the day. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who are obliged to sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland stars as a celebrity tricked into a "panto". “A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and aging star Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose agent has deceived him into thinking he’s starring in high-class London stage. His Aladdin cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he protests. You can guess their reply. That is, unless you’re ignorant of traditional panto catchphrases. There are some hilarious moments, some heartwarming sub-plots, and the ensemble is cracking, too. It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit tacky at any other time of year, but is a lot of fun at Christmas. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma An actor shows up at the beginning of this film, too, insulting someone for the second consecutive movie. Is this a budding festive ritual? 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 The Big Bang Theory’s Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale progresses as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is haunted by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This Indian Scrooge is at least distinct from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s performance is flat—a major flaw when he’s so the main character. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special Before lunch for a network's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “isn't big on Christmas.” But after he gets an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) convinces him spending the sum on a vacation to Lapland. There’s just one snag—he finds out there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to reimburse the difference. Pleasant yet unmemorable. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems This is one of those holiday movies where the decorations and snow are in the backdrop—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same. Ambitious executive Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is assigned to a French chateau to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. En route, she meets a fellow in a literary haven who vows to show her the holidays in the City of Light. An expert recently declared this is the finest new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a festive dalliance with a touch of class and gives the obligatory warm and fuzzy feels. The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is notable too. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, despite the efforts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the truth. The truth is somewhere, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the expert help of a team of well-known scientists and personalities. It’s gentle but endearing, and perfect viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a bickering 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 declaring: “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 forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually comes into her own. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Formulaic Fun The day’s waned in quality, but fortunately here’s a new entry in the packed genre of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and utterly watchable—festive fodder. It’s a tale as old as time: An American woman travels to a distant snowy land and ends up stumbling across romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
‘Tis the time of year to relax on the couch and demolish a tin of festive treats in front of a good movie, a awful feature, or one that’s awesomely awful. Once again, a crop of fresh holiday movies strives to join part of our seasonal watchlist—maybe even earning a place alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). Thus, in a vital public service to separate the winners from the losers, and to get into the holiday mood, I watched as many recent holiday releases as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Starting, hopefully, on a high. This release is the sole 2025 title on a popular review site's list of the top 100 holiday films of all time. The popular band find themselves stuck in the UK after finishing their world tour and must make it back for Christmas. Their attempts are hampered by an evil Santa, who sings to announce they won’t get home until they “find their sibling bond.” The back-and-forth between the bickering brothers is amusing even for the casual viewer, while devotees will undoubtedly notice lots of easter eggs as they endeavor to get back using all transportation available. It’s a journey of epic proportions. It’s not legendary, but is superb for fans and a solid start to the day. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who are obliged to sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland stars as a celebrity tricked into a "panto". “A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and aging star Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose agent has deceived him into thinking he’s starring in high-class London stage. His Aladdin cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he protests. You can guess their reply. That is, unless you’re ignorant of traditional panto catchphrases. There are some hilarious moments, some heartwarming sub-plots, and the ensemble is cracking, too. It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit tacky at any other time of year, but is a lot of fun at Christmas. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma An actor shows up at the beginning of this film, too, insulting someone for the second consecutive movie. Is this a budding festive ritual? 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 The Big Bang Theory’s Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale progresses as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is haunted by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This Indian Scrooge is at least distinct from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s performance is flat—a major flaw when he’s so the main character. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special Before lunch for a network's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “isn't big on Christmas.” But after he gets an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) convinces him spending the sum on a vacation to Lapland. There’s just one snag—he finds out there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to reimburse the difference. Pleasant yet unmemorable. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems This is one of those holiday movies where the decorations and snow are in the backdrop—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same. Ambitious executive Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is assigned to a French chateau to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. En route, she meets a fellow in a literary haven who vows to show her the holidays in the City of Light. An expert recently declared this is the finest new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a festive dalliance with a touch of class and gives the obligatory warm and fuzzy feels. The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is notable too. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, despite the efforts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the truth. The truth is somewhere, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the expert help of a team of well-known scientists and personalities. It’s gentle but endearing, and perfect viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a bickering 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 declaring: “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 forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually comes into her own. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Formulaic Fun The day’s waned in quality, but fortunately here’s a new entry in the packed genre of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and utterly watchable—festive fodder. It’s a tale as old as time: An American woman travels to a distant snowy land and ends up stumbling across romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher