🔗 Share this article Binge-Watching The Latest Christmas Films: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights. ‘Tis the season to relax on the sofa and demolish a packet of holiday pastries in front of a good movie, a awful feature, or one that’s awesomely awful. This year, a batch of latest holiday movies strives to join part of our holiday traditions—perhaps even earning a place alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). Thus, in a helpful attempt to separate the winners from the losers, and to get into the holiday mood, I watched as many new holiday releases as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Beginning, hopefully, on a positive note. This is the exclusive 2025 title on a famous website's list of the best 100 Christmas movies of all time. The Jonas Brothers are stuck in the UK after finishing their international trek and must get home for Christmas. Their endeavors are hampered by an evil Santa, who breaks into song to announce they won’t get home until they “rediscover their sibling bond.” The repartee between the arguing trio is enjoyable even for the uninitiated, while fans will undoubtedly notice lots of in-jokes as they attempt to get back using all transportation available. It’s a travelogue of mishaps. It’s not an all-time classic, but is excellent for fans and a good start to the day. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who will have to sit through it. Next: A Star in Panto A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland appears as a movie actor tricked into a traditional British stage show. “A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and ageing action hero Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose manager has misled him into thinking he’s appearing in prestigious English theatre. His Aladdin co-stars inform him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he insists angrily. It's easy to predict their response. That is, unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional British theatre traditions. There are some great jokes, some heartwarming side stories, and the supporting actors is cracking, too. It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit naff at any other time of year, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma A familiar face shows up 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 encounters Mr Sood, the modern take on Mr Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Mr Sood is played by a star of Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale develops as the miserly Mr Sood is visited 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 unfortunately he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s portrayal is lifeless—a major flaw when he’s so the focal point. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special There’s time for a channel's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “isn't big on Christmas.” But after he is awarded an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) convinces him splurging the cash on a family trip to Lapland. There’s just one snag—he finds out there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to return the remainder. Enjoyable but forgettable. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems This is one of those holiday movies where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the setting—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its main point—but it feels cosy and festive all the same. Ambitious executive Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is assigned to a French chateau to negotiate a purchase for a champagne business. En route, she meets a guy in a literary haven who vows to show her Christmas in Paris. An expert recently declared this is the best new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a Christmas romance with a dash of elegance and gives the necessary cozy feelings. The scene with a extended debate about Die Hard is particularly strong too. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 A Charming Quest Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, regardless of the efforts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the truth. The answer is out there, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the assistance of a panel of well-known figures. It’s gentle but charming, and perfect viewing while waiting for Santa to visit. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch 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 opens by name-dropping classic festive films like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before stating: “They need to make a movie about the true heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the premise, but in execution it’s really a mash-up of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually finds her strength. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s gone downhill, but happily here’s a new entry in the saturated market of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and highly entertaining—festive fodder. It’s a narrative as well-worn: An American woman journeys to a distant snowy land and ends up stumbling across romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
‘Tis the season to relax on the sofa and demolish a packet of holiday pastries in front of a good movie, a awful feature, or one that’s awesomely awful. This year, a batch of latest holiday movies strives to join part of our holiday traditions—perhaps even earning a place alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). Thus, in a helpful attempt to separate the winners from the losers, and to get into the holiday mood, I watched as many new holiday releases as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Beginning, hopefully, on a positive note. This is the exclusive 2025 title on a famous website's list of the best 100 Christmas movies of all time. The Jonas Brothers are stuck in the UK after finishing their international trek and must get home for Christmas. Their endeavors are hampered by an evil Santa, who breaks into song to announce they won’t get home until they “rediscover their sibling bond.” The repartee between the arguing trio is enjoyable even for the uninitiated, while fans will undoubtedly notice lots of in-jokes as they attempt to get back using all transportation available. It’s a travelogue of mishaps. It’s not an all-time classic, but is excellent for fans and a good start to the day. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who will have to sit through it. Next: A Star in Panto A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland appears as a movie actor tricked into a traditional British stage show. “A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and ageing action hero Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose manager has misled him into thinking he’s appearing in prestigious English theatre. His Aladdin co-stars inform him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he insists angrily. It's easy to predict their response. That is, unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional British theatre traditions. There are some great jokes, some heartwarming side stories, and the supporting actors is cracking, too. It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit naff at any other time of year, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma A familiar face shows up 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 encounters Mr Sood, the modern take on Mr Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Mr Sood is played by a star of Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale develops as the miserly Mr Sood is visited 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 unfortunately he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s portrayal is lifeless—a major flaw when he’s so the focal point. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special There’s time for a channel's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “isn't big on Christmas.” But after he is awarded an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) convinces him splurging the cash on a family trip to Lapland. There’s just one snag—he finds out there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to return the remainder. Enjoyable but forgettable. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems This is one of those holiday movies where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the setting—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its main point—but it feels cosy and festive all the same. Ambitious executive Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is assigned to a French chateau to negotiate a purchase for a champagne business. En route, she meets a guy in a literary haven who vows to show her Christmas in Paris. An expert recently declared this is the best new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a Christmas romance with a dash of elegance and gives the necessary cozy feelings. The scene with a extended debate about Die Hard is particularly strong too. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 A Charming Quest Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, regardless of the efforts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the truth. The answer is out there, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the assistance of a panel of well-known figures. It’s gentle but charming, and perfect viewing while waiting for Santa to visit. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch 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 opens by name-dropping classic festive films like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before stating: “They need to make a movie about the true heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the premise, but in execution it’s really a mash-up of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually finds her strength. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s gone downhill, but happily here’s a new entry in the saturated market of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and highly entertaining—festive fodder. It’s a narrative as well-worn: An American woman journeys to a distant snowy land and ends up stumbling across romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher