🔗 Share this article Binge-Watching This Year's Holiday Movies: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good. ‘Tis the time of year to lounge on the couch and consume a packet of festive treats in front of a good movie, a bad movie, or one that’s awesomely awful. As always, a crop of latest Christmas films hopes to be part of our seasonal watchlist—maybe even finding a spot alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments). Thus, in a helpful attempt to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to embrace the holiday mood, I marathoned as many fresh festive movies as possible in a single day. 7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Kicking off, ideally, on a high. This film is the sole 2025 entry on a well-known aggregator's list of the top 100 Christmas movies of all time. The popular band end up stuck in the UK after wrapping up their world tour and must make it back for Christmas. Their attempts are hampered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who bursts into melody to announce they won’t get home until they “rediscover their familial spark.” The repartee between the bickering brothers is entertaining even for the uninitiated, while devotees will undoubtedly pick up on lots of in-jokes as they endeavor to get back using any means of transport necessary. It’s a travelogue of mishaps. It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is great for devotees and a good start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who will have to sit through it. Next: A Star in Panto Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland appears as a celebrity tricked into a traditional British stage show. “A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and aging lead Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose agent has misled him into thinking he’s appearing in renowned British drama. His Aladdin cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he insists angrily. You can guess their retort. Except if you’re ignorant of traditional British theatre traditions. There are some great jokes, some heartwarming storylines, and the rest of the cast is excellent, too. It’s the type of film that would be a bit cheesy at any other time of year, but is a great entertainment at Christmas. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 10.19am - Christmas Karma Danny Dyer appears at the beginning of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the second consecutive movie. Might this become a budding festive ritual? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who picks up 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 unfolds as the miserly Mr Sood is confronted by the apparitions of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This cultural adaptation is at least unique from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s portrayal is lifeless—a major flaw when he’s so the main character. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special Before lunch for a network's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “doesn’t really do Christmas.” But after he is awarded an large festive windfall at work, his wife (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) persuades him splurging the cash on a family trip to Lapland. There’s just one snag—he discovers there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to reimburse the excess. Enjoyable but forgettable. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 A Classy Netflix Romance This is one of those holiday movies where the festive trappings are in the setting—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. High-powered businesswoman Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is sent to a country estate to negotiate a purchase for a champagne business. During her travels, she runs into a fellow in a literary haven who vows to show her Christmas in Paris. A commentator recently stated this is the finest new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a festive dalliance with a touch of class and gives the required warm and fuzzy feels. The scene with a extended debate about Die Hard is very good too. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, regardless of the attempts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him otherwise. The answer is to be discovered, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the guidance of a group of well-known figures. It’s low-key but charming, and good viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 A Star-Studded Family Drama Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a dysfunctional American family who gather for the holidays—including other Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer opens by name-dropping 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 true heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s what this is, but in reality it’s really a jumble of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last finds her strength. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s gone downhill, but happily here’s a new addition in the saturated market of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and utterly watchable—seasonal comfort food. It’s a tale as well-worn: An American woman travels to a picturesque cold country and ends up stumbling across romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
‘Tis the time of year to lounge on the couch and consume a packet of festive treats in front of a good movie, a bad movie, or one that’s awesomely awful. As always, a crop of latest Christmas films hopes to be part of our seasonal watchlist—maybe even finding a spot alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments). Thus, in a helpful attempt to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to embrace the holiday mood, I marathoned as many fresh festive movies as possible in a single day. 7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Kicking off, ideally, on a high. This film is the sole 2025 entry on a well-known aggregator's list of the top 100 Christmas movies of all time. The popular band end up stuck in the UK after wrapping up their world tour and must make it back for Christmas. Their attempts are hampered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who bursts into melody to announce they won’t get home until they “rediscover their familial spark.” The repartee between the bickering brothers is entertaining even for the uninitiated, while devotees will undoubtedly pick up on lots of in-jokes as they endeavor to get back using any means of transport necessary. It’s a travelogue of mishaps. It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is great for devotees and a good start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who will have to sit through it. Next: A Star in Panto Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland appears as a celebrity tricked into a traditional British stage show. “A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and aging lead Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose agent has misled him into thinking he’s appearing in renowned British drama. His Aladdin cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he insists angrily. You can guess their retort. Except if you’re ignorant of traditional British theatre traditions. There are some great jokes, some heartwarming storylines, and the rest of the cast is excellent, too. It’s the type of film that would be a bit cheesy at any other time of year, but is a great entertainment at Christmas. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 10.19am - Christmas Karma Danny Dyer appears at the beginning of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the second consecutive movie. Might this become a budding festive ritual? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who picks up 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 unfolds as the miserly Mr Sood is confronted by the apparitions of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This cultural adaptation is at least unique from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s portrayal is lifeless—a major flaw when he’s so the main character. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special Before lunch for a network's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “doesn’t really do Christmas.” But after he is awarded an large festive windfall at work, his wife (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) persuades him splurging the cash on a family trip to Lapland. There’s just one snag—he discovers there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to reimburse the excess. Enjoyable but forgettable. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 A Classy Netflix Romance This is one of those holiday movies where the festive trappings are in the setting—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. High-powered businesswoman Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is sent to a country estate to negotiate a purchase for a champagne business. During her travels, she runs into a fellow in a literary haven who vows to show her Christmas in Paris. A commentator recently stated this is the finest new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a festive dalliance with a touch of class and gives the required warm and fuzzy feels. The scene with a extended debate about Die Hard is very good too. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, regardless of the attempts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him otherwise. The answer is to be discovered, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the guidance of a group of well-known figures. It’s low-key but charming, and good viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 A Star-Studded Family Drama Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a dysfunctional American family who gather for the holidays—including other Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer opens by name-dropping 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 true heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s what this is, but in reality it’s really a jumble of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last finds her strength. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s gone downhill, but happily here’s a new addition in the saturated market of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and utterly watchable—seasonal comfort food. It’s a tale as well-worn: An American woman travels to a picturesque cold country and ends up stumbling across romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher