Marathon Viewing The Latest Christmas Films: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights.
It is the season to relax on the sofa and demolish a box of holiday pastries in front of a good movie, a bad movie, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.
As always, a crop of fresh seasonal stories hopes to be part of our seasonal watchlist—maybe even joining the ranks alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it).
Therefore, in a vital public service to separate the winners from the losers, and to find the Christmas spirit, I watched as many recent festive movies as possible in a single day.
First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick
Kicking off, optimistically, on a high. This release is the sole 2025 title on a popular review site's list of the best 100 festive features of all time.
The Jonas Brothers end up trapped in the UK after wrapping up their world tour and must make it back for Christmas. Their attempts are hampered by an evil Santa, who bursts into melody to announce they won’t get home until they “rekindle their familial spark.”
The banter between the arguing trio is enjoyable even for the non-fan, while devotees 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 a timeless masterpiece, but is excellent for fans and a solid start to the day.
Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who will have to sit through it.
Next: A Star in Panto
Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland appears as a Hollywood star cast a pantomime.
“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and older action hero Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose agent has deceived him into thinking he’s performing in high-class London stage.
His pantomime cast-mates inform him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he insists angrily. It's easy to predict their response. That is, unless you’re ignorant of traditional British theatre traditions.
There are some hilarious moments, some touching side stories, and the ensemble is brilliant, too.
It’s the type of film that would be a bit tacky at a different time, but is a lot of fun at Christmas.
Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄
Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma
An actor pops up at the outset of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second film in a row. Is this a budding festive ritual?
This time, he’s a singing black cab driver 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 director of Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative develops as the miserly Mr Sood is visited by the apparitions of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.
This cultural adaptation is at least distinct from all the others, but sadly he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s portrayal is flat—a significant issue when he’s so the focal point.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄
Lunchtime: Stuffed
There’s time for a major broadcaster's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “avoids Christmas.”
But after he is awarded an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) persuades 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 devise a plan for how to pay back the difference.
Fun while it lasts but not lasting.
Festive score: 🎄🎄
A Classy Netflix Romance
This is one of those Christmas films where the decorations and snow are in the background—Christmas is the setting 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 vineyard to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. On the way, she runs into a man in a bookshop who promises to show her Christmas in Paris.
An expert recently declared this is the top new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a Christmas romance with a touch of class and gives the obligatory cozy feelings.
The scene with a extended debate about Die Hard is very good too.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄
3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas
Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, in spite of the attempts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the reality.
The answer is to be discovered, and Chris sets out to find it with the expert help of a team of well-known experts and celebrities.
It’s gentle but sweet, and perfect viewing while expecting Santa to visit.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄
A Star-Studded Family Drama
Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a quarrelling American family who gather for the holidays—including fellow acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.
Pfeiffer starts by mentioning classic festive films like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before saying: “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 jumble of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last finds her strength.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄
Formulaic Fun
The day’s taken a dip, but happily here’s a new entry in the packed genre of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and highly entertaining—seasonal comfort food.
It’s a narrative as familiar as can be: An American woman goes on a quest to a distant snowy land and ends up stumbling across romance.
In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
