Binge-Watching The Latest Christmas Films: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures.
‘Tis the time of year to slob out on the sofa and devour a packet of mince pies in front of a great film, a awful feature, or one that’s so bad it’s good.
This year, a selection of fresh Christmas films strives to join part of our festive viewing—potentially even earning a place alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it).
Thus, in a helpful attempt to separate the winners from the losers, and to find the Christmas spirit, I watched as many recent Christmas films as possible in a single day.
First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick
Starting, optimistically, on a high. This release is the sole 2025 entry on a famous website's list of the top 100 holiday films of all time.
The musical trio find themselves trapped in the UK after concluding their world tour and must return for Christmas. Their endeavors are hindered by an evil Santa, who bursts into melody to state they won’t get home until they “rekindle their brotherly magic.”
The repartee between the bickering brothers is enjoyable even for the casual viewer, while followers will certainly catch lots of references as they endeavor to get back using all transportation available.
It’s a journey of epic proportions.
It’s not an all-time classic, but is superb for devotees and a solid 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
Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland appears as a movie actor roped into a "panto".
“A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and ageing lead Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose agent has misled him into thinking he’s starring in high-class London stage.
His Aladdin cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he insists angrily. It's easy to predict their retort. Unless you’re not acquainted with traditional British theatre traditions.
There are some hilarious moments, some cockle-warming sub-plots, and the rest of the cast is cracking, too.
It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit naff at any other time of year, but is a lot of fun at Christmas.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄
A New Spin on Scrooge
An actor 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 singing black cab driver who collects Mr Sood, the latest spin 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 the filmmaker behind Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative develops as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is confronted by the apparitions of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, 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 captivating and Nayyar’s performance is wooden—a problem when he’s so central to everything.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄
Noon: A BBC Special
There's just enough time for a channel's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy 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 spending the sum on a holiday to Lapland.
There’s just one snag—he discovers there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to return the excess.
Enjoyable but forgettable.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄
A Classy Netflix Romance
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 warm and holiday-like all the same.
Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is assigned to a country estate to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. En route, she encounters a fellow in a literary haven who offers to show her a festive Paris.
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 Christmas romance with a hint of sophistication and gives the required cozy feelings.
The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is very good too.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄
A Charming Quest
Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, in spite of the persuasion of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the truth.
The answer is out there, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the expert help of a team of well-known experts and celebrities.
It’s gentle but charming, and good viewing while waiting for Santa to visit.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄
4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun.
Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a bickering American family who come back together for the holidays—including other 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 declaring: “They need to make a movie about the real champions of the holidays—moms.”
So that’s what this is, but in execution it’s really a mash-up of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally comes into her own.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄
6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret
The day’s waned in quality, but thankfully here’s a new entry in the crowded field of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and utterly watchable—seasonal comfort food.
It’s a tale as familiar as can be: An American woman goes on a quest to a distant snowy land and ends up finding romance.
In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
