Binge-Watching The Latest Festive Features: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures.

‘Tis the season to lounge on the couch and devour a tin of mince pies in front of a good movie, a bad movie, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.

As always, a selection of latest seasonal stories aims to become part of our holiday traditions—perhaps even finding a spot alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start).

Therefore, in a noble effort to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to embrace the Christmas spirit, I marathoned as many fresh holiday releases as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Kicking off, ideally, on a positive note. This film is the only 2025 movie on a well-known aggregator's list of the top 100 festive features of all time.

The musical trio find themselves stranded in the UK after wrapping up their world tour and must get home for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who sings to declare they won’t get home until they “rediscover their familial spark.”

The banter between the bickering brothers is enjoyable even for the casual viewer, while followers will undoubtedly notice lots of references as they attempt to get back using any means of transport necessary.

It’s a travelogue of mishaps.

It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is superb for fans and a good start to the day.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who are obliged to sit through it.

Late Morning: Tinsel Town

Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland stars as a movie actor tricked into a pantomime.

“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and older lead Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose manager has deceived him into thinking he’s appearing in high-class London stage.

His Aladdin cast-mates tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he insists angrily. One can imagine their retort. Except if you’re ignorant of traditional panto catchphrases.

There are some very funny lines, some touching sub-plots, and the supporting actors is excellent, too.

It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit cheesy at any other time of year, but is a great entertainment at Christmas.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

A familiar face pops up 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 picks up Mr Sood, the newest interpretation 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 director of Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story unfolds as the miserly Mr Sood is visited by the ghosts of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This South Asian reinterpretation is at least different from all the others, but sadly he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s portrayal is lifeless—a significant issue when he’s so central to everything.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Lunchtime: Stuffed

There's just enough time for a channel's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character 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 problem—he learns there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to return the excess.

Pleasant yet unmemorable.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

1.12pm - Champagne Problems

This is one of those holiday movies where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the background—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its main point—but it feels cosy and festive all the same.

High-powered businesswoman Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is assigned to a country estate to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. En route, she meets a man in a bookshop who offers to show her the holidays in the City of Light.

A critic recently claimed this is the best new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a Christmas romance with a dash of elegance and gives the obligatory heartwarming sensation.

The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is particularly strong too.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

A Charming Quest

Young 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 out there, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the expert help of a panel of well-known figures.

It’s understated but endearing, and perfect viewing while anticipating Santa to visit.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a quarrelling American family who reunite for the holidays—including other Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.

Pfeiffer starts by mentioning holiday staples like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before stating: “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 mash-up of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually finds her strength.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Formulaic Fun

The day’s taken a dip, but happily here’s a new addition 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 far-off wintery locale and ends up stumbling across romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher