🔗 Share this article Binge-Watching This Year's Festive Features: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights. It is the season to slob out on the couch and devour a box of mince pies in front of a great film, a bad movie, or one that’s so bad it’s good. Once again, a selection of fresh Christmas films strives to join part of our holiday traditions—maybe even finding a spot alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments). Therefore, in a vital public service to separate the winners from the losers, and to embrace the holiday mood, I marathoned as many fresh festive movies as possible in a single day. First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick Kicking off, ideally, on a high. This is the sole 2025 title on a famous website's list of the greatest 100 holiday films of all time. The Jonas Brothers are stuck in the UK after wrapping up their world tour and must make it back for Christmas. Their endeavors are hindered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who sings to state they won’t get home until they “rekindle their sibling bond.” The banter between the arguing trio is enjoyable even for the non-fan, while fans will certainly catch lots of references as they attempt to get back using every mode of travel possible. It’s private planes, trains and automobiles. It’s not an all-time classic, but is excellent for devotees and a positive start to the day. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who will have to sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a movie actor roped into a pantomime. “A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and ageing action hero Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose agent has tricked him into thinking he’s performing in prestigious English theatre. His pantomime cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he retorts. One can imagine their response. That is, unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional stage call-and-response. There are some great jokes, some cockle-warming side stories, and the rest of the cast is brilliant, too. It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit tacky at any other time of year, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma A familiar face pops up at the outset of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second consecutive movie. Might this become a budding festive ritual? This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who picks up Mr Sood, the latest spin 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 Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative progresses as the miserly Mr Sood is confronted by the spirits of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This South Asian reinterpretation is at least distinct from all the others, but sadly he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s portrayal is wooden—a problem when he’s so the focal point. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Lunchtime: Stuffed Before lunch for a channel's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “avoids Christmas.” But after he receives an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) persuades him spending the sum on a family trip to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he discovers there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to pay back the remainder. Fun while it lasts but not lasting. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 1.12pm - Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the setting—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels cosy and festive all the same. Ambitious executive Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a country estate to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. During her travels, she runs into a fellow in a book store who offers to show her Christmas in Paris. A commentator recently claimed 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 warm and fuzzy feels. The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is notable too. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 A Charming Quest Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, despite the persuasion of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him otherwise. The answer is somewhere, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the expert help of a team of well-known experts and celebrities. It’s understated but endearing, and good viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a dysfunctional American family who reunite for the holidays—including other acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer begins by referencing 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 the premise, but in execution it’s really a combination of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually finds her strength. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Formulaic Fun The day’s gone downhill, but fortunately here’s a new offering 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 journeys to a distant snowy land and ends up discovering romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
It is the season to slob out on the couch and devour a box of mince pies in front of a great film, a bad movie, or one that’s so bad it’s good. Once again, a selection of fresh Christmas films strives to join part of our holiday traditions—maybe even finding a spot alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments). Therefore, in a vital public service to separate the winners from the losers, and to embrace the holiday mood, I marathoned as many fresh festive movies as possible in a single day. First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick Kicking off, ideally, on a high. This is the sole 2025 title on a famous website's list of the greatest 100 holiday films of all time. The Jonas Brothers are stuck in the UK after wrapping up their world tour and must make it back for Christmas. Their endeavors are hindered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who sings to state they won’t get home until they “rekindle their sibling bond.” The banter between the arguing trio is enjoyable even for the non-fan, while fans will certainly catch lots of references as they attempt to get back using every mode of travel possible. It’s private planes, trains and automobiles. It’s not an all-time classic, but is excellent for devotees and a positive start to the day. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who will have to sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a movie actor roped into a pantomime. “A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and ageing action hero Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose agent has tricked him into thinking he’s performing in prestigious English theatre. His pantomime cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he retorts. One can imagine their response. That is, unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional stage call-and-response. There are some great jokes, some cockle-warming side stories, and the rest of the cast is brilliant, too. It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit tacky at any other time of year, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma A familiar face pops up at the outset of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second consecutive movie. Might this become a budding festive ritual? This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who picks up Mr Sood, the latest spin 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 Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative progresses as the miserly Mr Sood is confronted by the spirits of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This South Asian reinterpretation is at least distinct from all the others, but sadly he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s portrayal is wooden—a problem when he’s so the focal point. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Lunchtime: Stuffed Before lunch for a channel's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “avoids Christmas.” But after he receives an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) persuades him spending the sum on a family trip to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he discovers there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to pay back the remainder. Fun while it lasts but not lasting. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 1.12pm - Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the setting—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels cosy and festive all the same. Ambitious executive Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a country estate to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. During her travels, she runs into a fellow in a book store who offers to show her Christmas in Paris. A commentator recently claimed 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 warm and fuzzy feels. The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is notable too. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 A Charming Quest Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, despite the persuasion of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him otherwise. The answer is somewhere, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the expert help of a team of well-known experts and celebrities. It’s understated but endearing, and good viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a dysfunctional American family who reunite for the holidays—including other acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer begins by referencing 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 the premise, but in execution it’s really a combination of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually finds her strength. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Formulaic Fun The day’s gone downhill, but fortunately here’s a new offering 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 journeys to a distant snowy land and ends up discovering romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher