🔗 Share this article Devouring The Latest Festive Features: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights. ‘Tis the time of year to relax on the sofa and devour a packet of mince pies in front of a terrific flick, a bad movie, or one that’s so bad it’s good. This year, a selection of fresh holiday movies strives to join part of our holiday traditions—potentially even joining the ranks alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it). So, in a noble effort to separate the winners from the losers, and to find the holiday mood, I marathoned as many recent festive movies as possible in a single day. 7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Starting, optimistically, on a good foot. This release is the sole 2025 title on a well-known aggregator's list of the greatest 100 Christmas movies of all time. The popular band are stranded in the UK after concluding their world tour and must get home for Christmas. Their attempts are hampered by an evil Santa, who breaks into song to declare they won’t get home until they “rediscover their familial spark.” The banter between the arguing trio is entertaining even for the non-fan, while devotees will no doubt catch lots of easter eggs as they try to get back using any means of transport necessary. It’s a travelogue of mishaps. It’s not legendary, but is great for devotees and a good start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who are obliged to sit through it. Next: A Star in Panto A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland stars as a movie actor roped into a traditional British stage show. “A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and ageing lead Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose manager has tricked him into thinking he’s starring in prestigious English theatre. His Aladdin fellow actors inform him he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he insists angrily. You can guess their response. Unless you’re ignorant of traditional panto catchphrases. There are some very funny lines, some cockle-warming sub-plots, and the rest of the cast is excellent, too. It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit cheesy at a different time, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 A New Spin on Scrooge A familiar face appears at the start of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the next movie straight. Could this be a new Christmas tradition? 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 an actor from Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by the director of Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale develops as the miserly Mr Sood is visited by the spirits of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This South Asian reinterpretation is at least unique from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s performance is flat—a major flaw when he’s so central to everything. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Lunchtime: Stuffed Before lunch for a major broadcaster's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “isn't big on Christmas.” But after he gets an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) talks him into spending the sum on a family trip to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he learns there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to pay back the difference. Enjoyable but forgettable. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the setting—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its main point—but it feels cosy and festive all the same. High-powered businesswoman Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a French chateau to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. During her travels, she meets a man in a book store who offers to show her a festive Paris. An expert recently claimed this is the best new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a holiday love story with a touch of class and gives the necessary heartwarming sensation. The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is notable too. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, despite the efforts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him otherwise. The truth is somewhere, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the assistance of a panel of well-known experts and celebrities. It’s gentle but endearing, and good viewing while anticipating Santa to visit. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a quarrelling American family who reunite for the holidays—including fellow acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer starts by mentioning Christmas classics like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before saying: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s what this is, but in execution it’s really a jumble of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally comes into her own. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s gone downhill, but fortunately here’s a new addition in the saturated market of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and highly entertaining—holiday fare. It’s a narrative as old as time: An American woman travels to a distant snowy land and ends up discovering romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
‘Tis the time of year to relax on the sofa and devour a packet of mince pies in front of a terrific flick, a bad movie, or one that’s so bad it’s good. This year, a selection of fresh holiday movies strives to join part of our holiday traditions—potentially even joining the ranks alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it). So, in a noble effort to separate the winners from the losers, and to find the holiday mood, I marathoned as many recent festive movies as possible in a single day. 7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Starting, optimistically, on a good foot. This release is the sole 2025 title on a well-known aggregator's list of the greatest 100 Christmas movies of all time. The popular band are stranded in the UK after concluding their world tour and must get home for Christmas. Their attempts are hampered by an evil Santa, who breaks into song to declare they won’t get home until they “rediscover their familial spark.” The banter between the arguing trio is entertaining even for the non-fan, while devotees will no doubt catch lots of easter eggs as they try to get back using any means of transport necessary. It’s a travelogue of mishaps. It’s not legendary, but is great for devotees and a good start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who are obliged to sit through it. Next: A Star in Panto A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland stars as a movie actor roped into a traditional British stage show. “A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and ageing lead Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose manager has tricked him into thinking he’s starring in prestigious English theatre. His Aladdin fellow actors inform him he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he insists angrily. You can guess their response. Unless you’re ignorant of traditional panto catchphrases. There are some very funny lines, some cockle-warming sub-plots, and the rest of the cast is excellent, too. It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit cheesy at a different time, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 A New Spin on Scrooge A familiar face appears at the start of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the next movie straight. Could this be a new Christmas tradition? 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 an actor from Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by the director of Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale develops as the miserly Mr Sood is visited by the spirits of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This South Asian reinterpretation is at least unique from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s performance is flat—a major flaw when he’s so central to everything. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Lunchtime: Stuffed Before lunch for a major broadcaster's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “isn't big on Christmas.” But after he gets an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) talks him into spending the sum on a family trip to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he learns there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to pay back the difference. Enjoyable but forgettable. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the setting—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its main point—but it feels cosy and festive all the same. High-powered businesswoman Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a French chateau to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. During her travels, she meets a man in a book store who offers to show her a festive Paris. An expert recently claimed this is the best new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a holiday love story with a touch of class and gives the necessary heartwarming sensation. The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is notable too. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, despite the efforts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him otherwise. The truth is somewhere, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the assistance of a panel of well-known experts and celebrities. It’s gentle but endearing, and good viewing while anticipating Santa to visit. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a quarrelling American family who reunite for the holidays—including fellow acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer starts by mentioning Christmas classics like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before saying: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s what this is, but in execution it’s really a jumble of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally comes into her own. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s gone downhill, but fortunately here’s a new addition in the saturated market of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and highly entertaining—holiday fare. It’s a narrative as old as time: An American woman travels to a distant snowy land and ends up discovering romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher