🔗 Share this article Devouring The Latest Holiday Movies: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good. ‘Tis the season to slob out on the sofa and consume a tin of festive treats in front of a great film, a awful feature, or one that’s terrible yet terrific. Once again, a crop of latest Christmas films strives to join part of our holiday traditions—maybe even finding a spot alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments). Thus, in a noble effort to separate the winners from the losers, and to get into the Christmas spirit, I binged as many fresh holiday releases as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Beginning, optimistically, on a positive note. This is the exclusive 2025 entry on a well-known aggregator's list of the best 100 festive features of all time. The Jonas Brothers end up stuck in the UK after concluding their global concert series and must make it back for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an evil Santa, who breaks into song to announce they won’t get home until they “find their brotherly magic.” The back-and-forth between the bickering brothers is entertaining even for the non-fan, while followers will no doubt notice lots of easter eggs as they endeavor to get back using all transportation available. It’s private planes, trains and automobiles. It’s not an all-time classic, but is superb for devotees and a positive 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 has been cast as a movie actor cast a traditional British stage show. “A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and aging action hero Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose representative has tricked him into thinking he’s performing in prestigious English theatre. 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 panto catchphrases. There are some very funny lines, some heartwarming storylines, and the rest of the cast is excellent, too. It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit cheesy at any other time of year, but is a lot of fun at Christmas. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma A familiar face appears at the start of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the next movie straight. Might this become a budding festive ritual? This time, he’s a musical taxi operator 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 Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story progresses as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is visited 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 unique from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s portrayal is flat—a major flaw when he’s so the focal point. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special There's just enough time for a major broadcaster's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “avoids Christmas.” But after he is awarded an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) talks him into blowing the money on a family trip to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he discovers there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to return the excess. Enjoyable but forgettable. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 A Classy Netflix Romance This is one of those holiday movies where the festive trappings are in the setting—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its main point—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. Ambitious executive Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a country estate to do a deal for a champagne business. During her travels, she encounters a fellow in a bookshop who vows to show her a festive Paris. A critic recently declared this is the best new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a Christmas romance with a touch of class and gives the necessary cozy feelings. The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is notable too. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, despite the attempts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the reality. The answer is out there, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the assistance of a team of well-known figures. It’s gentle but charming, and perfect viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 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 begins by referencing 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 true 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 takes center stage. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Formulaic Fun The day’s gone downhill, but thankfully here’s a new addition in the saturated market of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and strangely compelling—holiday fare. It’s a tale as well-worn: An American woman travels to a picturesque cold country and ends up stumbling across romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
‘Tis the season to slob out on the sofa and consume a tin of festive treats in front of a great film, a awful feature, or one that’s terrible yet terrific. Once again, a crop of latest Christmas films strives to join part of our holiday traditions—maybe even finding a spot alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments). Thus, in a noble effort to separate the winners from the losers, and to get into the Christmas spirit, I binged as many fresh holiday releases as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Beginning, optimistically, on a positive note. This is the exclusive 2025 entry on a well-known aggregator's list of the best 100 festive features of all time. The Jonas Brothers end up stuck in the UK after concluding their global concert series and must make it back for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an evil Santa, who breaks into song to announce they won’t get home until they “find their brotherly magic.” The back-and-forth between the bickering brothers is entertaining even for the non-fan, while followers will no doubt notice lots of easter eggs as they endeavor to get back using all transportation available. It’s private planes, trains and automobiles. It’s not an all-time classic, but is superb for devotees and a positive 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 has been cast as a movie actor cast a traditional British stage show. “A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and aging action hero Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose representative has tricked him into thinking he’s performing in prestigious English theatre. 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 panto catchphrases. There are some very funny lines, some heartwarming storylines, and the rest of the cast is excellent, too. It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit cheesy at any other time of year, but is a lot of fun at Christmas. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma A familiar face appears at the start of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the next movie straight. Might this become a budding festive ritual? This time, he’s a musical taxi operator 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 Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story progresses as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is visited 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 unique from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s portrayal is flat—a major flaw when he’s so the focal point. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special There's just enough time for a major broadcaster's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “avoids Christmas.” But after he is awarded an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) talks him into blowing the money on a family trip to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he discovers there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to return the excess. Enjoyable but forgettable. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 A Classy Netflix Romance This is one of those holiday movies where the festive trappings are in the setting—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its main point—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. Ambitious executive Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a country estate to do a deal for a champagne business. During her travels, she encounters a fellow in a bookshop who vows to show her a festive Paris. A critic recently declared this is the best new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a Christmas romance with a touch of class and gives the necessary cozy feelings. The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is notable too. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, despite the attempts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the reality. The answer is out there, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the assistance of a team of well-known figures. It’s gentle but charming, and perfect viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 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 begins by referencing 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 true 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 takes center stage. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Formulaic Fun The day’s gone downhill, but thankfully here’s a new addition in the saturated market of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and strangely compelling—holiday fare. It’s a tale as well-worn: An American woman travels to a picturesque cold country and ends up stumbling across romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher