Devouring The Latest Christmas Films: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures.
It is the time of year to lounge on the sofa and devour a packet of festive treats in front of a great film, a bad movie, or one that’s so bad it’s good.
Once again, a selection of new Christmas films hopes to be part of our seasonal watchlist—maybe even joining the ranks alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start).
Thus, in a helpful attempt to separate the winners from the losers, and to find the holiday mood, I binged as many recent holiday releases as possible in a single day.
First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick
Starting, hopefully, on a good foot. This release is the only 2025 entry on a well-known aggregator's list of the best 100 festive features of all time.
The popular band find themselves stuck in the UK after concluding their global concert series and must make it back for Christmas. Their efforts are thwarted by an malevolent Father Christmas, who bursts into melody to state they won’t get home until they “rekindle their brotherly magic.”
The banter between the bickering brothers is entertaining even for the casual viewer, while fans will undoubtedly notice lots of references as they attempt to get back using all transportation available.
It’s a travelogue of mishaps.
It’s not an all-time classic, but is great for devotees and a solid start to the day.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who are obliged to sit through it.
8.45am - Tinsel Town
Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland stars as a celebrity roped into a traditional British stage show.
“A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and aging star Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose representative has misled him into thinking he’s starring in high-class London stage.
His Aladdin cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he retorts. It's easy to predict their retort. That is, unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional British theatre traditions.
There are some great jokes, some cockle-warming storylines, and the rest of the cast is brilliant, too.
It’s the type of film that would be a bit naff at a different time, but is a lot of fun at Christmas.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄
10.19am - Christmas Karma
A familiar face pops up at the start of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second film in a row. Could this be a fresh holiday staple?
This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who collects Mr Sood, the modern take 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 Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale unfolds as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is confronted by the apparitions of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.
This cultural adaptation is at least different from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s performance is wooden—a significant issue when he’s so the main character.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄
12.04pm - Stuffed
There’s time for a channel's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “isn't big on Christmas.”
But after he receives an large festive windfall at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) talks him into blowing the money 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.
Fun while it lasts but not lasting.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄
A Classy Netflix Romance
This is one of those Christmas films where the festive trappings are in the backdrop—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its main point—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same.
Ambitious executive 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 guy in a bookshop who offers to show her the holidays in the City of Light.
A critic recently stated this is the best new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a Christmas romance with a hint of sophistication and gives the necessary cozy feelings.
The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is very good too.
Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄
3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas
Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, despite the attempts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the truth.
The truth is out there, and Chris sets out to find it with the guidance of a panel of well-known experts and celebrities.
It’s gentle but sweet, and good viewing while expecting Santa to visit.
Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄
Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun.
Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a quarrelling American family who come back together for the holidays—including fellow 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 saying: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.”
So that’s what this is, but in practice it’s really a combination of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last finds her strength.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄
Formulaic Fun
The day’s gone downhill, but fortunately here’s a new offering in the crowded field of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and strangely compelling—seasonal comfort food.
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
