🔗 Share this article Devouring The Latest Christmas Films: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures. It is the season to slob out on the sofa and demolish a packet of mince pies in front of a great film, a poor film, or one that’s terrible yet terrific. As always, a crop of latest seasonal stories strives to join part of our holiday traditions—potentially even finding a spot alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). Thus, in a helpful attempt to distinguish the gems from the coal, 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 Beginning, optimistically, on a good foot. This is the only 2025 title on a popular review site's list of the best 100 festive features of all time. The popular band end up trapped in the UK after finishing their world tour and must make it back for Christmas. Their endeavors are thwarted by an villainous Saint Nick, who bursts into melody to announce they won’t get home until they “rediscover their familial spark.” The banter between the squabbling siblings is entertaining even for the non-fan, while fans will no doubt catch lots of in-jokes as they endeavor to get back using any means of transport necessary. It’s a journey of epic proportions. It’s not an all-time classic, but is great for fans and a solid start to the day. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who will have to sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland stars as a celebrity roped into a "panto". “A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and ageing action hero Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose agent has deceived him into thinking he’s starring in prestigious English theatre. His Aladdin co-stars tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he protests. It's easy to predict their reply. That is, unless you’re not acquainted with traditional stage call-and-response. There are some great jokes, some cockle-warming storylines, and the supporting actors is excellent, too. It’s the type of film that would be a bit naff at another season, but is a great entertainment at Christmas. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma Danny Dyer shows up at the beginning of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second consecutive movie. Is this 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 the director of Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale develops as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is visited by the apparitions of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This Indian Scrooge is at least different from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s performance is lifeless—a major flaw when he’s so the focal point. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special There’s time for a channel's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “isn't big on Christmas.” But after he gets an large festive windfall at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) persuades him spending the sum on a family trip to Lapland. There’s just one snag—he finds out there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to reimburse the excess. Pleasant yet unmemorable. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the festive trappings are in the setting—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. Ambitious executive Sydney (played by 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 bookshop who offers to show her a festive Paris. A commentator recently claimed this is the top new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a festive dalliance with a dash of elegance and gives the required warm and fuzzy feels. The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is notable too. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, despite the attempts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him otherwise. The truth is to be discovered, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the expert help of a group of well-known scientists and personalities. It’s gentle but charming, and ideal viewing while anticipating Santa to visit. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a bickering American family who gather 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 saying: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the premise, but in reality it’s really a jumble of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally comes into her own. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Formulaic Fun The day’s gone downhill, but thankfully here’s a new offering in the crowded field of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and highly entertaining—festive fodder. It’s a tale as well-worn: An American woman goes on a quest 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 sofa and demolish a packet of mince pies in front of a great film, a poor film, or one that’s terrible yet terrific. As always, a crop of latest seasonal stories strives to join part of our holiday traditions—potentially even finding a spot alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). Thus, in a helpful attempt to distinguish the gems from the coal, 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 Beginning, optimistically, on a good foot. This is the only 2025 title on a popular review site's list of the best 100 festive features of all time. The popular band end up trapped in the UK after finishing their world tour and must make it back for Christmas. Their endeavors are thwarted by an villainous Saint Nick, who bursts into melody to announce they won’t get home until they “rediscover their familial spark.” The banter between the squabbling siblings is entertaining even for the non-fan, while fans will no doubt catch lots of in-jokes as they endeavor to get back using any means of transport necessary. It’s a journey of epic proportions. It’s not an all-time classic, but is great for fans and a solid start to the day. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who will have to sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland stars as a celebrity roped into a "panto". “A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and ageing action hero Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose agent has deceived him into thinking he’s starring in prestigious English theatre. His Aladdin co-stars tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he protests. It's easy to predict their reply. That is, unless you’re not acquainted with traditional stage call-and-response. There are some great jokes, some cockle-warming storylines, and the supporting actors is excellent, too. It’s the type of film that would be a bit naff at another season, but is a great entertainment at Christmas. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma Danny Dyer shows up at the beginning of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second consecutive movie. Is this 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 the director of Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale develops as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is visited by the apparitions of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This Indian Scrooge is at least different from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s performance is lifeless—a major flaw when he’s so the focal point. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special There’s time for a channel's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “isn't big on Christmas.” But after he gets an large festive windfall at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) persuades him spending the sum on a family trip to Lapland. There’s just one snag—he finds out there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to reimburse the excess. Pleasant yet unmemorable. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the festive trappings are in the setting—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. Ambitious executive Sydney (played by 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 bookshop who offers to show her a festive Paris. A commentator recently claimed this is the top new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a festive dalliance with a dash of elegance and gives the required warm and fuzzy feels. The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is notable too. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, despite the attempts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him otherwise. The truth is to be discovered, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the expert help of a group of well-known scientists and personalities. It’s gentle but charming, and ideal viewing while anticipating Santa to visit. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a bickering American family who gather 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 saying: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the premise, but in reality it’s really a jumble of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally comes into her own. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Formulaic Fun The day’s gone downhill, but thankfully here’s a new offering in the crowded field of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and highly entertaining—festive fodder. It’s a tale as well-worn: An American woman goes on a quest to a distant snowy land and ends up discovering romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher