🔗 Share this article Devouring The Latest Holiday Movies: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good. It is the time of year to relax on the couch and demolish a packet of holiday pastries in front of a great film, a awful feature, or one that’s so bad it’s good. This year, a crop of latest holiday movies aims to become part of our festive viewing—potentially even finding a spot alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). So, in a noble effort to separate the winners from the losers, and to embrace the holiday mood, I binged as many recent festive movies as possible in a single day. First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick Starting, hopefully, on a positive note. This is the exclusive 2025 entry on a popular review site's list of the greatest 100 festive features of all time. The popular band find themselves stranded in the UK after concluding their international trek and must get home for Christmas. Their attempts are hindered by an evil Santa, who breaks into song to announce they won’t get home until they “rediscover their brotherly magic.” The back-and-forth between the arguing trio is amusing even for the casual viewer, while followers will undoubtedly notice lots of references 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 excellent for fans and a positive start to the day. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who must sit through it. Next: A Star in Panto Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a Hollywood star roped into a "panto". “A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and older star Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose agent has tricked him into thinking he’s appearing in prestigious English theatre. His Aladdin fellow actors let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he retorts. It's easy to predict their reply. Except if you’re unfamiliar with traditional British theatre traditions. There are some hilarious moments, some cockle-warming sub-plots, and the ensemble is brilliant, too. It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit naff at another season, but is a great entertainment at Christmas. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma A familiar face appears at the start of this film, too, insulting someone for the next movie straight. Could this be a fresh holiday staple? This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who collects Mr Sood, the newest interpretation on Mr Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Mr Sood is played by The Big Bang Theory’s Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by the director of Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale progresses as the miserly Mr Sood is confronted by the ghosts 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 compelling and Nayyar’s performance is flat—a major flaw when he’s so the focal point. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Lunchtime: Stuffed There’s time for a major broadcaster's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “doesn’t really do Christmas.” But after he is awarded an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) convinces him splurging the cash on a vacation to Lapland. There’s just one problem—he discovers there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to pay back the excess. Enjoyable but forgettable. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 A Classy Netflix Romance This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the background—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its main point—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. High-powered businesswoman Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is assigned to a country estate to do a deal for a champagne business. During her travels, she runs into a fellow in a book store who promises to show her Christmas in Paris. A commentator recently declared this is the best new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a holiday love story with a touch of class and gives the necessary heartwarming sensation. The scene with a extended debate about Die Hard is notable too. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas Young 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 answer is to be discovered, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the assistance of a group of well-known scientists and personalities. It’s understated but endearing, and perfect viewing while waiting for Santa to visit. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a bickering American family who gather for the holidays—including other acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer opens by name-dropping 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 real champions of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the concept, but in practice it’s really a combination of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually finds her strength. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s taken a dip, but fortunately here’s a new addition in the packed genre of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and strangely compelling—holiday fare. It’s a story as old as time: An American woman journeys to a far-off wintery locale and ends up discovering romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
It is the time of year to relax on the couch and demolish a packet of holiday pastries in front of a great film, a awful feature, or one that’s so bad it’s good. This year, a crop of latest holiday movies aims to become part of our festive viewing—potentially even finding a spot alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). So, in a noble effort to separate the winners from the losers, and to embrace the holiday mood, I binged as many recent festive movies as possible in a single day. First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick Starting, hopefully, on a positive note. This is the exclusive 2025 entry on a popular review site's list of the greatest 100 festive features of all time. The popular band find themselves stranded in the UK after concluding their international trek and must get home for Christmas. Their attempts are hindered by an evil Santa, who breaks into song to announce they won’t get home until they “rediscover their brotherly magic.” The back-and-forth between the arguing trio is amusing even for the casual viewer, while followers will undoubtedly notice lots of references 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 excellent for fans and a positive start to the day. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who must sit through it. Next: A Star in Panto Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a Hollywood star roped into a "panto". “A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and older star Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose agent has tricked him into thinking he’s appearing in prestigious English theatre. His Aladdin fellow actors let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he retorts. It's easy to predict their reply. Except if you’re unfamiliar with traditional British theatre traditions. There are some hilarious moments, some cockle-warming sub-plots, and the ensemble is brilliant, too. It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit naff at another season, but is a great entertainment at Christmas. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma A familiar face appears at the start of this film, too, insulting someone for the next movie straight. Could this be a fresh holiday staple? This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who collects Mr Sood, the newest interpretation on Mr Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Mr Sood is played by The Big Bang Theory’s Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by the director of Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale progresses as the miserly Mr Sood is confronted by the ghosts 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 compelling and Nayyar’s performance is flat—a major flaw when he’s so the focal point. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Lunchtime: Stuffed There’s time for a major broadcaster's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “doesn’t really do Christmas.” But after he is awarded an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) convinces him splurging the cash on a vacation to Lapland. There’s just one problem—he discovers there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to pay back the excess. Enjoyable but forgettable. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 A Classy Netflix Romance This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the background—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its main point—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. High-powered businesswoman Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is assigned to a country estate to do a deal for a champagne business. During her travels, she runs into a fellow in a book store who promises to show her Christmas in Paris. A commentator recently declared this is the best new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a holiday love story with a touch of class and gives the necessary heartwarming sensation. The scene with a extended debate about Die Hard is notable too. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas Young 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 answer is to be discovered, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the assistance of a group of well-known scientists and personalities. It’s understated but endearing, and perfect viewing while waiting for Santa to visit. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a bickering American family who gather for the holidays—including other acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer opens by name-dropping 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 real champions of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the concept, but in practice it’s really a combination of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually finds her strength. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s taken a dip, but fortunately here’s a new addition in the packed genre of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and strangely compelling—holiday fare. It’s a story as old as time: An American woman journeys to a far-off wintery locale and ends up discovering romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher