Marathon Viewing This Year's Holiday Movies: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights.
It is the season to slob out on the couch and devour a box of festive treats in front of a good movie, a poor film, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.
Once again, a crop of fresh Christmas films strives to join part of our seasonal watchlist—maybe even joining the ranks alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it).
Thus, in a noble effort to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to find the holiday mood, I marathoned as many fresh festive movies as possible in a single day.
First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick
Kicking off, ideally, on a positive note. This is the sole 2025 entry on a popular review site's list of the top 100 Christmas movies of all time.
The popular band find themselves stuck in the UK after wrapping up their international trek and must return for Christmas. Their efforts are hindered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who bursts into melody to state they won’t get home until they “find their familial spark.”
The repartee between the bickering brothers is entertaining even for the casual viewer, while followers will no doubt pick up on lots of in-jokes as they attempt to get back using any means of transport necessary.
It’s a travelogue of mishaps.
It’s not legendary, but is excellent for fans and a positive start to the day.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who will have to sit through it.
Late Morning: Tinsel Town
A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity tricked into a pantomime.
“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and aging lead Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose manager has deceived him into thinking he’s appearing in renowned British drama.
His pantomime cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he retorts. One can imagine their retort. Unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional panto catchphrases.
There are some very funny lines, some touching side stories, and the supporting actors is excellent, too.
It’s the type of film that would be a bit cheesy at a different time, but is a lot of fun at Christmas.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄
10.19am - Christmas Karma
A familiar face shows up at the outset of this film, too, insulting someone for the next movie straight. Is this a new Christmas tradition?
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 a star of Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by the filmmaker behind Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative develops as the stingy Mr Sood is confronted by the apparitions of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.
This cultural adaptation is at least unique from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s portrayal is flat—a significant issue when he’s so the focal point.
Festive score: 🎄🎄
Noon: A BBC Special
Before lunch for a major broadcaster's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “avoids Christmas.”
But after he is awarded an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) convinces him splurging the cash on a family trip to Lapland.
There’s just one snag—he learns there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to reimburse the excess.
Pleasant yet unmemorable.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄
1.12pm - Champagne Problems
This is one of those holiday movies 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.
Driven corporate star Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a vineyard to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. On the way, she meets a man in a book store who vows to show her Christmas in Paris.
A commentator recently stated this is the finest new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a festive dalliance with a dash of elegance and gives the required cozy feelings.
The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is very good too.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄
Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas
Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, in spite of the persuasion of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him otherwise.
The answer is to be discovered, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the expert help of a team of well-known scientists and personalities.
It’s gentle but endearing, and perfect viewing while anticipating Santa to visit.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄
Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun.
Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a quarrelling American family who reunite for the holidays—including other Oscar nominee 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 stating: “They need to make a movie about the true heroes of the holidays—moms.”
So that’s what this is, but in practice it’s really a mash-up of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally takes center stage.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄
Formulaic Fun
The day’s taken a dip, but thankfully here’s a new entry in the saturated market of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and highly entertaining—seasonal comfort food.
It’s a tale as old as time: An American woman journeys to a distant snowy land and ends up discovering romance.
In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher