‘Tis the time of year to lounge on the sofa and devour a packet of mince pies in front of a good movie, a poor film, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.
Once again, a selection of latest seasonal stories hopes to be part of our festive viewing—perhaps even joining the ranks alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start).
Therefore, in a vital public service to separate the winners from the losers, and to embrace the holiday mood, I binged as many new Christmas films as possible in a single day.
Kicking off, optimistically, on a positive note. This release is the only 2025 entry on a famous website's list of the greatest 100 festive features of all time.
The Jonas Brothers are trapped in the UK after finishing their international trek and must get home for Christmas. Their attempts are thwarted by an malevolent Father Christmas, who sings to declare they won’t get home until they “rekindle their sibling bond.”
The repartee between the squabbling siblings is amusing even for the casual viewer, while fans will undoubtedly catch lots of in-jokes as they try to get back using all transportation available.
It’s a travelogue of mishaps.
It’s not legendary, but is excellent for devotees and a good start to the day.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who must sit through it.
Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity cast a pantomime.
“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and aging action hero Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose agent has misled him into thinking he’s starring in renowned British drama.
His Aladdin fellow actors let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he insists angrily. One can imagine their reply. Except if you’re unfamiliar with traditional British theatre traditions.
There are some very funny lines, some cockle-warming side stories, and the ensemble is cracking, too.
It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit naff at a different time, but is a lot of fun at Christmas.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄
An actor shows up at the outset of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the second consecutive movie. Is this a new Christmas tradition?
This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who encounters 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 haunted 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 captivating and Nayyar’s acting is wooden—a problem when he’s so the focal point.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄
There's just enough time for a network's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “avoids Christmas.”
But after he receives an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) talks him into splurging the cash on a family trip 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 devise a plan for how to pay back the difference.
Pleasant yet unmemorable.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄
This is one of those holiday movies where the festive trappings are in the backdrop—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 champagne business. En route, she encounters a guy in a bookshop who promises to show her a festive Paris.
An expert recently claimed this is the top new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a holiday love story with a hint of sophistication and gives the necessary cozy feelings.
The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is particularly strong too.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄
Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, regardless of the attempts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him otherwise.
The secret is to be discovered, and Chris sets out to find it with the guidance of a team of well-known experts and celebrities.
It’s understated but endearing, and good viewing while expecting Santa to visit.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄
Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a quarrelling 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 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 premise, but in execution it’s really a combination of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally finds her strength.
Festive score: 🎄🎄
The day’s gone downhill, but thankfully here’s a new entry in the crowded field of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and utterly watchable—holiday fare.
It’s a narrative as well-worn: An American woman journeys to a far-off wintery locale and ends up finding romance.
In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
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