Devouring The Latest Holiday Movies: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good.

‘Tis the season to relax on the sofa and consume a tin of mince pies in front of a great film, a poor film, or one that’s so bad it’s good.

This year, a batch of fresh seasonal stories strives to join part of our seasonal watchlist—perhaps 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 sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to get into the Christmas spirit, I binged as many fresh holiday releases as possible in a single day.

7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Starting, ideally, on a high. This film is the exclusive 2025 movie on a popular review site's list of the top 100 holiday films of all time.

The musical trio end up stranded in the UK after finishing their international trek and must make it back for Christmas. Their efforts are thwarted by an evil Santa, who sings to announce they won’t get home until they “find their sibling bond.”

The repartee between the squabbling siblings is entertaining even for the casual viewer, while followers will certainly notice lots of in-jokes as they endeavor to get back using any means of transport necessary.

It’s private planes, trains and automobiles.

It’s not an all-time classic, but is great for devotees and a solid start to the day.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who must sit through it.

Next: A Star in Panto

Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland stars as a Hollywood star tricked into a "panto".

“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and older lead Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose representative has deceived him into thinking he’s performing in prestigious English theatre.

His Aladdin cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he protests. One can imagine their response. Unless you’re not acquainted with traditional panto catchphrases.

There are some very funny lines, some cockle-warming storylines, and the rest of the cast is cracking, too.

It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit tacky at a different time, but is a great entertainment at Christmas.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma

An actor shows up at the outset of this film, too, insulting someone for the second film in a row. Is this a fresh holiday staple?

This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who encounters Mr Sood, the latest spin 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 filmmaker behind Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story develops as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is visited by the ghosts of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This Indian Scrooge is at least unique from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s acting is wooden—a major flaw when he’s so the focal point.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

12.04pm - Stuffed

There’s time for a major broadcaster's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “isn't big on Christmas.”

But after he gets an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) talks him into spending the sum on a holiday to Lapland.

There’s just one issue—he learns there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to pay back the remainder.

Enjoyable but forgettable.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

1.12pm - Champagne Problems

This is one of those Christmas films where the decorations and snow are in the background—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels comfortable and seasonal 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. On the way, she meets a guy in a book store who promises to show her Christmas in Paris.

A critic recently stated this is the top new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a holiday love story with a dash of elegance and gives the necessary heartwarming sensation.

The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is notable too.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

A Charming Quest

Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, despite the persuasion of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the reality.

The secret is to be discovered, and Chris sets out to find it with the expert help of a panel of well-known experts and celebrities.

It’s gentle but charming, and ideal viewing while expecting Santa to visit.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a quarrelling American family who gather for the holidays—including fellow acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.

Pfeiffer begins by referencing Christmas classics like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before declaring: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s the concept, but in practice it’s really a mash-up of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last takes center stage.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s waned in quality, but thankfully here’s a new offering in the packed genre of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and highly entertaining—holiday fare.

It’s a tale as old as time: An American woman travels to a picturesque cold country and ends up stumbling across romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher