🔗 Share this article Binge-Watching The Latest Christmas Films: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights. It is the season to lounge on the couch and devour a box of holiday pastries in front of a great film, a bad movie, or one that’s terrible yet terrific. Once again, a batch of new holiday movies hopes to be part of our seasonal watchlist—potentially even finding a spot alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). So, in a noble effort to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to embrace the Christmas spirit, I marathoned as many recent holiday releases as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Beginning, optimistically, on a positive note. This film is the only 2025 movie on a famous website's list of the top 100 festive features of all time. The Jonas Brothers find themselves stuck in the UK after wrapping up their world tour and must return for Christmas. Their attempts are hampered by an villainous Saint Nick, who sings to announce they won’t get home until they “rediscover their familial spark.” The repartee between the bickering brothers is entertaining even for the casual viewer, while followers will undoubtedly notice lots of easter eggs as they endeavor to get back using all transportation available. It’s private planes, trains and automobiles. It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is excellent for fans and a positive start to the day. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who must sit through it. Late Morning: Tinsel Town Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland appears as a Hollywood star roped into a "panto". “A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and older lead Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose agent has misled him into thinking he’s appearing in renowned British drama. His pantomime co-stars let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he insists angrily. It's easy to predict their reply. Unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional stage call-and-response. There are some great jokes, some heartwarming side stories, and the ensemble is cracking, too. It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit tacky at any other time of year, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 A New Spin on Scrooge Danny Dyer appears at the beginning of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second film in a row. Might this become a fresh holiday staple? This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who encounters Mr Sood, the latest spin 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 filmmaker behind Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative progresses as the stingy Mr Sood is visited by the ghosts of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This cultural adaptation is at least distinct from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s performance is lifeless—a problem when he’s so the focal point. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special Before lunch for a channel's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “isn't big on Christmas.” But after he receives an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) talks him into spending the sum on a holiday to Lapland. There’s just one snag—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 excess. Fun while it lasts but not lasting. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 A Classy Netflix Romance This is one of those holiday movies where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the setting—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. Ambitious executive Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a French chateau to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. During her travels, she encounters a fellow in a literary haven who vows to show her Christmas in Paris. A critic recently declared this is the finest new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a Christmas romance with a hint of sophistication and gives the obligatory heartwarming sensation. The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is particularly strong too. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, despite the persuasion of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the truth. The secret is somewhere, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the expert help of a team of well-known scientists and personalities. It’s low-key but sweet, and ideal viewing while anticipating Santa to visit. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a dysfunctional American family who come back together for the holidays—including other acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer begins by referencing 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 true heroes 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. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Formulaic Fun The day’s taken a dip, but thankfully here’s a new entry in the crowded field of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and strangely compelling—seasonal comfort food. It’s a narrative as familiar as can be: An American woman travels to a far-off wintery locale and ends up finding romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
It is the season to lounge on the couch and devour a box of holiday pastries in front of a great film, a bad movie, or one that’s terrible yet terrific. Once again, a batch of new holiday movies hopes to be part of our seasonal watchlist—potentially even finding a spot alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). So, in a noble effort to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to embrace the Christmas spirit, I marathoned as many recent holiday releases as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Beginning, optimistically, on a positive note. This film is the only 2025 movie on a famous website's list of the top 100 festive features of all time. The Jonas Brothers find themselves stuck in the UK after wrapping up their world tour and must return for Christmas. Their attempts are hampered by an villainous Saint Nick, who sings to announce they won’t get home until they “rediscover their familial spark.” The repartee between the bickering brothers is entertaining even for the casual viewer, while followers will undoubtedly notice lots of easter eggs as they endeavor to get back using all transportation available. It’s private planes, trains and automobiles. It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is excellent for fans and a positive start to the day. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who must sit through it. Late Morning: Tinsel Town Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland appears as a Hollywood star roped into a "panto". “A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and older lead Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose agent has misled him into thinking he’s appearing in renowned British drama. His pantomime co-stars let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he insists angrily. It's easy to predict their reply. Unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional stage call-and-response. There are some great jokes, some heartwarming side stories, and the ensemble is cracking, too. It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit tacky at any other time of year, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 A New Spin on Scrooge Danny Dyer appears at the beginning of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second film in a row. Might this become a fresh holiday staple? This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who encounters Mr Sood, the latest spin 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 filmmaker behind Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative progresses as the stingy Mr Sood is visited by the ghosts of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This cultural adaptation is at least distinct from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s performance is lifeless—a problem when he’s so the focal point. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special Before lunch for a channel's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “isn't big on Christmas.” But after he receives an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) talks him into spending the sum on a holiday to Lapland. There’s just one snag—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 excess. Fun while it lasts but not lasting. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 A Classy Netflix Romance This is one of those holiday movies where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the setting—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. Ambitious executive Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a French chateau to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. During her travels, she encounters a fellow in a literary haven who vows to show her Christmas in Paris. A critic recently declared this is the finest new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a Christmas romance with a hint of sophistication and gives the obligatory heartwarming sensation. The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is particularly strong too. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, despite the persuasion of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the truth. The secret is somewhere, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the expert help of a team of well-known scientists and personalities. It’s low-key but sweet, and ideal viewing while anticipating Santa to visit. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a dysfunctional American family who come back together for the holidays—including other acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer begins by referencing 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 true heroes 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. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Formulaic Fun The day’s taken a dip, but thankfully here’s a new entry in the crowded field of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and strangely compelling—seasonal comfort food. It’s a narrative as familiar as can be: An American woman travels to a far-off wintery locale and ends up finding romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher