Marathon Viewing The Latest Festive Features: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights.
It is the season to relax on the couch and demolish a packet of mince pies in front of a great film, a poor film, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.
Once again, a batch of latest seasonal stories hopes to be part of our festive viewing—perhaps even joining the ranks alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it).
Therefore, in a helpful attempt to separate the winners from the losers, and to get into the holiday mood, I marathoned as many new Christmas films as possible in a single day.
7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie
Starting, optimistically, on a positive note. This is the sole 2025 entry on a famous website's list of the greatest 100 holiday films of all time.
The musical trio find themselves trapped in the UK after wrapping up their world tour and must make it back for Christmas. Their endeavors are hampered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who breaks into song to declare they won’t get home until they “rekindle their brotherly magic.”
The back-and-forth between the arguing trio is entertaining even for the non-fan, while devotees will undoubtedly pick up on lots of references as they endeavor to get back using every mode of travel possible.
It’s a journey of epic proportions.
It’s not an all-time classic, but is excellent for fans and a good start to the day.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who will have to sit through it.
Next: A Star in Panto
A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a movie actor roped into a traditional British stage show.
“A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and older action hero Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose manager has deceived him into thinking he’s appearing in renowned British drama.
His Aladdin cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he retorts. You can guess their reply. That is, unless you’re not acquainted with traditional British theatre traditions.
There are some hilarious moments, some cockle-warming sub-plots, and the rest of the cast is cracking, too.
It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit cheesy at any other time of year, but is a great entertainment at Christmas.
Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄
10.19am - Christmas Karma
A familiar face appears at the outset of this film, too, insulting someone for the next movie straight. Is this a fresh holiday staple?
This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who picks up Mr Sood, the newest interpretation 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 director of Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story develops as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is confronted by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.
This South Asian reinterpretation is at least unique from all the others, but sadly he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s performance is wooden—a significant issue when he’s so the focal point.
Festive score: 🎄🎄
Lunchtime: Stuffed
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 receives an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) persuades him spending the sum on a family trip to Lapland.
There’s just one problem—he learns there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to pay back the excess.
Enjoyable but forgettable.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄
1.12pm - Champagne Problems
This is one of those holiday movies where the decorations and snow are in the background—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its main point—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same.
Ambitious executive Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is assigned to a French chateau to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. En route, she encounters a fellow in a book store who promises to show her Christmas in Paris.
A commentator recently claimed this is the finest new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a festive dalliance with a dash of elegance and gives the necessary cozy feelings.
The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is very good too.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄
A Charming Quest
Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, regardless of the persuasion of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the reality.
The answer is somewhere, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the expert help of a group of well-known experts and celebrities.
It’s low-key but endearing, and good viewing while waiting for Santa to visit.
Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄
4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun.
Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother 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 starts by mentioning 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 true heroes of the holidays—moms.”
So that’s the concept, but in practice it’s really a jumble of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually finds her strength.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄
Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret
The day’s gone downhill, but thankfully here’s a new offering in the packed genre of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and utterly watchable—seasonal comfort food.
It’s a tale as familiar as can be: An American woman goes on a quest to a distant snowy land and ends up discovering romance.
In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
