🔗 Share this article Binge-Watching This Year's Holiday Movies: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights. ‘Tis the season to slob out on the couch and devour a box of festive treats in front of a great film, a awful feature, or one that’s so bad it’s good. Once again, a crop of latest seasonal stories strives to join part of our festive viewing—potentially even finding a spot alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it). So, in a vital public service to separate the winners from the losers, and to embrace the Christmas spirit, I watched as many recent Christmas films as possible in a single day. First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick Kicking off, optimistically, on a positive note. This film is the exclusive 2025 entry on a well-known aggregator's list of the top 100 Christmas movies of all time. The musical trio end up stuck in the UK after wrapping up their international trek and must return for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who sings to announce they won’t get home until they “rediscover their sibling bond.” The banter between the bickering brothers is amusing even for the non-fan, while followers will undoubtedly catch lots of easter eggs as they try to get back using all transportation available. It’s a journey of epic proportions. It’s not legendary, but is excellent for fans and a solid start to the day. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who must sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity roped into a pantomime. “A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and aging action hero Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose manager has misled him into thinking he’s starring in high-class London stage. His pantomime fellow actors inform him he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he insists angrily. One can imagine their retort. 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 brilliant, too. It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit cheesy at a different time, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma Danny Dyer pops up at the beginning of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second consecutive movie. Could this be a new Christmas tradition? This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who picks up Mr Sood, the newest interpretation 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 Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale unfolds as the miserly Mr Sood is haunted by the spirits of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This Indian Scrooge is at least unique from all the others, but sadly he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s acting is wooden—a problem when he’s so the focal point. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Lunchtime: Stuffed Before lunch for a network's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “doesn’t really do Christmas.” But after he gets an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) talks him into spending the sum on a holiday to Lapland. There’s just one problem—he finds out there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to pay back the difference. Fun while it lasts but not lasting. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 1.12pm - Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the festive trappings are in the backdrop—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. High-powered businesswoman Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is sent to a vineyard to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. On the way, she encounters a guy in a book store who offers to show her the holidays in the City of Light. An expert recently stated this is the finest new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a holiday love story with a hint of sophistication and gives the required warm and fuzzy feels. The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is notable too. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 A Charming Quest Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, despite the persuasion of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the reality. The secret is out there, and Chris sets out to find it with the expert help of a group of well-known figures. It’s low-key but endearing, and good viewing while waiting for Santa to visit. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a bickering American family who come back together 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 declaring: “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 mash-up of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually finds her strength. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Formulaic Fun The day’s gone downhill, but fortunately here’s a new addition in the saturated market of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and highly entertaining—holiday fare. It’s a story as old as time: An American woman travels to a far-off wintery locale and ends up finding romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
‘Tis the season to slob out on the couch and devour a box of festive treats in front of a great film, a awful feature, or one that’s so bad it’s good. Once again, a crop of latest seasonal stories strives to join part of our festive viewing—potentially even finding a spot alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it). So, in a vital public service to separate the winners from the losers, and to embrace the Christmas spirit, I watched as many recent Christmas films as possible in a single day. First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick Kicking off, optimistically, on a positive note. This film is the exclusive 2025 entry on a well-known aggregator's list of the top 100 Christmas movies of all time. The musical trio end up stuck in the UK after wrapping up their international trek and must return for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who sings to announce they won’t get home until they “rediscover their sibling bond.” The banter between the bickering brothers is amusing even for the non-fan, while followers will undoubtedly catch lots of easter eggs as they try to get back using all transportation available. It’s a journey of epic proportions. It’s not legendary, but is excellent for fans and a solid start to the day. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who must sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity roped into a pantomime. “A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and aging action hero Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose manager has misled him into thinking he’s starring in high-class London stage. His pantomime fellow actors inform him he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he insists angrily. One can imagine their retort. 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 brilliant, too. It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit cheesy at a different time, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma Danny Dyer pops up at the beginning of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second consecutive movie. Could this be a new Christmas tradition? This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who picks up Mr Sood, the newest interpretation 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 Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale unfolds as the miserly Mr Sood is haunted by the spirits of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This Indian Scrooge is at least unique from all the others, but sadly he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s acting is wooden—a problem when he’s so the focal point. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Lunchtime: Stuffed Before lunch for a network's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “doesn’t really do Christmas.” But after he gets an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) talks him into spending the sum on a holiday to Lapland. There’s just one problem—he finds out there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to pay back the difference. Fun while it lasts but not lasting. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 1.12pm - Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the festive trappings are in the backdrop—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. High-powered businesswoman Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is sent to a vineyard to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. On the way, she encounters a guy in a book store who offers to show her the holidays in the City of Light. An expert recently stated this is the finest new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a holiday love story with a hint of sophistication and gives the required warm and fuzzy feels. The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is notable too. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 A Charming Quest Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, despite the persuasion of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the reality. The secret is out there, and Chris sets out to find it with the expert help of a group of well-known figures. It’s low-key but endearing, and good viewing while waiting for Santa to visit. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a bickering American family who come back together 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 declaring: “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 mash-up of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually finds her strength. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Formulaic Fun The day’s gone downhill, but fortunately here’s a new addition in the saturated market of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and highly entertaining—holiday fare. It’s a story as old as time: An American woman travels to a far-off wintery locale and ends up finding romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher