🔗 Share this article Devouring The Latest Holiday Movies: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures. It is the season to relax on the couch and consume a packet of festive treats in front of a terrific flick, a poor film, or one that’s terrible yet terrific. As always, a crop of latest holiday movies aims to become part of our festive viewing—maybe even joining the ranks alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments). So, in a vital public service to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to find the festive feeling, I marathoned as many recent festive movies as possible in a single day. 7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Beginning, hopefully, on a positive note. This release is the exclusive 2025 movie on a famous website's list of the top 100 holiday films of all time. The Jonas Brothers are stranded in the UK after concluding their international trek and must make it back for Christmas. Their efforts are thwarted by an malevolent Father Christmas, who bursts into melody to declare they won’t get home until they “rediscover their sibling bond.” The repartee between the bickering brothers is amusing even for the non-fan, while fans will certainly catch lots of references as they try to get back using all transportation available. It’s a journey of epic proportions. It’s not legendary, but is superb for fans and a good start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who must sit through it. Late Morning: Tinsel Town A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland appears as a movie actor roped into a "panto". “A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and aging action hero Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose representative has tricked him into thinking he’s performing in prestigious English theatre. His Aladdin cast-mates tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he retorts. You can guess their retort. Unless you’re ignorant of traditional British theatre traditions. There are some great jokes, some heartwarming sub-plots, and the supporting actors is cracking, too. It’s the type of film that would be a bit tacky at another season, but is a great entertainment at Christmas. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 10.19am - Christmas Karma An actor shows up at the start of this film, too, insulting someone for the second consecutive movie. Could this be a new Christmas tradition? This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who collects 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 director of Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale 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 cultural adaptation is at least different from all the others, but sadly he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s portrayal is lifeless—a problem when he’s so central to everything. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special Before lunch for a channel's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “avoids Christmas.” But after he gets an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) talks him into blowing the money on a vacation 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 remainder. Pleasant yet unmemorable. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the setting—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels cosy and festive all the same. High-powered businesswoman Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is assigned to a French chateau to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. En route, she runs into a man in a book store who promises to show her a festive Paris. A commentator recently claimed this is the best new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a Christmas romance with a dash of elegance and gives the necessary cozy feelings. The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is notable too. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 A Charming Quest Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, in spite of the efforts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him otherwise. The answer is out there, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the guidance of a panel of well-known experts and celebrities. It’s gentle but sweet, and good viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 A Star-Studded Family Drama Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a bickering American family who reunite for the holidays—including fellow acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer opens by name-dropping Christmas classics like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before stating: “They need to make a movie about the real champions of the holidays—moms.” So that’s what this is, but in practice it’s really a jumble of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last takes center stage. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s waned in quality, but fortunately here’s a new offering in the saturated market of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and utterly watchable—seasonal comfort food. It’s a story as well-worn: An American woman journeys to a picturesque cold country and ends up stumbling across romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
It is the season to relax on the couch and consume a packet of festive treats in front of a terrific flick, a poor film, or one that’s terrible yet terrific. As always, a crop of latest holiday movies aims to become part of our festive viewing—maybe even joining the ranks alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments). So, in a vital public service to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to find the festive feeling, I marathoned as many recent festive movies as possible in a single day. 7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Beginning, hopefully, on a positive note. This release is the exclusive 2025 movie on a famous website's list of the top 100 holiday films of all time. The Jonas Brothers are stranded in the UK after concluding their international trek and must make it back for Christmas. Their efforts are thwarted by an malevolent Father Christmas, who bursts into melody to declare they won’t get home until they “rediscover their sibling bond.” The repartee between the bickering brothers is amusing even for the non-fan, while fans will certainly catch lots of references as they try to get back using all transportation available. It’s a journey of epic proportions. It’s not legendary, but is superb for fans and a good start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who must sit through it. Late Morning: Tinsel Town A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland appears as a movie actor roped into a "panto". “A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and aging action hero Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose representative has tricked him into thinking he’s performing in prestigious English theatre. His Aladdin cast-mates tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he retorts. You can guess their retort. Unless you’re ignorant of traditional British theatre traditions. There are some great jokes, some heartwarming sub-plots, and the supporting actors is cracking, too. It’s the type of film that would be a bit tacky at another season, but is a great entertainment at Christmas. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 10.19am - Christmas Karma An actor shows up at the start of this film, too, insulting someone for the second consecutive movie. Could this be a new Christmas tradition? This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who collects 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 director of Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale 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 cultural adaptation is at least different from all the others, but sadly he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s portrayal is lifeless—a problem when he’s so central to everything. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special Before lunch for a channel's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “avoids Christmas.” But after he gets an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) talks him into blowing the money on a vacation 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 remainder. Pleasant yet unmemorable. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the setting—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels cosy and festive all the same. High-powered businesswoman Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is assigned to a French chateau to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. En route, she runs into a man in a book store who promises to show her a festive Paris. A commentator recently claimed this is the best new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a Christmas romance with a dash of elegance and gives the necessary cozy feelings. The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is notable too. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 A Charming Quest Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, in spite of the efforts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him otherwise. The answer is out there, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the guidance of a panel of well-known experts and celebrities. It’s gentle but sweet, and good viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 A Star-Studded Family Drama Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a bickering American family who reunite for the holidays—including fellow acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer opens by name-dropping Christmas classics like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before stating: “They need to make a movie about the real champions of the holidays—moms.” So that’s what this is, but in practice it’s really a jumble of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last takes center stage. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s waned in quality, but fortunately here’s a new offering in the saturated market of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and utterly watchable—seasonal comfort food. It’s a story as well-worn: An American woman journeys to a picturesque cold country and ends up stumbling across romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher