🔗 Share this article Devouring 2025's Holiday Movies: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good. It is the season to lounge on the sofa and demolish a tin of mince pies in front of a good movie, a bad movie, or one that’s so bad it’s good. This year, a crop of new seasonal stories aims to become part of our holiday traditions—potentially even joining the ranks alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). Therefore, in a vital public service to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to get into the festive feeling, I marathoned as many new Christmas films as possible in a single day. First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick Beginning, hopefully, on a positive note. This is the sole 2025 movie on a well-known aggregator's list of the best 100 Christmas movies of all time. The musical trio end up trapped in the UK after concluding their world tour and must get home for Christmas. Their attempts are hampered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who bursts into melody to announce they won’t get home until they “rediscover their familial spark.” The banter between the arguing trio is entertaining even for the casual viewer, while followers will no doubt catch lots of references as they endeavor to get back using any means of transport necessary. It’s a journey of epic proportions. It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is superb for devotees and a good start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who must sit through it. Late Morning: Tinsel Town A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland stars as a movie actor roped into a traditional British stage show. “A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and older star Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose agent has deceived him into thinking he’s starring in high-class London stage. His Aladdin cast-mates tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he protests. One can imagine their retort. Except if you’re ignorant of traditional stage call-and-response. There are some very funny lines, some cockle-warming side stories, and the ensemble is cracking, too. It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit naff at another season, but is a great entertainment at Christmas. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 A New Spin on Scrooge Danny Dyer pops up at the outset of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the next movie straight. Could this be a fresh holiday staple? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who collects Mr Sood, the modern take 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 Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story unfolds as the miserly Mr Sood is haunted by the ghosts of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This South Asian reinterpretation is at least distinct from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s portrayal is lifeless—a significant issue when he’s so the focal point. Festive score: 🎄🎄 12.04pm - Stuffed There's just enough time for a network's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man 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 splurging the cash on a family trip to Lapland. There’s just one problem—he finds out there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to pay back the excess. Pleasant yet unmemorable. Festive score: 🎄🎄 A Classy Netflix Romance This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow 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 (played by Minka Kelly) is sent to a French chateau to do a deal for a sparkling wine company. On the way, she runs into a fellow in a book store who vows to show her a festive Paris. An expert recently claimed this is the best new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a holiday love story with a dash of elegance and gives the obligatory cozy feelings. The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is very good too. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, in spite of the persuasion of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him otherwise. The secret is to be discovered, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the guidance of a group of well-known figures. It’s understated but charming, and ideal viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a bickering American family who gather for the holidays—including other Oscar nominee 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 stating: “They need to make a movie about the real champions of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the premise, but in practice it’s really a mash-up of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually takes center stage. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s taken a dip, but thankfully here’s a new entry in the saturated market of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and utterly watchable—festive fodder. It’s a narrative as familiar as can be: An American woman travels to a picturesque cold country and ends up finding romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
It is the season to lounge on the sofa and demolish a tin of mince pies in front of a good movie, a bad movie, or one that’s so bad it’s good. This year, a crop of new seasonal stories aims to become part of our holiday traditions—potentially even joining the ranks alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). Therefore, in a vital public service to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to get into the festive feeling, I marathoned as many new Christmas films as possible in a single day. First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick Beginning, hopefully, on a positive note. This is the sole 2025 movie on a well-known aggregator's list of the best 100 Christmas movies of all time. The musical trio end up trapped in the UK after concluding their world tour and must get home for Christmas. Their attempts are hampered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who bursts into melody to announce they won’t get home until they “rediscover their familial spark.” The banter between the arguing trio is entertaining even for the casual viewer, while followers will no doubt catch lots of references as they endeavor to get back using any means of transport necessary. It’s a journey of epic proportions. It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is superb for devotees and a good start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who must sit through it. Late Morning: Tinsel Town A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland stars as a movie actor roped into a traditional British stage show. “A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and older star Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose agent has deceived him into thinking he’s starring in high-class London stage. His Aladdin cast-mates tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he protests. One can imagine their retort. Except if you’re ignorant of traditional stage call-and-response. There are some very funny lines, some cockle-warming side stories, and the ensemble is cracking, too. It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit naff at another season, but is a great entertainment at Christmas. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 A New Spin on Scrooge Danny Dyer pops up at the outset of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the next movie straight. Could this be a fresh holiday staple? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who collects Mr Sood, the modern take 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 Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story unfolds as the miserly Mr Sood is haunted by the ghosts of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This South Asian reinterpretation is at least distinct from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s portrayal is lifeless—a significant issue when he’s so the focal point. Festive score: 🎄🎄 12.04pm - Stuffed There's just enough time for a network's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man 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 splurging the cash on a family trip to Lapland. There’s just one problem—he finds out there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to pay back the excess. Pleasant yet unmemorable. Festive score: 🎄🎄 A Classy Netflix Romance This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow 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 (played by Minka Kelly) is sent to a French chateau to do a deal for a sparkling wine company. On the way, she runs into a fellow in a book store who vows to show her a festive Paris. An expert recently claimed this is the best new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a holiday love story with a dash of elegance and gives the obligatory cozy feelings. The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is very good too. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, in spite of the persuasion of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him otherwise. The secret is to be discovered, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the guidance of a group of well-known figures. It’s understated but charming, and ideal viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a bickering American family who gather for the holidays—including other Oscar nominee 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 stating: “They need to make a movie about the real champions of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the premise, but in practice it’s really a mash-up of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually takes center stage. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s taken a dip, but thankfully here’s a new entry in the saturated market of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and utterly watchable—festive fodder. It’s a narrative as familiar as can be: An American woman travels to a picturesque cold country and ends up finding romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher