Devouring This Year's Holiday Movies: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights.

‘Tis the season to relax on the couch and demolish a box of mince pies in front of a good movie, a awful feature, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.

Once again, a batch of fresh Christmas films hopes to be part of our seasonal watchlist—perhaps even joining the ranks alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments).

Therefore, in a vital public service to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to embrace the Christmas spirit, I marathoned as many recent festive movies as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Kicking off, ideally, on a good foot. This is the sole 2025 entry on a popular review site's list of the greatest 100 festive features of all time.

The musical trio end up stuck in the UK after finishing their world tour and must get home for Christmas. Their efforts are thwarted by an malevolent Father Christmas, who breaks into song to announce they won’t get home until they “find their sibling bond.”

The banter between the arguing trio is enjoyable even for the uninitiated, while followers will no doubt pick up on lots of easter eggs as they try to get back using any means of transport necessary.

It’s private planes, trains and automobiles.

It’s not an all-time classic, but is superb for fans and a good start to the day.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who will have to sit through it.

Next: A Star in Panto

Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland stars as a Hollywood star cast a "panto".

“A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and aging action hero Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose agent has tricked him into thinking he’s performing in prestigious English theatre.

His Aladdin cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he retorts. One can imagine their response. Except if you’re ignorant of traditional panto catchphrases.

There are some hilarious moments, some heartwarming side stories, and the supporting actors is brilliant, too.

It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit tacky at another season, but is a great entertainment at Christmas.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

A familiar face shows up at the start of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second consecutive movie. Might this become a new Christmas tradition?

This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who picks up 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 develops as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is haunted by the spirits of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This cultural adaptation is at least unique from all the others, but sadly he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s performance is flat—a problem when he’s so the focal point.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

12.04pm - Stuffed

There's just enough time for a network's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “isn't big on Christmas.”

But after he is awarded an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) talks him into splurging the cash on a vacation to Lapland.

There’s just one issue—he finds out there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to return the remainder.

Enjoyable but forgettable.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

1.12pm - Champagne Problems

This is one of those holiday movies where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the background—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its main point—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same.

Ambitious executive Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is sent to a vineyard to negotiate a purchase for a champagne business. During her travels, she runs into a guy in a bookshop who promises to show her the holidays in the City of Light.

An expert recently claimed this is the top new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a Christmas romance with a touch of class and gives the required heartwarming sensation.

The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is very good too.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas

Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, in spite of the attempts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the reality.

The secret is to be discovered, and Chris sets out to find it with the assistance of a panel of well-known experts and celebrities.

It’s low-key but sweet, and ideal viewing while waiting for Santa to visit.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a bickering American family who come back together 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 reality it’s really a mash-up of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally finds her strength.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Formulaic Fun

The day’s taken a dip, but happily here’s a new addition in the packed genre of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and highly entertaining—festive fodder.

It’s a tale as old as time: An American woman journeys to a far-off wintery locale and ends up finding romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher