Devouring The Latest Christmas Films: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good.

It is the time of year to slob out on the sofa and consume a tin of mince pies in front of a good movie, a awful feature, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.

As always, a selection of fresh Christmas films aims to become part of our seasonal watchlist—potentially even earning a place alongside beloved favorites 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 get into the Christmas spirit, I binged as many recent holiday releases 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 movie on a well-known aggregator's list of the top 100 Christmas movies of all time.

The popular band end up stuck in the UK after wrapping up their global concert series and must get home for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an evil Santa, who breaks into song to state they won’t get home until they “find their sibling bond.”

The banter between the bickering brothers is amusing even for the non-fan, while fans will no doubt notice lots of easter eggs as they attempt to get back using all transportation available.

It’s private planes, trains and automobiles.

It’s not legendary, but is great for devotees and a solid start to the day.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who are obliged to sit through it.

Late Morning: Tinsel Town

Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland appears as a Hollywood star roped into a traditional British stage show.

“A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and aging star Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose agent has tricked him into thinking he’s starring in high-class London stage.

His pantomime cast-mates tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he protests. It's easy to predict their response. Unless you’re not acquainted with traditional panto catchphrases.

There are some great jokes, some heartwarming side stories, and the ensemble is excellent, too.

It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit cheesy at a different time, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

An actor appears at the beginning of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the second film in a row. Could this be a fresh holiday staple?

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 the director of Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative progresses as the miserly Mr Sood is visited by the spirits of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This Indian Scrooge is at least different from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s performance is wooden—a major flaw when he’s so the main character.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

12.04pm - Stuffed

There’s time 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 is awarded an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) talks him into spending the sum on a holiday to Lapland.

There’s just one issue—he learns there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to return the remainder.

Pleasant yet unmemorable.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems

This is one of those holiday movies where the decorations and snow are in the background—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels cosy and festive all the same.

Driven corporate star Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is assigned to a French chateau to negotiate a purchase for a champagne business. During her travels, she meets a guy in a bookshop who vows to show her the holidays in the City of Light.

An expert recently stated this is the best new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a festive dalliance with a hint of sophistication and gives the required warm and fuzzy feels.

The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is particularly strong too.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

A Charming Quest

Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, despite the attempts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the reality.

The answer is somewhere, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the assistance of a group of well-known scientists and personalities.

It’s gentle but sweet, and ideal viewing while expecting Santa to visit.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

A Star-Studded Family Drama

Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a bickering American family who reunite for the holidays—including other acclaimed actress 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 saying: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s what this is, but in execution it’s really a mash-up of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally comes into her own.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s taken a dip, but happily here’s a new addition in the crowded field of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and highly entertaining—seasonal comfort food.

It’s a story as old as time: An American woman journeys to a picturesque cold country and ends up finding romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher