🔗 Share this article Binge-Watching This Year's Christmas Films: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures. ‘Tis the season to relax on the couch and devour a packet of mince pies in front of a great film, a awful feature, or one that’s so bad it’s good. This year, a batch of fresh seasonal stories aims to become part of our festive viewing—maybe even finding a spot alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments). Thus, in a vital public service to separate the winners from the losers, and to get into the festive feeling, I watched as many recent Christmas films as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Starting, optimistically, on a high. This is the sole 2025 movie on a popular review site's list of the best 100 Christmas movies of all time. The Jonas Brothers are stuck in the UK after wrapping up their global concert series and must make it back for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an evil Santa, who breaks into song to announce they won’t get home until they “rekindle their familial spark.” The back-and-forth between the squabbling siblings is enjoyable even for the uninitiated, while followers will certainly catch lots of in-jokes as they attempt to get back using any means of transport necessary. It’s private planes, trains and automobiles. It’s not legendary, but is great for devotees and a solid start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who must sit through it. Next: A Star in Panto Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland stars as a movie actor cast a pantomime. “A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and older action hero Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose representative has misled him into thinking he’s appearing in prestigious English theatre. His Aladdin cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he insists angrily. It's easy to predict their response. That is, unless you’re not acquainted with traditional British theatre traditions. There are some great jokes, some cockle-warming storylines, and the rest of the cast is cracking, too. It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit naff at another season, but is a great entertainment at Christmas. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 10.19am - Christmas Karma A familiar face shows up at the outset of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the next movie straight. Might this become a new Christmas tradition? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who collects Mr Sood, the newest interpretation 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 develops 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 Indian Scrooge is at least unique from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s portrayal is lifeless—a major flaw when he’s so the focal point. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special Before lunch for a network's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “doesn’t really do Christmas.” But after he gets an large festive windfall at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) talks him into splurging the cash on a family trip to Lapland. There’s just one snag—he learns there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to pay back the remainder. Fun while it lasts but not lasting. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 A Classy Netflix Romance This is one of those holiday movies where the festive trappings are in the setting—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. Ambitious executive Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a vineyard to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. On the way, she meets a man in a book store who promises to show her a festive Paris. A commentator recently stated this is the top new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a Christmas romance with a hint of sophistication and gives the necessary warm and fuzzy feels. The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is notable too. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, in spite of the efforts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the reality. The truth is out there, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the guidance of a group of well-known figures. It’s low-key but endearing, and ideal viewing while waiting for Santa to visit. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a dysfunctional American family who gather for the holidays—including other acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer begins by referencing 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 inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last finds her strength. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Formulaic Fun The day’s taken a dip, but thankfully here’s a new offering in the packed genre of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and strangely compelling—festive fodder. It’s a story as old as time: An American woman journeys to a distant snowy land and ends up stumbling across romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
‘Tis the season to relax on the couch and devour a packet of mince pies in front of a great film, a awful feature, or one that’s so bad it’s good. This year, a batch of fresh seasonal stories aims to become part of our festive viewing—maybe even finding a spot alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments). Thus, in a vital public service to separate the winners from the losers, and to get into the festive feeling, I watched as many recent Christmas films as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Starting, optimistically, on a high. This is the sole 2025 movie on a popular review site's list of the best 100 Christmas movies of all time. The Jonas Brothers are stuck in the UK after wrapping up their global concert series and must make it back for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an evil Santa, who breaks into song to announce they won’t get home until they “rekindle their familial spark.” The back-and-forth between the squabbling siblings is enjoyable even for the uninitiated, while followers will certainly catch lots of in-jokes as they attempt to get back using any means of transport necessary. It’s private planes, trains and automobiles. It’s not legendary, but is great for devotees and a solid start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who must sit through it. Next: A Star in Panto Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland stars as a movie actor cast a pantomime. “A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and older action hero Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose representative has misled him into thinking he’s appearing in prestigious English theatre. His Aladdin cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he insists angrily. It's easy to predict their response. That is, unless you’re not acquainted with traditional British theatre traditions. There are some great jokes, some cockle-warming storylines, and the rest of the cast is cracking, too. It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit naff at another season, but is a great entertainment at Christmas. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 10.19am - Christmas Karma A familiar face shows up at the outset of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the next movie straight. Might this become a new Christmas tradition? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who collects Mr Sood, the newest interpretation 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 develops 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 Indian Scrooge is at least unique from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s portrayal is lifeless—a major flaw when he’s so the focal point. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special Before lunch for a network's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “doesn’t really do Christmas.” But after he gets an large festive windfall at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) talks him into splurging the cash on a family trip to Lapland. There’s just one snag—he learns there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to pay back the remainder. Fun while it lasts but not lasting. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 A Classy Netflix Romance This is one of those holiday movies where the festive trappings are in the setting—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. Ambitious executive Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a vineyard to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. On the way, she meets a man in a book store who promises to show her a festive Paris. A commentator recently stated this is the top new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a Christmas romance with a hint of sophistication and gives the necessary warm and fuzzy feels. The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is notable too. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, in spite of the efforts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the reality. The truth is out there, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the guidance of a group of well-known figures. It’s low-key but endearing, and ideal viewing while waiting for Santa to visit. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a dysfunctional American family who gather for the holidays—including other acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer begins by referencing 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 inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last finds her strength. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Formulaic Fun The day’s taken a dip, but thankfully here’s a new offering in the packed genre of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and strangely compelling—festive fodder. It’s a story as old as time: An American woman journeys to a distant snowy land and ends up stumbling across romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher