Marathon Viewing The Latest Festive Features: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights.
‘Tis the season to slob out on the sofa and consume a tin of holiday pastries in front of a terrific flick, a poor film, or one that’s awesomely awful.
Once again, a crop of fresh Christmas films aims to become part of our holiday traditions—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 sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to get into the holiday mood, I marathoned as many new festive movies as possible in a single day.
Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie
Starting, hopefully, on a good foot. This film is the exclusive 2025 movie on a famous website's list of the greatest 100 Christmas movies of all time.
The Jonas Brothers find themselves stuck in the UK after concluding their world tour and must make it back for Christmas. Their attempts are thwarted by an villainous Saint Nick, who bursts into melody to declare they won’t get home until they “find their familial spark.”
The back-and-forth between the squabbling siblings is enjoyable even for the uninitiated, while devotees will certainly notice lots of in-jokes as they try to get back using all transportation available.
It’s private planes, trains and automobiles.
It’s not an all-time classic, but is superb for fans 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.
Next: A Star in Panto
Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland appears as a Hollywood star cast a "panto".
“A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and older action hero Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose representative has tricked him into thinking he’s starring in renowned British drama.
His pantomime cast-mates tell him he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he retorts. You can guess their retort. Except if you’re unfamiliar with traditional stage call-and-response.
There are some great jokes, some cockle-warming side stories, and the supporting actors is excellent, too.
It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit tacky at a different time, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas.
Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄
A New Spin on Scrooge
Danny Dyer pops up at the beginning of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the second consecutive movie. Is this a new Christmas tradition?
This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who collects Mr Sood, the modern take 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 Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale develops as the stingy Mr Sood is haunted by the spirits of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.
This South Asian reinterpretation is at least different from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s performance is lifeless—a major flaw when he’s so the main character.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄
12.04pm - Stuffed
There's just enough time for a channel's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “avoids Christmas.”
But after he is awarded an large festive windfall at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) persuades him blowing the money 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 reimburse the remainder.
Enjoyable but forgettable.
Festive score: 🎄🎄
A Classy Netflix Romance
This is one of those Christmas films where the decorations 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 assigned to a French chateau to do a deal for a champagne business. En route, she runs into a man in a bookshop who offers to show her the holidays in the City of Light.
A critic recently declared this is the finest new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a festive dalliance with a dash of elegance and gives the obligatory heartwarming sensation.
The scene with a extended debate about Die Hard is particularly strong too.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄
A Charming Quest
Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, regardless of the efforts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the reality.
The secret is out there, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the expert help of a panel of well-known figures.
It’s gentle but sweet, and ideal viewing while expecting Santa to visit.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄
Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun.
Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a quarrelling American family who reunite for the holidays—including fellow Oscar nominee 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 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 jumble of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually finds her strength.
Festive score: 🎄🎄
Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret
The day’s taken a dip, but happily here’s a new offering in the saturated market of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and utterly watchable—seasonal comfort food.
It’s a story as familiar as can be: An American woman travels to a distant snowy land and ends up finding romance.
In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
