🔗 Share this article Binge-Watching The Latest Festive Features: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights. ‘Tis the season to lounge on the couch and demolish a packet of holiday pastries in front of a good movie, a bad movie, or one that’s so bad it’s good. This year, a crop of latest seasonal stories strives to join part of our holiday traditions—potentially even finding a spot alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments). Thus, in a noble effort to separate the winners from the losers, and to embrace the festive feeling, I binged as many new Christmas films as possible in a single day. 7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Beginning, hopefully, on a high. This is the exclusive 2025 movie on a famous website's list of the top 100 Christmas movies of all time. The Jonas Brothers are stuck in the UK after concluding their global concert series and must return for Christmas. Their efforts are hindered by an villainous Saint Nick, who sings to announce they won’t get home until they “rekindle their brotherly magic.” The repartee between the bickering brothers is entertaining even for the casual viewer, while devotees will certainly notice lots of in-jokes as they attempt to get back using every mode of travel possible. It’s a journey of epic proportions. It’s not legendary, but is great for devotees and a good start to the day. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who are obliged to sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity tricked into a "panto". “A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and aging action hero Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose representative has deceived him into thinking he’s appearing in prestigious English theatre. His Aladdin co-stars inform him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he protests. You can guess their response. Except if you’re ignorant of traditional British theatre traditions. There are some very funny lines, some touching sub-plots, and the rest of the cast is excellent, too. It’s the type of film that would be a bit naff at a different time, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 A New Spin on Scrooge An actor appears at the outset of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second film in a row. Could this be a fresh holiday staple? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who encounters 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 Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative develops as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is haunted by the apparitions of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This Indian Scrooge is at least distinct from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s acting is lifeless—a major flaw when he’s so central to everything. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Lunchtime: Stuffed Before lunch for a channel's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “isn't big on Christmas.” But after he is awarded an large festive windfall at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) convinces him splurging the cash on a holiday to Lapland. There’s just one snag—he discovers there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to reimburse the remainder. Fun while it lasts but not lasting. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 A Classy Netflix Romance This is one of those holiday movies where the festive trappings are in the background—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a country estate to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. During her travels, she runs into a fellow in a literary haven who offers to show her the holidays in the City of Light. A commentator recently claimed this is the finest new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a Christmas romance with a dash of elegance and gives the necessary heartwarming sensation. The scene with a extended debate about Die Hard is particularly strong too. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 A Charming Quest Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, despite the efforts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the truth. The truth is out there, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the assistance of a group of well-known experts and celebrities. It’s understated 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 reunite for the holidays—including fellow 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 declaring: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the premise, but in execution it’s really a mash-up of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally finds her strength. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s waned in quality, but fortunately here’s a new offering in the packed genre of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and strangely compelling—holiday fare. It’s a tale as well-worn: An American woman travels to a picturesque cold country and ends up stumbling across romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
‘Tis the season to lounge on the couch and demolish a packet of holiday pastries in front of a good movie, a bad movie, or one that’s so bad it’s good. This year, a crop of latest seasonal stories strives to join part of our holiday traditions—potentially even finding a spot alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments). Thus, in a noble effort to separate the winners from the losers, and to embrace the festive feeling, I binged as many new Christmas films as possible in a single day. 7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Beginning, hopefully, on a high. This is the exclusive 2025 movie on a famous website's list of the top 100 Christmas movies of all time. The Jonas Brothers are stuck in the UK after concluding their global concert series and must return for Christmas. Their efforts are hindered by an villainous Saint Nick, who sings to announce they won’t get home until they “rekindle their brotherly magic.” The repartee between the bickering brothers is entertaining even for the casual viewer, while devotees will certainly notice lots of in-jokes as they attempt to get back using every mode of travel possible. It’s a journey of epic proportions. It’s not legendary, but is great for devotees and a good start to the day. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who are obliged to sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity tricked into a "panto". “A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and aging action hero Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose representative has deceived him into thinking he’s appearing in prestigious English theatre. His Aladdin co-stars inform him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he protests. You can guess their response. Except if you’re ignorant of traditional British theatre traditions. There are some very funny lines, some touching sub-plots, and the rest of the cast is excellent, too. It’s the type of film that would be a bit naff at a different time, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 A New Spin on Scrooge An actor appears at the outset of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second film in a row. Could this be a fresh holiday staple? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who encounters 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 Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative develops as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is haunted by the apparitions of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This Indian Scrooge is at least distinct from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s acting is lifeless—a major flaw when he’s so central to everything. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Lunchtime: Stuffed Before lunch for a channel's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “isn't big on Christmas.” But after he is awarded an large festive windfall at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) convinces him splurging the cash on a holiday to Lapland. There’s just one snag—he discovers there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to reimburse the remainder. Fun while it lasts but not lasting. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 A Classy Netflix Romance This is one of those holiday movies where the festive trappings are in the background—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a country estate to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. During her travels, she runs into a fellow in a literary haven who offers to show her the holidays in the City of Light. A commentator recently claimed this is the finest new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a Christmas romance with a dash of elegance and gives the necessary heartwarming sensation. The scene with a extended debate about Die Hard is particularly strong too. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 A Charming Quest Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, despite the efforts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the truth. The truth is out there, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the assistance of a group of well-known experts and celebrities. It’s understated 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 reunite for the holidays—including fellow 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 declaring: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the premise, but in execution it’s really a mash-up of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally finds her strength. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s waned in quality, but fortunately here’s a new offering in the packed genre of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and strangely compelling—holiday fare. It’s a tale as well-worn: An American woman travels to a picturesque cold country and ends up stumbling across romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher