🔗 Share this article Devouring 2025's Holiday Movies: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good. ‘Tis the season to relax on the couch and consume a box of holiday pastries in front of a good movie, a bad movie, or one that’s awesomely awful. This year, a selection of new seasonal stories hopes to be part of our holiday traditions—maybe even finding a spot alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it). Thus, in a vital public service to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to find the holiday mood, I marathoned as many new holiday releases as possible in a single day. 7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Starting, ideally, on a positive note. This film is the exclusive 2025 entry on a well-known aggregator's list of the greatest 100 holiday films of all time. The musical trio find themselves stranded in the UK after concluding their international trek and must make it back for Christmas. Their endeavors are hindered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who bursts into melody to announce they won’t get home until they “rekindle their familial spark.” The back-and-forth between the bickering brothers is entertaining even for the non-fan, while followers will certainly pick up on lots of easter eggs as they endeavor to get back using any means of transport necessary. It’s a travelogue of mishaps. It’s not an all-time classic, but is superb for fans and a solid start to the day. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who are obliged to sit through it. Next: A Star in Panto A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a movie actor tricked into a "panto". “A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and aging star Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose manager has tricked him into thinking he’s appearing in renowned British drama. His Aladdin co-stars tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he insists angrily. It's easy to predict their response. Except if you’re not acquainted with traditional stage call-and-response. There are some great jokes, some cockle-warming side stories, and the supporting actors is brilliant, too. It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit cheesy at another season, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 A New Spin on Scrooge An actor appears at the start of this film, too, insulting someone for the second film in a row. Is this a budding festive ritual? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who picks up Mr Sood, the newest interpretation on Mr Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Mr Sood is played by a star of Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by the director of Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story develops as the stingy Mr Sood is confronted by the ghosts of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, 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 charismatic and Nayyar’s acting is flat—a problem when he’s so the main character. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special Before lunch for a network's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “doesn’t really do Christmas.” But after he gets an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) talks him into splurging the cash on a family trip to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he finds out there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to return the excess. Pleasant yet unmemorable. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems This is one of those holiday movies where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the setting—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its main point—but it feels cosy and festive all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a country estate to do a deal for a champagne business. En route, she meets a fellow in a book store who promises to show her a festive Paris. A commentator recently declared this is the best new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a Christmas romance with a dash of elegance and gives the obligatory cozy feelings. The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is very good too. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, regardless of the attempts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him otherwise. The truth is out there, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the expert help of a panel of well-known experts and celebrities. It’s low-key but charming, and perfect viewing while anticipating Santa to visit. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother 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 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 true heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the concept, but in practice it’s really a mash-up of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually comes into her own. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s taken a dip, but thankfully here’s a new entry in the crowded field of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and strangely compelling—holiday fare. It’s a tale as old as time: An American woman travels 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 consume a box of holiday pastries in front of a good movie, a bad movie, or one that’s awesomely awful. This year, a selection of new seasonal stories hopes to be part of our holiday traditions—maybe even finding a spot alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it). Thus, in a vital public service to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to find the holiday mood, I marathoned as many new holiday releases as possible in a single day. 7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Starting, ideally, on a positive note. This film is the exclusive 2025 entry on a well-known aggregator's list of the greatest 100 holiday films of all time. The musical trio find themselves stranded in the UK after concluding their international trek and must make it back for Christmas. Their endeavors are hindered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who bursts into melody to announce they won’t get home until they “rekindle their familial spark.” The back-and-forth between the bickering brothers is entertaining even for the non-fan, while followers will certainly pick up on lots of easter eggs as they endeavor to get back using any means of transport necessary. It’s a travelogue of mishaps. It’s not an all-time classic, but is superb for fans and a solid start to the day. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who are obliged to sit through it. Next: A Star in Panto A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a movie actor tricked into a "panto". “A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and aging star Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose manager has tricked him into thinking he’s appearing in renowned British drama. His Aladdin co-stars tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he insists angrily. It's easy to predict their response. Except if you’re not acquainted with traditional stage call-and-response. There are some great jokes, some cockle-warming side stories, and the supporting actors is brilliant, too. It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit cheesy at another season, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 A New Spin on Scrooge An actor appears at the start of this film, too, insulting someone for the second film in a row. Is this a budding festive ritual? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who picks up Mr Sood, the newest interpretation on Mr Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Mr Sood is played by a star of Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by the director of Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story develops as the stingy Mr Sood is confronted by the ghosts of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, 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 charismatic and Nayyar’s acting is flat—a problem when he’s so the main character. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special Before lunch for a network's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “doesn’t really do Christmas.” But after he gets an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) talks him into splurging the cash on a family trip to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he finds out there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to return the excess. Pleasant yet unmemorable. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems This is one of those holiday movies where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the setting—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its main point—but it feels cosy and festive all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a country estate to do a deal for a champagne business. En route, she meets a fellow in a book store who promises to show her a festive Paris. A commentator recently declared this is the best new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a Christmas romance with a dash of elegance and gives the obligatory cozy feelings. The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is very good too. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, regardless of the attempts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him otherwise. The truth is out there, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the expert help of a panel of well-known experts and celebrities. It’s low-key but charming, and perfect viewing while anticipating Santa to visit. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother 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 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 true heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the concept, but in practice it’s really a mash-up of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually comes into her own. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s taken a dip, but thankfully here’s a new entry in the crowded field of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and strangely compelling—holiday fare. It’s a tale as old as time: An American woman travels to a distant snowy land and ends up stumbling across romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher