🔗 Share this article Binge-Watching 2025's Holiday Movies: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures. ‘Tis the time of year to relax on the couch and demolish a box of mince pies in front of a good movie, a bad movie, or one that’s terrible yet terrific. Once again, a selection of latest Christmas films hopes to be part of our festive viewing—perhaps even finding a spot alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it). Thus, in a helpful attempt to separate the winners from the losers, and to embrace the festive feeling, I binged as many recent festive movies as possible in a single day. First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick Beginning, ideally, on a high. This release is the only 2025 movie on a popular review site's list of the greatest 100 festive features of all time. The Jonas Brothers are stuck in the UK after wrapping up their international trek and must make it back for Christmas. Their attempts are hindered by an evil Santa, who sings to state they won’t get home until they “find their sibling bond.” The banter between the arguing trio is entertaining even for the casual viewer, while fans will undoubtedly notice lots of easter eggs as they endeavor to get back using any means of transport necessary. It’s a journey of epic proportions. It’s not legendary, but is excellent for fans and a positive start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who will have to sit through it. Late Morning: Tinsel Town Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland stars as a movie actor roped into a pantomime. “A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and aging star Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose manager has tricked him into thinking he’s starring in prestigious English theatre. His Aladdin cast-mates tell him he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he insists angrily. You can guess their reply. Except if you’re ignorant of traditional stage call-and-response. There are some hilarious moments, some touching sub-plots, and the rest of the cast is brilliant, too. It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit naff at another season, 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, insulting someone for the second consecutive movie. Is this a new Christmas tradition? This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who picks up Mr Sood, the modern take 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 the filmmaker behind Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative progresses as the miserly Mr Sood is confronted by the ghosts of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This South Asian reinterpretation is at least different from all the others, but sadly he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s performance is wooden—a problem when he’s so central to everything. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Lunchtime: Stuffed There's just enough time for a network's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “isn't big on Christmas.” But after he gets an large festive windfall at work, his wife (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) talks him into spending the sum on a family trip to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he discovers 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 holiday movies where the decorations and snow are in the background—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a vineyard to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. During her travels, she encounters a guy in a literary haven who offers to show her the holidays in the City of Light. A critic recently stated this is the best new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a holiday love story with a touch of class and gives the necessary heartwarming sensation. The scene with a extended debate about Die Hard is notable too. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, in spite of the efforts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the truth. The truth is to be discovered, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the expert help of a group of well-known experts and celebrities. It’s low-key but charming, and good viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 A Star-Studded Family Drama Michelle Pfeiffer is the head 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 stating: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s what this is, but in practice it’s really a jumble 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 fortunately here’s a new addition in the packed genre of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and utterly watchable—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 time of year to relax on the couch and demolish a box of mince pies in front of a good movie, a bad movie, or one that’s terrible yet terrific. Once again, a selection of latest Christmas films hopes to be part of our festive viewing—perhaps even finding a spot alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it). Thus, in a helpful attempt to separate the winners from the losers, and to embrace the festive feeling, I binged as many recent festive movies as possible in a single day. First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick Beginning, ideally, on a high. This release is the only 2025 movie on a popular review site's list of the greatest 100 festive features of all time. The Jonas Brothers are stuck in the UK after wrapping up their international trek and must make it back for Christmas. Their attempts are hindered by an evil Santa, who sings to state they won’t get home until they “find their sibling bond.” The banter between the arguing trio is entertaining even for the casual viewer, while fans will undoubtedly notice lots of easter eggs as they endeavor to get back using any means of transport necessary. It’s a journey of epic proportions. It’s not legendary, but is excellent for fans and a positive start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who will have to sit through it. Late Morning: Tinsel Town Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland stars as a movie actor roped into a pantomime. “A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and aging star Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose manager has tricked him into thinking he’s starring in prestigious English theatre. His Aladdin cast-mates tell him he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he insists angrily. You can guess their reply. Except if you’re ignorant of traditional stage call-and-response. There are some hilarious moments, some touching sub-plots, and the rest of the cast is brilliant, too. It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit naff at another season, 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, insulting someone for the second consecutive movie. Is this a new Christmas tradition? This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who picks up Mr Sood, the modern take 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 the filmmaker behind Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative progresses as the miserly Mr Sood is confronted by the ghosts of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This South Asian reinterpretation is at least different from all the others, but sadly he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s performance is wooden—a problem when he’s so central to everything. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Lunchtime: Stuffed There's just enough time for a network's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “isn't big on Christmas.” But after he gets an large festive windfall at work, his wife (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) talks him into spending the sum on a family trip to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he discovers 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 holiday movies where the decorations and snow are in the background—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a vineyard to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. During her travels, she encounters a guy in a literary haven who offers to show her the holidays in the City of Light. A critic recently stated this is the best new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a holiday love story with a touch of class and gives the necessary heartwarming sensation. The scene with a extended debate about Die Hard is notable too. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, in spite of the efforts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the truth. The truth is to be discovered, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the expert help of a group of well-known experts and celebrities. It’s low-key but charming, and good viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 A Star-Studded Family Drama Michelle Pfeiffer is the head 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 stating: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s what this is, but in practice it’s really a jumble 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 fortunately here’s a new addition in the packed genre of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and utterly watchable—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