Devouring The Latest Christmas Films: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good.

It is the season to relax on the couch and devour a packet of festive treats in front of a terrific flick, a bad movie, or one that’s so bad it’s good.

Once again, a crop of new seasonal stories strives to join part of our festive viewing—potentially even finding a spot alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments).

So, in a noble effort to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to find the festive feeling, I marathoned as many new Christmas films as possible in a single day.

First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick

Beginning, hopefully, on a positive note. This film is the only 2025 entry on a popular review site's list of the greatest 100 festive features of all time.

The popular band end up stuck in the UK after finishing their international trek and must return for Christmas. Their endeavors are thwarted by an malevolent Father Christmas, who sings to announce they won’t get home until they “rediscover their brotherly magic.”

The banter between the bickering brothers is enjoyable even for the non-fan, while fans will certainly notice lots of references as they attempt to get back using any means of transport necessary.

It’s a journey of epic proportions.

It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is excellent for devotees and a good start to the day.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who must sit through it.

Late Morning: Tinsel Town

Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a Hollywood star tricked into a traditional British stage show.

“A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and older lead Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose agent has misled him into thinking he’s appearing in prestigious English theatre.

His Aladdin fellow actors tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he protests. 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 heartwarming storylines, and the ensemble is excellent, too.

It’s the type of film that would be a bit cheesy at another season, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma

An actor shows up at the outset of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the next movie straight. Might this become a budding festive ritual?

This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who collects 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 the director of Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story progresses as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is visited by the spirits of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This cultural adaptation is at least different from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s portrayal is lifeless—a major flaw when he’s so central to everything.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

12.04pm - Stuffed

Before lunch for a network's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “avoids Christmas.”

But after he is awarded an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) talks him into blowing the money on a vacation to Lapland.

There’s just one snag—he discovers there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to reimburse the difference.

Enjoyable but forgettable.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

1.12pm - Champagne Problems

This is one of those Christmas films where the festive trappings are in the background—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its main point—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same.

Ambitious executive Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is assigned to a French chateau to do a deal for a champagne business. En route, she encounters a guy in a book store who vows to show her Christmas in Paris.

A critic recently declared this is the finest new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a Christmas romance with a hint of sophistication and gives the obligatory cozy feelings.

The scene with a extended debate about Die Hard is notable too.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas

Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, in spite of the persuasion of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him otherwise.

The secret is out there, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the assistance of a panel of well-known experts and celebrities.

It’s gentle but endearing, and ideal viewing while expecting Santa to visit.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a quarrelling American family who come back together for the holidays—including other Oscar nominee 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 what this is, but in practice it’s really a combination of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last comes into her own.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Formulaic Fun

The day’s gone downhill, but happily here’s a new offering in the crowded field of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and utterly watchable—festive fodder.

It’s a story as old as time: An American woman travels to a distant snowy land and ends up finding romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher