Marathon Viewing This Year's Festive Features: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good.
It is the season to slob out on the couch and demolish a tin of holiday pastries in front of a good movie, a awful feature, or one that’s so bad it’s good.
As always, a batch of new holiday movies strives to join part of our holiday traditions—potentially even earning a place alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it).
Therefore, in a vital public service to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to find the festive feeling, I marathoned as many new holiday releases as possible in a single day.
7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie
Kicking off, hopefully, on a high. This is the sole 2025 title on a famous website's list of the top 100 holiday films of all time.
The musical trio end up stuck in the UK after finishing their international trek and must get home for Christmas. Their attempts are hampered by an villainous Saint Nick, who sings to declare they won’t get home until they “rediscover their sibling bond.”
The banter between the squabbling siblings is entertaining even for the non-fan, while fans will no doubt notice lots of easter eggs as they endeavor to get back using any means of transport necessary.
It’s private planes, trains and automobiles.
It’s not an all-time classic, but is excellent for fans and a positive start to the day.
Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who must sit through it.
8.45am - Tinsel Town
A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a Hollywood star cast a traditional British stage show.
“A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and ageing action hero Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose agent has misled him into thinking he’s performing in high-class London stage.
His Aladdin co-stars tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he insists angrily. One can imagine their retort. Unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional British theatre traditions.
There are some great jokes, some touching sub-plots, and the rest of the cast is cracking, too.
It’s the type of film that would be a bit tacky at a different time, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas.
Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄
Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma
A familiar face appears at the beginning of this film, too, insulting someone for the next movie straight. Might this become a budding festive ritual?
This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who picks up Mr Sood, the newest interpretation 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 the filmmaker behind Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative develops as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is haunted by the spirits of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.
This Indian Scrooge is at least unique from all the others, but sadly he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s performance is lifeless—a major flaw when he’s so central to everything.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄
12.04pm - Stuffed
Before lunch for a network's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “isn't big on Christmas.”
But after he receives an large festive windfall at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) persuades him blowing the money on a holiday to Lapland.
There’s just one snag—he finds out there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to pay back the excess.
Fun while it lasts but not lasting.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄
1.12pm - Champagne Problems
This is one of those holiday movies where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the background—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its main point—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same.
High-powered businesswoman Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is assigned to a French chateau to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. En route, she encounters a guy in a bookshop who vows to show her Christmas in Paris.
An expert recently declared this is the top new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a Christmas romance with a hint of sophistication and gives the obligatory heartwarming sensation.
The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is particularly strong too.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄
3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas
Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, regardless of the efforts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the truth.
The truth is to be discovered, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the guidance of a team of well-known scientists and personalities.
It’s gentle but sweet, and ideal viewing while expecting Santa to visit.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄
4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun.
Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a dysfunctional American family who reunite for the holidays—including other Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.
Pfeiffer begins by referencing Christmas classics like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before stating: “They need to make a movie about the true heroes of the holidays—moms.”
So that’s the concept, but in reality it’s really a jumble of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally takes center stage.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄
6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret
The day’s gone downhill, but happily here’s a new entry in the packed genre of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and strangely compelling—seasonal comfort food.
It’s a narrative as well-worn: An American woman goes on a quest to a far-off wintery locale and ends up discovering romance.
In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher