Devouring The Latest Festive Features: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights.

It is the season to slob out on the couch and devour a box of mince pies in front of a good movie, a bad movie, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.

Once again, a crop of new seasonal stories hopes to be part of our festive viewing—perhaps even earning a place alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments).

Therefore, in a vital public service to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to get into the Christmas spirit, I binged as many new Christmas films as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Starting, hopefully, on a positive note. This release is the exclusive 2025 title on a popular review site's list of the best 100 festive features of all time.

The popular band find themselves stuck in the UK after finishing their world tour and must return for Christmas. Their endeavors are hampered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who bursts into melody to declare they won’t get home until they “find their sibling bond.”

The repartee between the arguing trio is amusing even for the casual viewer, while devotees will no doubt catch lots of in-jokes as they endeavor to get back using all transportation available.

It’s private planes, trains and automobiles.

It’s not an all-time classic, but is excellent for fans and a good 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

A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a movie actor tricked into a traditional British stage show.

“A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and aging lead Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose representative has misled him into thinking he’s performing in high-class London stage.

His pantomime co-stars tell him he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he protests. One can imagine their retort. Except if you’re not acquainted with traditional stage call-and-response.

There are some great jokes, some cockle-warming side stories, and the ensemble is excellent, too.

It’s the type of film that would be a bit cheesy at any other time of year, but is a lot of fun at Christmas.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

Danny Dyer pops up at the outset of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the second consecutive movie. Might this become a fresh holiday staple?

This time, he’s a singing black cab driver 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 miserly Mr Sood is confronted by the spirits of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This cultural adaptation is at least unique from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s portrayal is wooden—a problem when he’s so the focal point.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

12.04pm - Stuffed

Before lunch for a channel'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 (played by Morgana Robinson) convinces him splurging the cash on a holiday to Lapland.

There’s just one snag—he discovers there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to return the remainder.

Fun while it lasts but not lasting.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

A Classy Netflix Romance

This is one of those Christmas films where the festive trappings are in the setting—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same.

Driven corporate star Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is assigned to a French chateau to do a deal for a sparkling wine company. En route, she runs into a fellow in a bookshop who promises to show her the holidays in the City of Light.

A critic recently declared this is the top new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a holiday love story with a touch of class and gives the obligatory warm and fuzzy feels.

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

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas

Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, despite the persuasion of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the reality.

The answer is somewhere, and Chris sets out to find it with the guidance of a group of well-known scientists and personalities.

It’s low-key but endearing, and good viewing while waiting for Santa to visit.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch 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 starts by mentioning holiday staples like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before declaring: “They need to make a movie about the real champions 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 eventually takes center stage.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s gone downhill, but fortunately here’s a new entry in the packed genre of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and utterly watchable—holiday fare.

It’s a narrative as old as time: An American woman journeys to a picturesque cold country and ends up finding romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher