Devouring The Latest Holiday Movies: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good.

‘Tis the season to lounge on the couch and demolish a tin of holiday pastries in front of a good movie, a poor film, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.

This year, a batch of fresh holiday movies hopes to be part of our holiday traditions—potentially even joining the ranks alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it).

Thus, in a noble effort to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to get into the festive feeling, I watched as many fresh holiday releases as possible in a single day.

First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick

Beginning, ideally, on a positive note. This film is the exclusive 2025 movie on a well-known aggregator's list of the top 100 Christmas movies of all time.

The Jonas Brothers end up stranded in the UK after wrapping up their international trek and must make it back for Christmas. Their attempts are thwarted by an malevolent Father Christmas, who breaks into song to announce they won’t get home until they “rekindle their familial spark.”

The back-and-forth between the bickering brothers is amusing even for the uninitiated, while fans will undoubtedly catch 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 superb for fans and a solid start to the day.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who will have to sit through it.

8.45am - Tinsel Town

A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity cast a "panto".

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

His pantomime co-stars inform him he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he retorts. You can guess their response. That is, unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional panto catchphrases.

There are some great jokes, some touching sub-plots, and the rest of the cast is cracking, too.

It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit naff at any other time of year, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

An actor appears at the beginning of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the second film in a row. Could this be a new Christmas tradition?

This time, he’s a singing black cab driver 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 director of Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story develops as the tight-fisted 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 unique from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s acting is wooden—a significant issue when he’s so the focal point.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Noon: A BBC Special

There’s time for a channel's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “doesn’t really do Christmas.”

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

There’s just one problem—he learns there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to pay back the excess.

Pleasant yet unmemorable.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

A Classy Netflix Romance

This is one of those holiday movies where the festive trappings are in the background—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels cosy and festive all the same.

High-powered businesswoman Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is assigned to a country estate to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. En route, she encounters a fellow in a literary haven who promises to show her a festive Paris.

A commentator recently claimed this is the finest 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 necessary cozy feelings.

The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is particularly strong too.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas

Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, in spite of the efforts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him otherwise.

The answer is somewhere, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the expert help of a group of well-known experts and celebrities.

It’s understated but charming, and ideal viewing while expecting Santa to visit.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

A Star-Studded Family Drama

Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a quarrelling American family who reunite 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 saying: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s the concept, but in reality it’s really a jumble of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually takes center stage.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

6.43pm - 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 highly entertaining—seasonal comfort food.

It’s a story as old as time: An American woman travels to a far-off wintery locale and ends up stumbling across romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher