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

‘Tis the time of year to slob out on the couch and consume a tin of holiday pastries in front of a great film, a awful feature, or one that’s so bad it’s good.

Once again, a crop of fresh holiday movies aims to become part of our holiday traditions—potentially even joining the ranks alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it).

Thus, in a vital public service to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to embrace the festive feeling, I binged as many recent holiday releases as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Kicking off, ideally, on a positive note. This release is the sole 2025 entry on a well-known aggregator's list of the best 100 festive features of all time.

The popular band are stuck in the UK after concluding their global concert series and must return for Christmas. Their endeavors are hindered by an villainous Saint Nick, who bursts into melody to declare they won’t get home until they “rekindle their brotherly magic.”

The repartee between the bickering brothers is amusing even for the casual viewer, while fans will undoubtedly catch lots of in-jokes as they try to get back using every mode of travel possible.

It’s a journey of epic proportions.

It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is great for devotees 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

Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland appears as a celebrity cast a pantomime.

“A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and ageing star Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose manager has tricked him into thinking he’s appearing in renowned British drama.

His Aladdin fellow actors inform him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he retorts. It's easy to predict their reply. That is, unless you’re not acquainted with traditional panto catchphrases.

There are some hilarious moments, some touching storylines, and the rest of the cast is cracking, too.

It’s the type of film that would be a bit naff at a different time, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma

Danny Dyer appears at the outset of this film, too, insulting someone for the second film in a row. Is this a new Christmas tradition?

This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who picks up Mr Sood, the latest spin 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 Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale progresses as the miserly Mr Sood is visited by the apparitions of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This South Asian reinterpretation is at least different from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s performance is flat—a major flaw when he’s so central to everything.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Noon: A BBC Special

There’s time for a major broadcaster's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “avoids Christmas.”

But after he receives an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) convinces him blowing the money on a family trip to Lapland.

There’s just one problem—he learns there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to reimburse the difference.

Pleasant yet unmemorable.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems

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.

High-powered businesswoman Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a French chateau to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. During her travels, she meets a fellow in a bookshop who offers to show her Christmas in Paris.

A critic recently declared this is the best new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a Christmas romance with a touch of class and gives the necessary heartwarming sensation.

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

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

A Charming Quest

Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, in spite of the attempts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the reality.

The answer is to be discovered, and Chris sets out to find it with the guidance of a team of well-known experts and celebrities.

It’s understated but charming, and perfect viewing while waiting for Santa to visit.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

A Star-Studded Family Drama

Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a dysfunctional 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 stating: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.”

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Formulaic Fun

The day’s waned in quality, but fortunately here’s a new entry in the packed genre of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and highly entertaining—holiday fare.

It’s a tale as old as time: An American woman journeys to a distant snowy land and ends up stumbling across romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher