🔗 Share this article Devouring This Year's Christmas Films: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights. It is the season to lounge on the sofa and devour a box of holiday pastries in front of a terrific flick, a poor film, or one that’s so bad it’s good. As always, a crop of fresh Christmas films aims to become part of our seasonal watchlist—potentially even joining the ranks alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). So, in a noble effort to separate the winners from the losers, and to embrace the holiday mood, I watched as many fresh festive movies as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Kicking off, hopefully, on a positive note. This film is the exclusive 2025 entry on a famous website's list of the top 100 holiday films of all time. The popular band are stuck in the UK after finishing their international trek and must get home for Christmas. Their endeavors are hampered by an evil Santa, who sings to state they won’t get home until they “find their familial spark.” The repartee between the bickering brothers is amusing even for the casual viewer, while followers will certainly catch lots of references as they endeavor to get back using every mode of travel possible. It’s a journey of epic proportions. It’s not an all-time classic, but is great for devotees and a solid start to the day. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who must sit through it. Next: A Star in Panto Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland stars as a celebrity tricked into a "panto". “A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and older action hero Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose agent has deceived him into thinking he’s starring in high-class London stage. His pantomime co-stars let him know he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he protests. It's easy to predict their reply. Except if you’re unfamiliar with traditional stage call-and-response. There are some great jokes, some touching sub-plots, and the supporting actors is cracking, too. It’s the type of film that would be a bit tacky at any other time of year, but is a lot of fun at Christmas. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 A New Spin on Scrooge Danny Dyer appears at the start of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the next movie straight. Is this a new Christmas tradition? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who picks up 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 filmmaker behind Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale unfolds as the stingy Mr Sood is visited by the spirits of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This Indian Scrooge is at least distinct from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s portrayal is flat—a significant issue when he’s so the focal point. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 12.04pm - Stuffed Before lunch for a major broadcaster's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “doesn’t really do Christmas.” But after he receives an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) convinces him blowing the money on a vacation to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he finds out there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to pay back the excess. Pleasant yet unmemorable. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 A Classy Netflix Romance This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the background—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a country estate to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. During her travels, she encounters a man in a book store who offers to show her a festive Paris. An expert recently stated this is the top new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a holiday love story with a hint of sophistication and gives the necessary heartwarming sensation. The scene with a extended debate about Die Hard is very good too. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, despite the attempts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the reality. The answer is out there, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the assistance of a group of well-known figures. It’s low-key but endearing, and ideal viewing while anticipating Santa to visit. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a quarrelling American family who gather for the holidays—including other acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer begins by referencing 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 premise, but in practice it’s really a combination of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually finds her strength. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s taken a dip, but fortunately here’s a new offering in the packed genre of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and utterly watchable—seasonal comfort food. It’s a tale as familiar as can be: An American woman goes on a quest to a distant snowy land and ends up discovering romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
It is the season to lounge on the sofa and devour a box of holiday pastries in front of a terrific flick, a poor film, or one that’s so bad it’s good. As always, a crop of fresh Christmas films aims to become part of our seasonal watchlist—potentially even joining the ranks alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). So, in a noble effort to separate the winners from the losers, and to embrace the holiday mood, I watched as many fresh festive movies as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Kicking off, hopefully, on a positive note. This film is the exclusive 2025 entry on a famous website's list of the top 100 holiday films of all time. The popular band are stuck in the UK after finishing their international trek and must get home for Christmas. Their endeavors are hampered by an evil Santa, who sings to state they won’t get home until they “find their familial spark.” The repartee between the bickering brothers is amusing even for the casual viewer, while followers will certainly catch lots of references as they endeavor to get back using every mode of travel possible. It’s a journey of epic proportions. It’s not an all-time classic, but is great for devotees and a solid start to the day. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who must sit through it. Next: A Star in Panto Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland stars as a celebrity tricked into a "panto". “A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and older action hero Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose agent has deceived him into thinking he’s starring in high-class London stage. His pantomime co-stars let him know he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he protests. It's easy to predict their reply. Except if you’re unfamiliar with traditional stage call-and-response. There are some great jokes, some touching sub-plots, and the supporting actors is cracking, too. It’s the type of film that would be a bit tacky at any other time of year, but is a lot of fun at Christmas. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 A New Spin on Scrooge Danny Dyer appears at the start of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the next movie straight. Is this a new Christmas tradition? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who picks up 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 filmmaker behind Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale unfolds as the stingy Mr Sood is visited by the spirits of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This Indian Scrooge is at least distinct from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s portrayal is flat—a significant issue when he’s so the focal point. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 12.04pm - Stuffed Before lunch for a major broadcaster's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “doesn’t really do Christmas.” But after he receives an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) convinces him blowing the money on a vacation to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he finds out there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to pay back the excess. Pleasant yet unmemorable. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 A Classy Netflix Romance This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the background—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a country estate to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. During her travels, she encounters a man in a book store who offers to show her a festive Paris. An expert recently stated this is the top new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a holiday love story with a hint of sophistication and gives the necessary heartwarming sensation. The scene with a extended debate about Die Hard is very good too. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, despite the attempts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the reality. The answer is out there, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the assistance of a group of well-known figures. It’s low-key but endearing, and ideal viewing while anticipating Santa to visit. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a quarrelling American family who gather for the holidays—including other acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary. Pfeiffer begins by referencing 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 premise, but in practice it’s really a combination of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually finds her strength. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s taken a dip, but fortunately here’s a new offering in the packed genre of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and utterly watchable—seasonal comfort food. It’s a tale as familiar as can be: An American woman goes on a quest to a distant snowy land and ends up discovering romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher