🔗 Share this article Marathon Viewing 2025's Festive Features: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good. It is the time of year to lounge on the couch and demolish a box of festive treats in front of a great film, a bad movie, or one that’s so bad it’s good. Once again, a crop of latest Christmas films aims to become part of our festive viewing—potentially even finding a spot alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). Thus, in a noble effort to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to get into the festive feeling, I binged as many new Christmas films as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Starting, ideally, on a high. This is the exclusive 2025 entry on a popular review site's list of the best 100 Christmas movies of all time. The popular band end up stuck in the UK after wrapping up their international trek and must make it back for Christmas. Their attempts are hindered by an evil Santa, who breaks into song to declare they won’t get home until they “rekindle their brotherly magic.” The repartee between the squabbling siblings is amusing even for the non-fan, while fans will certainly notice lots of references as they endeavor to get back using all transportation available. It’s private planes, trains and automobiles. It’s not legendary, but is great for fans and a positive start to the day. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who are obliged 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 “temperamental” and ageing action hero Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose manager has misled him into thinking he’s appearing in prestigious English theatre. His pantomime cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he insists angrily. One can imagine their response. That is, unless you’re ignorant of traditional panto catchphrases. There are some hilarious moments, some cockle-warming side stories, and the supporting actors is excellent, too. It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit cheesy at any other time of year, but is a great entertainment at Christmas. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma An actor appears at the start of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second consecutive movie. Could this be a budding festive ritual? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who picks up Mr Sood, the modern take 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 Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale develops as the stingy Mr Sood is haunted 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 distinct from all the others, but sadly he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s performance is flat—a significant issue when he’s so central to everything. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special Before lunch for a major broadcaster's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “avoids Christmas.” But after he receives an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) convinces him blowing the money on a holiday to Lapland. There’s just one problem—he discovers there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to return the excess. Pleasant yet unmemorable. Festive score: 🎄🎄 A Classy Netflix Romance This is one of those holiday movies where the decorations and snow are in the backdrop—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a country estate to negotiate a purchase for a champagne business. On the way, she meets a guy in a book store who offers to show her the holidays in the City of Light. An expert recently stated this is the top new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a holiday love story with a hint of sophistication and gives the obligatory cozy feelings. The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is notable too. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, regardless of the efforts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the reality. The secret is somewhere, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the assistance of a panel of well-known figures. It’s understated but charming, and ideal viewing while waiting for Santa to visit. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 A Star-Studded Family Drama 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 starts by mentioning classic festive films like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before saying: “They need to make a movie about the true heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the concept, but in execution it’s really a mash-up of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally comes into her own. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s waned in quality, but fortunately here’s a new offering in the saturated market of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and strangely compelling—festive fodder. It’s a narrative as old as time: An American woman journeys to a far-off wintery locale and ends up finding romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
It is the time of year to lounge on the couch and demolish a box of festive treats in front of a great film, a bad movie, or one that’s so bad it’s good. Once again, a crop of latest Christmas films aims to become part of our festive viewing—potentially even finding a spot alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). Thus, in a noble effort to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to get into the festive feeling, I binged as many new Christmas films as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Starting, ideally, on a high. This is the exclusive 2025 entry on a popular review site's list of the best 100 Christmas movies of all time. The popular band end up stuck in the UK after wrapping up their international trek and must make it back for Christmas. Their attempts are hindered by an evil Santa, who breaks into song to declare they won’t get home until they “rekindle their brotherly magic.” The repartee between the squabbling siblings is amusing even for the non-fan, while fans will certainly notice lots of references as they endeavor to get back using all transportation available. It’s private planes, trains and automobiles. It’s not legendary, but is great for fans and a positive start to the day. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who are obliged 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 “temperamental” and ageing action hero Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose manager has misled him into thinking he’s appearing in prestigious English theatre. His pantomime cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he insists angrily. One can imagine their response. That is, unless you’re ignorant of traditional panto catchphrases. There are some hilarious moments, some cockle-warming side stories, and the supporting actors is excellent, too. It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit cheesy at any other time of year, but is a great entertainment at Christmas. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma An actor appears at the start of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second consecutive movie. Could this be a budding festive ritual? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who picks up Mr Sood, the modern take 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 Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale develops as the stingy Mr Sood is haunted 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 distinct from all the others, but sadly he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s performance is flat—a significant issue when he’s so central to everything. Festive score: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special Before lunch for a major broadcaster's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “avoids Christmas.” But after he receives an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) convinces him blowing the money on a holiday to Lapland. There’s just one problem—he discovers there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to return the excess. Pleasant yet unmemorable. Festive score: 🎄🎄 A Classy Netflix Romance This is one of those holiday movies where the decorations and snow are in the backdrop—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a country estate to negotiate a purchase for a champagne business. On the way, she meets a guy in a book store who offers to show her the holidays in the City of Light. An expert recently stated this is the top new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a holiday love story with a hint of sophistication and gives the obligatory cozy feelings. The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is notable too. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, regardless of the efforts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the reality. The secret is somewhere, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the assistance of a panel of well-known figures. It’s understated but charming, and ideal viewing while waiting for Santa to visit. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 A Star-Studded Family Drama 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 starts by mentioning classic festive films like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before saying: “They need to make a movie about the true heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the concept, but in execution it’s really a mash-up of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally comes into her own. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s waned in quality, but fortunately here’s a new offering in the saturated market of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and strangely compelling—festive fodder. It’s a narrative as old as time: An American woman journeys to a far-off wintery locale and ends up finding romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher