🔗 Share this article Binge-Watching The Latest Festive Features: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights. ‘Tis the time of year to relax on the couch and consume a box of festive treats in front of a terrific flick, a bad movie, or one that’s terrible yet terrific. As always, a batch of latest seasonal stories aims to become part of our festive viewing—perhaps even finding a spot alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). So, in a vital public service to separate the winners from the losers, and to find the holiday mood, I binged as many recent holiday releases as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Beginning, optimistically, on a positive note. This is the exclusive 2025 title on a famous website's list of the best 100 holiday films of all time. The popular band are stuck in the UK after finishing their global concert series and must get home for Christmas. Their efforts are thwarted by an evil Santa, who sings to announce they won’t get home until they “rediscover their brotherly magic.” The back-and-forth between the arguing trio is entertaining even for the uninitiated, while fans will no doubt notice lots of in-jokes as they try to get back using every mode of travel possible. It’s private planes, trains and automobiles. It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is great for fans and a positive start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who are obliged to sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a movie actor tricked into a traditional British stage show. “A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and aging action hero Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose agent has tricked him into thinking he’s performing in renowned British drama. His pantomime fellow actors inform him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he retorts. It's easy to predict their reply. Except if you’re ignorant of traditional stage call-and-response. There are some hilarious moments, some cockle-warming storylines, and the rest of the cast is brilliant, too. It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit cheesy at any other time of year, but is a lot of fun at Christmas. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 10.19am - Christmas Karma Danny Dyer shows up at the start of this film, too, insulting someone for the next movie straight. Could this be a fresh holiday staple? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who encounters 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 the director of Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative develops as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is haunted by the apparitions 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 unfortunately he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s performance is wooden—a major flaw when he’s so the focal point. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 12.04pm - Stuffed There’s time for a channel's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “isn't big on Christmas.” But after he gets an large festive windfall at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) persuades him splurging the cash on a vacation to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he learns there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to return the difference. Fun while it lasts but not lasting. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 1.12pm - Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the backdrop—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels cosy and festive all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a vineyard to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. En route, she meets a fellow in a book store who promises to show her a festive Paris. An expert recently declared this is the best new Christmas film of the past few years. 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 detailed conversation about Die Hard is very good too. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, regardless of the persuasion of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him otherwise. The truth is out there, and Chris sets out to find it with the guidance of a panel of well-known figures. It’s gentle but endearing, and good viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 A Star-Studded Family Drama Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a quarrelling American family who gather for the holidays—including fellow Oscar nominee 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 stating: “They need to make a movie about the real champions of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the concept, but in execution it’s really a combination of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually takes center stage. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s gone downhill, but thankfully here’s a new offering in the packed genre of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and utterly watchable—festive fodder. It’s a tale as old as time: An American woman travels to a distant snowy land and ends up discovering romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
‘Tis the time of year to relax on the couch and consume a box of festive treats in front of a terrific flick, a bad movie, or one that’s terrible yet terrific. As always, a batch of latest seasonal stories aims to become part of our festive viewing—perhaps even finding a spot alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). So, in a vital public service to separate the winners from the losers, and to find the holiday mood, I binged as many recent holiday releases as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Beginning, optimistically, on a positive note. This is the exclusive 2025 title on a famous website's list of the best 100 holiday films of all time. The popular band are stuck in the UK after finishing their global concert series and must get home for Christmas. Their efforts are thwarted by an evil Santa, who sings to announce they won’t get home until they “rediscover their brotherly magic.” The back-and-forth between the arguing trio is entertaining even for the uninitiated, while fans will no doubt notice lots of in-jokes as they try to get back using every mode of travel possible. It’s private planes, trains and automobiles. It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is great for fans and a positive start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who are obliged to sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a movie actor tricked into a traditional British stage show. “A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and aging action hero Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose agent has tricked him into thinking he’s performing in renowned British drama. His pantomime fellow actors inform him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he retorts. It's easy to predict their reply. Except if you’re ignorant of traditional stage call-and-response. There are some hilarious moments, some cockle-warming storylines, and the rest of the cast is brilliant, too. It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit cheesy at any other time of year, but is a lot of fun at Christmas. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 10.19am - Christmas Karma Danny Dyer shows up at the start of this film, too, insulting someone for the next movie straight. Could this be a fresh holiday staple? This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who encounters 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 the director of Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative develops as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is haunted by the apparitions 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 unfortunately he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s performance is wooden—a major flaw when he’s so the focal point. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 12.04pm - Stuffed There’s time for a channel's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “isn't big on Christmas.” But after he gets an large festive windfall at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) persuades him splurging the cash on a vacation to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he learns there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to return the difference. Fun while it lasts but not lasting. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 1.12pm - Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the backdrop—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels cosy and festive all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a vineyard to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. En route, she meets a fellow in a book store who promises to show her a festive Paris. An expert recently declared this is the best new Christmas film of the past few years. 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 detailed conversation about Die Hard is very good too. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, regardless of the persuasion of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him otherwise. The truth is out there, and Chris sets out to find it with the guidance of a panel of well-known figures. It’s gentle but endearing, and good viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 A Star-Studded Family Drama Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a quarrelling American family who gather for the holidays—including fellow Oscar nominee 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 stating: “They need to make a movie about the real champions of the holidays—moms.” So that’s the concept, but in execution it’s really a combination of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually takes center stage. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s gone downhill, but thankfully here’s a new offering in the packed genre of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and utterly watchable—festive fodder. It’s a tale as old as time: An American woman travels to a distant snowy land and ends up discovering romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher