🔗 Share this article Marathon Viewing This Year's Christmas Films: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures. ‘Tis the time of year to slob out on the sofa and devour a box of festive treats in front of a terrific flick, a poor film, or one that’s awesomely awful. Once again, a selection of latest Christmas films strives to join part of our festive viewing—potentially even finding a spot alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it). Thus, in a helpful attempt to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to find the Christmas spirit, I marathoned as many recent festive movies as possible in a single day. 7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Starting, optimistically, on a good foot. This is the only 2025 title on a famous website's list of the greatest 100 Christmas movies of all time. The musical trio end up stranded in the UK after finishing their global concert series and must make it back for Christmas. Their endeavors are thwarted by an villainous Saint Nick, who bursts into melody to announce they won’t get home until they “rekindle their sibling bond.” The repartee between the arguing trio is entertaining even for the casual viewer, while fans will certainly catch 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 excellent for devotees and a good start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who must sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland appears as a movie actor tricked into a traditional British stage show. “A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and aging action hero Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose representative has tricked him into thinking he’s appearing in renowned British drama. His Aladdin fellow actors let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he retorts. You can guess their retort. Except if you’re ignorant of traditional stage call-and-response. There are some very funny lines, some touching sub-plots, and the ensemble is brilliant, too. It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit naff at a different time, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 A New Spin on Scrooge A familiar face pops up at the outset of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second consecutive movie. Might this become a budding festive ritual? 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 an actor from Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by the director of Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story unfolds as the stingy Mr Sood is haunted by the ghosts 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 charismatic and Nayyar’s portrayal is flat—a problem when he’s so the main character. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Lunchtime: Stuffed Before lunch for a network's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “isn't big on Christmas.” But after he gets an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) persuades him spending the sum on a family trip to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he finds out there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to pay back the remainder. Pleasant yet unmemorable. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 A Classy Netflix Romance This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the backdrop—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its main point—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same. Ambitious executive Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is assigned to a country estate to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. During her travels, she runs into a man in a literary haven who offers to show her a festive Paris. A critic recently stated this is the best new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a holiday love story with a touch of class and gives the obligatory warm and fuzzy feels. The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is very good too. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 A Charming Quest Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, in spite of the efforts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the reality. The answer is somewhere, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the expert help of a team of well-known scientists and personalities. It’s gentle but endearing, and good viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a bickering American family who reunite for the holidays—including fellow 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 real champions of the holidays—moms.” So that’s what this is, but in reality it’s really a jumble of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually comes into her own. Festive score: 🎄🎄 6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s taken a dip, but fortunately here’s a new addition in the saturated market of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and utterly watchable—holiday fare. It’s a story as familiar as can be: An American woman journeys to a picturesque cold country and ends up discovering romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
‘Tis the time of year to slob out on the sofa and devour a box of festive treats in front of a terrific flick, a poor film, or one that’s awesomely awful. Once again, a selection of latest Christmas films strives to join part of our festive viewing—potentially even finding a spot alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it). Thus, in a helpful attempt to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to find the Christmas spirit, I marathoned as many recent festive movies as possible in a single day. 7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Starting, optimistically, on a good foot. This is the only 2025 title on a famous website's list of the greatest 100 Christmas movies of all time. The musical trio end up stranded in the UK after finishing their global concert series and must make it back for Christmas. Their endeavors are thwarted by an villainous Saint Nick, who bursts into melody to announce they won’t get home until they “rekindle their sibling bond.” The repartee between the arguing trio is entertaining even for the casual viewer, while fans will certainly catch 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 excellent for devotees and a good start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who must sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland appears as a movie actor tricked into a traditional British stage show. “A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and aging action hero Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose representative has tricked him into thinking he’s appearing in renowned British drama. His Aladdin fellow actors let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he retorts. You can guess their retort. Except if you’re ignorant of traditional stage call-and-response. There are some very funny lines, some touching sub-plots, and the ensemble is brilliant, too. It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit naff at a different time, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 A New Spin on Scrooge A familiar face pops up at the outset of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second consecutive movie. Might this become a budding festive ritual? 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 an actor from Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by the director of Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story unfolds as the stingy Mr Sood is haunted by the ghosts 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 charismatic and Nayyar’s portrayal is flat—a problem when he’s so the main character. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Lunchtime: Stuffed Before lunch for a network's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “isn't big on Christmas.” But after he gets an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) persuades him spending the sum on a family trip to Lapland. There’s just one issue—he finds out there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to pay back the remainder. Pleasant yet unmemorable. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 A Classy Netflix Romance This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the backdrop—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its main point—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same. Ambitious executive Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is assigned to a country estate to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. During her travels, she runs into a man in a literary haven who offers to show her a festive Paris. A critic recently stated this is the best new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a holiday love story with a touch of class and gives the obligatory warm and fuzzy feels. The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is very good too. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 A Charming Quest Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, in spite of the efforts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the reality. The answer is somewhere, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the expert help of a team of well-known scientists and personalities. It’s gentle but endearing, and good viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a bickering American family who reunite for the holidays—including fellow 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 real champions of the holidays—moms.” So that’s what this is, but in reality it’s really a jumble of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually comes into her own. Festive score: 🎄🎄 6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s taken a dip, but fortunately here’s a new addition in the saturated market of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and utterly watchable—holiday fare. It’s a story as familiar as can be: An American woman journeys to a picturesque cold country and ends up discovering romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher