Binge-Watching The Latest Holiday Movies: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good.

‘Tis the season to relax on the couch and devour a tin of mince pies in front of a good movie, a poor film, or one that’s so bad it’s good.

As always, a batch of latest holiday movies hopes to be part of our seasonal watchlist—potentially even finding a spot alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments).

Therefore, in a helpful attempt to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to get into the Christmas spirit, I marathoned as many fresh holiday releases as possible in a single day.

First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick

Starting, hopefully, on a high. This is the exclusive 2025 entry on a well-known aggregator's list of the top 100 Christmas movies of all time.

The popular band are stuck in the UK after wrapping up their international trek and must return for Christmas. Their attempts are hampered by an evil Santa, who sings to announce they won’t get home until they “find their sibling bond.”

The repartee between the bickering brothers is amusing even for the uninitiated, while devotees will undoubtedly pick up on lots of references as they try to get back using all transportation available.

It’s private planes, trains and automobiles.

It’s not an all-time classic, but is great for fans and a solid 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

A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a Hollywood star cast a traditional British stage show.

“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and older action hero Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose manager has tricked him into thinking he’s performing in high-class London stage.

His Aladdin fellow actors let him know he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he retorts. It's easy to predict their retort. Unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional panto catchphrases.

There are some hilarious moments, some touching storylines, and the ensemble is excellent, too.

It’s the type of film that would be a bit cheesy at a different time, but is a great entertainment at Christmas.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma

An actor appears at the beginning of this film, too, insulting someone for the second consecutive movie. Might this become a new Christmas tradition?

This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who picks up Mr Sood, the newest interpretation 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 classic narrative unfolds as the miserly Mr Sood is visited by the ghosts of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This cultural adaptation is at least distinct from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s portrayal is flat—a major flaw when he’s so central to everything.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

12.04pm - Stuffed

There's just enough time for a major broadcaster's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “avoids Christmas.”

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

There’s just one problem—he discovers there was an mix-up with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to reimburse the remainder.

Pleasant yet unmemorable.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

1.12pm - Champagne Problems

This is one of those holiday movies where the festive trappings are in the setting—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same.

Ambitious executive Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is assigned to a country estate to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. On the way, she runs into a man in a bookshop who offers to show her a festive Paris.

A critic recently stated this is the best new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a Christmas romance with a dash of elegance and gives the required heartwarming sensation.

The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is notable too.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas

Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, regardless of the persuasion of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him otherwise.

The truth is to be discovered, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the assistance of a team of well-known experts and celebrities.

It’s low-key but endearing, and perfect viewing while waiting for Santa to visit.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a bickering American family who reunite for the holidays—including fellow Oscar nominee Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.

Pfeiffer starts by mentioning Christmas classics like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before declaring: “They need to make a movie about the real champions of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s the concept, but in practice it’s really a jumble of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last finds her strength.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s taken a dip, but thankfully here’s a new entry in the saturated market of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and utterly watchable—holiday fare.

It’s a story as familiar as can be: An American woman travels to a picturesque cold country and ends up stumbling across romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher