🔗 Share this article Binge-Watching This Year's Festive Features: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good. ‘Tis the season to lounge on the couch and consume a tin of mince pies in front of a terrific flick, a poor film, or one that’s so bad it’s good. As always, a selection of fresh seasonal stories strives to join part of our festive viewing—maybe even finding a spot alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it). Therefore, in a noble effort to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to get into the Christmas spirit, I marathoned as many fresh holiday releases as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Kicking off, optimistically, on a good foot. This is the sole 2025 title on a well-known aggregator's list of the best 100 Christmas movies of all time. The musical trio end up trapped in the UK after finishing their international trek and must make it back for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an evil Santa, who bursts into melody to declare they won’t get home until they “find their sibling bond.” The back-and-forth between the bickering brothers is entertaining even for the non-fan, while fans will undoubtedly notice lots of references as they try to get back using all transportation available. It’s a travelogue of mishaps. It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is superb for devotees and a solid start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who will have to sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity tricked into a pantomime. “A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and older lead Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose representative has misled him into thinking he’s appearing in high-class London stage. His pantomime cast-mates tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he retorts. One can imagine their response. That is, unless you’re ignorant of traditional stage call-and-response. There are some hilarious moments, some touching storylines, and the supporting actors is excellent, too. It’s the type of film that would be a bit cheesy at any other time of year, but is a great entertainment at Christmas. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 10.19am - Christmas Karma Danny Dyer appears at the start of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the second consecutive movie. Is this a fresh holiday staple? This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who collects Mr Sood, the newest interpretation 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 well-known tale progresses as the stingy Mr Sood is haunted by the spirits 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 regrettably he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s performance is flat—a significant issue when he’s so central to everything. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special Before lunch for a channel's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “doesn’t really do Christmas.” But after he receives an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) convinces him splurging the cash on a family trip to Lapland. There’s just one snag—he learns there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to return the excess. Enjoyable but forgettable. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 1.12pm - Champagne Problems This is one of those holiday movies where the festive trappings are in the background—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its main point—but it feels cosy and festive all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is sent to a vineyard to negotiate a purchase for a champagne business. On the way, she meets a man in a book store who vows to show her the holidays in the City of Light. A commentator recently declared this is the finest new Christmas film of the recent era. 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 lengthy discussion about Die Hard is notable too. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Teenage 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 otherwise. The answer is somewhere, and Chris sets out to find it with the guidance of a team of well-known experts and celebrities. It’s gentle but charming, and ideal viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a bickering American family who come back together for the holidays—including fellow Oscar nominee 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 declaring: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s what this is, but in practice it’s really a jumble of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last takes center stage. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Formulaic Fun The day’s waned in quality, but fortunately here’s a new addition in the crowded field of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and highly entertaining—holiday fare. It’s a tale as old as time: 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
‘Tis the season to lounge on the couch and consume a tin of mince pies in front of a terrific flick, a poor film, or one that’s so bad it’s good. As always, a selection of fresh seasonal stories strives to join part of our festive viewing—maybe even finding a spot alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it). Therefore, in a noble effort to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to get into the Christmas spirit, I marathoned as many fresh holiday releases as possible in a single day. Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Kicking off, optimistically, on a good foot. This is the sole 2025 title on a well-known aggregator's list of the best 100 Christmas movies of all time. The musical trio end up trapped in the UK after finishing their international trek and must make it back for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an evil Santa, who bursts into melody to declare they won’t get home until they “find their sibling bond.” The back-and-forth between the bickering brothers is entertaining even for the non-fan, while fans will undoubtedly notice lots of references as they try to get back using all transportation available. It’s a travelogue of mishaps. It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is superb for devotees and a solid start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who will have to sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity tricked into a pantomime. “A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and older lead Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose representative has misled him into thinking he’s appearing in high-class London stage. His pantomime cast-mates tell him he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he retorts. One can imagine their response. That is, unless you’re ignorant of traditional stage call-and-response. There are some hilarious moments, some touching storylines, and the supporting actors is excellent, too. It’s the type of film that would be a bit cheesy at any other time of year, but is a great entertainment at Christmas. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 10.19am - Christmas Karma Danny Dyer appears at the start of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the second consecutive movie. Is this a fresh holiday staple? This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who collects Mr Sood, the newest interpretation 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 well-known tale progresses as the stingy Mr Sood is haunted by the spirits 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 regrettably he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s performance is flat—a significant issue when he’s so central to everything. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special Before lunch for a channel's original festive film—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “doesn’t really do Christmas.” But after he receives an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) convinces him splurging the cash on a family trip to Lapland. There’s just one snag—he learns there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to return the excess. Enjoyable but forgettable. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 1.12pm - Champagne Problems This is one of those holiday movies where the festive trappings are in the background—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its main point—but it feels cosy and festive all the same. Driven corporate star Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is sent to a vineyard to negotiate a purchase for a champagne business. On the way, she meets a man in a book store who vows to show her the holidays in the City of Light. A commentator recently declared this is the finest new Christmas film of the recent era. 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 lengthy discussion about Die Hard is notable too. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Teenage 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 otherwise. The answer is somewhere, and Chris sets out to find it with the guidance of a team of well-known experts and celebrities. It’s gentle but charming, and ideal viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄 Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a bickering American family who come back together for the holidays—including fellow Oscar nominee 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 declaring: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s what this is, but in practice it’s really a jumble of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last takes center stage. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Formulaic Fun The day’s waned in quality, but fortunately here’s a new addition in the crowded field of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and highly entertaining—holiday fare. It’s a tale as old as time: 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