🔗 Share this article Devouring The Latest Christmas Films: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures. ‘Tis the time of year to slob out on the sofa and consume a box of festive treats in front of a terrific flick, a awful feature, or one that’s awesomely awful. This year, a batch of latest Christmas films aims to become part of our festive viewing—maybe even earning a place alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). So, in a helpful attempt to separate the winners from the losers, and to find the holiday mood, I watched as many recent Christmas films as possible in a single day. First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick Beginning, optimistically, on a positive note. This release is the exclusive 2025 title on a popular review site's list of the best 100 holiday films of all time. The musical trio are trapped in the UK after concluding their world tour and must get home for Christmas. Their endeavors are hampered by an villainous Saint Nick, who sings to state they won’t get home until they “rediscover their brotherly magic.” The banter between the squabbling siblings is amusing even for the casual viewer, while followers will no doubt catch 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 superb for devotees and a solid start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who are obliged to sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland stars as a Hollywood star cast a traditional British stage show. “A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and older star Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose representative has tricked him into thinking he’s appearing in high-class London stage. His pantomime fellow actors tell him he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he insists angrily. It's easy to predict their reply. Except if you’re not acquainted with traditional panto catchphrases. There are some great jokes, some cockle-warming sub-plots, and the supporting actors is brilliant, too. It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit naff at any other time of year, but is a lot of fun at Christmas. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 10.19am - Christmas Karma Danny Dyer appears at the start of this film, too, insulting someone for the second film in a row. Could this be a fresh holiday staple? This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who collects Mr Sood, the modern take 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 Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story progresses as the miserly Mr Sood is haunted by the apparitions 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 sadly he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s performance is lifeless—a problem when he’s so the focal point. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special Before lunch for a major broadcaster's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “doesn’t really do Christmas.” But after he gets an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) talks him into splurging the cash on a holiday to Lapland. There’s just one problem—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 excess. Enjoyable but forgettable. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the background—Christmas is the setting 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 sent to a vineyard to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. During her travels, she encounters a man in a book store who offers to show her Christmas in Paris. A critic recently stated this is the top new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a holiday love story with a dash of elegance and gives the obligatory cozy feelings. The scene with a extended debate about Die Hard is very good too. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, in spite of the attempts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the reality. The truth is to be discovered, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the assistance of a group of well-known experts and celebrities. It’s gentle but sweet, and perfect viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a quarrelling 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 Christmas classics like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before stating: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s what this is, but in reality it’s really a mash-up of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last comes into her own. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s taken a dip, but thankfully here’s a new addition in the packed genre of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and highly entertaining—holiday fare. It’s a story 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
‘Tis the time of year to slob out on the sofa and consume a box of festive treats in front of a terrific flick, a awful feature, or one that’s awesomely awful. This year, a batch of latest Christmas films aims to become part of our festive viewing—maybe even earning a place alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). So, in a helpful attempt to separate the winners from the losers, and to find the holiday mood, I watched as many recent Christmas films as possible in a single day. First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick Beginning, optimistically, on a positive note. This release is the exclusive 2025 title on a popular review site's list of the best 100 holiday films of all time. The musical trio are trapped in the UK after concluding their world tour and must get home for Christmas. Their endeavors are hampered by an villainous Saint Nick, who sings to state they won’t get home until they “rediscover their brotherly magic.” The banter between the squabbling siblings is amusing even for the casual viewer, while followers will no doubt catch 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 superb for devotees and a solid start to the day. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their family members who are obliged to sit through it. 8.45am - Tinsel Town Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland stars as a Hollywood star cast a traditional British stage show. “A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and older star Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose representative has tricked him into thinking he’s appearing in high-class London stage. His pantomime fellow actors tell him he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he insists angrily. It's easy to predict their reply. Except if you’re not acquainted with traditional panto catchphrases. There are some great jokes, some cockle-warming sub-plots, and the supporting actors is brilliant, too. It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit naff at any other time of year, but is a lot of fun at Christmas. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 10.19am - Christmas Karma Danny Dyer appears at the start of this film, too, insulting someone for the second film in a row. Could this be a fresh holiday staple? This time, he’s a singing black cab driver who collects Mr Sood, the modern take 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 Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story progresses as the miserly Mr Sood is haunted by the apparitions 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 sadly he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s performance is lifeless—a problem when he’s so the focal point. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special Before lunch for a major broadcaster's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “doesn’t really do Christmas.” But after he gets an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) talks him into splurging the cash on a holiday to Lapland. There’s just one problem—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 excess. Enjoyable but forgettable. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the background—Christmas is the setting 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 sent to a vineyard to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. During her travels, she encounters a man in a book store who offers to show her Christmas in Paris. A critic recently stated this is the top new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a holiday love story with a dash of elegance and gives the obligatory cozy feelings. The scene with a extended debate about Die Hard is very good too. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, in spite of the attempts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the reality. The truth is to be discovered, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the assistance of a group of well-known experts and celebrities. It’s gentle but sweet, and perfect viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a quarrelling 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 Christmas classics like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before stating: “They need to make a movie about the unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.” So that’s what this is, but in reality it’s really a mash-up of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last comes into her own. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s taken a dip, but thankfully here’s a new addition in the packed genre of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and highly entertaining—holiday fare. It’s a story 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