Binge-Watching 2025's Festive Features: The Good, The Bad and The So-Bad-It's-Good.

It is the season to lounge on the couch and consume a tin of mince pies in front of a great film, a bad movie, or one that’s so bad it’s good.

As always, a batch of latest holiday movies hopes to be 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).

Thus, in a helpful attempt to separate the winners from the losers, and to embrace the Christmas spirit, I binged as many recent holiday releases as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Beginning, optimistically, on a high. This film is the sole 2025 title on a famous website's list of the best 100 holiday films of all time.

The popular band end up trapped in the UK after finishing their international trek and must get home for Christmas. Their attempts are hindered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who bursts into melody to declare they won’t get home until they “rediscover their brotherly magic.”

The back-and-forth between the arguing trio is amusing even for the casual viewer, while fans will undoubtedly notice lots of references as they endeavor to get back using every mode of travel possible.

It’s a travelogue of mishaps.

It’s not legendary, but is excellent for fans and a positive start to the day.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who must sit through it.

Late Morning: Tinsel Town

Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland stars as a Hollywood star cast a pantomime.

“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and older action hero 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 fellow actors inform him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he protests. One can imagine their response. That is, unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional panto catchphrases.

There are some great jokes, some cockle-warming sub-plots, and the supporting actors is brilliant, too.

It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit tacky at another season, but is a great entertainment at Christmas.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

Danny Dyer appears at the start of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the second consecutive movie. Could this be a fresh holiday staple?

This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who collects Mr Sood, the modern take 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 develops as the miserly Mr Sood is confronted by the spirits 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 compelling and Nayyar’s acting is flat—a major flaw when he’s so the focal point.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Lunchtime: Stuffed

There's just enough time for a major broadcaster's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a lovably grouchy guy who “avoids Christmas.”

But after he receives an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) persuades him spending the sum on a holiday to Lapland.

There’s just one problem—he discovers there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to reimburse the remainder.

Fun while it lasts but not lasting.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

A Classy Netflix Romance

This is one of those Christmas films where the decorations 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.

Driven corporate star Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is assigned to a country estate to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. En route, she runs into a fellow in a literary haven who vows to show her the holidays in the City of Light.

An expert recently declared this is the top new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a festive dalliance with a hint of sophistication and gives the obligatory warm and fuzzy feels.

The scene with a extended debate about Die Hard is notable too.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas

Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, despite the persuasion of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the truth.

The secret is to be discovered, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the guidance of a group of well-known scientists and personalities.

It’s gentle but charming, and perfect viewing while waiting for Santa to visit.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

A Star-Studded Family Drama

Michelle Pfeiffer is the head of a quarrelling American family who reunite for the holidays—including other acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.

Pfeiffer begins by referencing 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 unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.”

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

Formulaic Fun

The day’s waned in quality, but happily here’s a new entry in the packed genre of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and utterly watchable—festive fodder.

It’s a narrative as old as time: An American woman goes on a quest to a picturesque cold country and ends up discovering romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher