Marathon Viewing The Latest Holiday Movies: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights.

‘Tis the time of year to slob out on the sofa and consume a packet of mince pies in front of a good movie, a awful feature, or one that’s so bad it’s good.

This year, a crop of latest Christmas films hopes to be part of our seasonal watchlist—potentially even joining the ranks alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it).

Therefore, in a noble effort to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to embrace the festive feeling, I marathoned as many recent festive movies as possible in a single day.

7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Kicking off, hopefully, on a high. This release is the sole 2025 movie on a famous website's list of the greatest 100 Christmas movies of all time.

The Jonas Brothers find themselves trapped in the UK after concluding their global concert series and must return for Christmas. Their attempts are thwarted by an malevolent Father Christmas, who breaks into song to declare they won’t get home until they “find their familial spark.”

The back-and-forth between the arguing trio is amusing even for the uninitiated, while devotees will certainly notice lots of easter eggs as they attempt to get back using any means of transport necessary.

It’s a journey of epic proportions.

It’s not legendary, but is superb for devotees and a positive 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

Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a Hollywood star cast a pantomime.

“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and aging star Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose manager has misled him into thinking he’s appearing in prestigious English theatre.

His pantomime co-stars let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he retorts. It's easy to predict their response. Except if you’re unfamiliar with traditional panto catchphrases.

There are some hilarious moments, some cockle-warming side stories, and the ensemble is cracking, 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: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma

Danny Dyer shows up at the outset of this film, too, insulting someone for the second film in a row. Is this a budding festive ritual?

This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who picks up 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 the filmmaker behind Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative progresses as the miserly Mr Sood is haunted 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 sadly he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s acting is lifeless—a major flaw when he’s so central to everything.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Lunchtime: Stuffed

Before lunch for a major broadcaster's holiday special—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “avoids Christmas.”

But after he is awarded an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) convinces him splurging the cash 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 devise a plan for how to return the difference.

Pleasant yet unmemorable.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

A Classy Netflix Romance

This is one of those Christmas films where the decorations and snow are in the background—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels cosy and festive all the same.

High-powered businesswoman Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is assigned to a vineyard to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. During her travels, she runs into a guy in a book store who vows to show her a festive Paris.

A critic recently claimed 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 necessary heartwarming sensation.

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

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

A Charming Quest

Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, refuses to stop believing in Father Christmas, despite the attempts 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 scientists and personalities.

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun.

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

Pfeiffer opens by name-dropping 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 true heroes of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s what this is, but in practice it’s really a mash-up of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last takes center stage.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Formulaic Fun

The day’s waned in quality, but happily here’s a new offering in the crowded field of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and highly entertaining—seasonal comfort food.

It’s a narrative as old as time: An American woman travels to a far-off wintery locale and ends up discovering romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher