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

It is the season to relax on the sofa and devour a packet of holiday pastries in front of a great film, a poor film, or one that’s so bad it’s good.

Once again, a batch of fresh holiday movies hopes to be part of our holiday traditions—maybe even joining the ranks alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it).

Therefore, in a helpful attempt to separate the winners from the losers, and to find the festive feeling, I watched as many new holiday releases as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Kicking off, ideally, on a good foot. This film is the exclusive 2025 title on a famous website's list of the best 100 festive features of all time.

The Jonas Brothers find themselves trapped in the UK after concluding their international trek and must get home for Christmas. Their attempts are thwarted by an villainous Saint Nick, who breaks into song to state they won’t get home until they “find their brotherly magic.”

The repartee between the squabbling siblings is amusing even for the casual viewer, while devotees will no doubt pick up on lots of in-jokes as they attempt to get back using all transportation available.

It’s a journey of epic proportions.

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

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their relatives who are obliged to sit through it.

Next: A Star in Panto

A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland appears as a Hollywood star tricked into a pantomime.

“A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “temperamental” and aging lead Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose manager has misled him into thinking he’s starring in high-class London stage.

His Aladdin cast-mates inform him he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he protests. You can guess their response. Except if you’re unfamiliar with traditional British theatre traditions.

There are some hilarious moments, some touching sub-plots, and the supporting actors is brilliant, too.

It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit naff at a different time, but is a lot of fun at Christmas.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

10.19am - Christmas Karma

A familiar face shows up at the outset of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second film in a row. Might this become a budding festive ritual?

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 The Big Bang Theory’s Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by the director of Gurinder Chadha. The well-known tale develops as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is visited by the spirits of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This Indian Scrooge is at least distinct from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very charismatic and Nayyar’s performance is flat—a significant issue when he’s so central to everything.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Lunchtime: Stuffed

There's just enough time for a network's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “isn't big on Christmas.”

But after he gets an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) convinces him spending the sum on a holiday 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 reimburse the excess.

Enjoyable but forgettable.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems

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

High-powered businesswoman Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is sent to a country estate to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. On the way, she runs into a fellow in a book store who vows to show her Christmas in Paris.

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 festive dalliance with a touch of class and gives the required warm and fuzzy feels.

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

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas

Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, in spite of the attempts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him otherwise.

The truth is to be discovered, and Chris sets out to find it with the expert help of a team of well-known figures.

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

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

A Star-Studded Family Drama

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

Pfeiffer begins by referencing classic festive films like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before saying: “They need to make a movie about the true heroes of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s the concept, but in reality it’s really a combination of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually finds her strength.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Formulaic Fun

The day’s waned in quality, but thankfully here’s a new entry in the crowded field of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and utterly watchable—seasonal comfort food.

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

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher