Devouring This Year's Holiday Movies: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures.

It is the time of year to slob out on the couch and devour a packet of festive treats in front of a terrific flick, a bad movie, or one that’s so bad it’s good.

Once again, a selection of fresh holiday movies aims to become part of our festive viewing—maybe even earning a place alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start).

Therefore, in a noble effort to separate the winners from the losers, and to find the holiday mood, I binged as many recent Christmas films as possible in a single day.

7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Beginning, ideally, on a high. This film is the exclusive 2025 title on a famous website's list of the greatest 100 festive features of all time.

The musical trio end up stranded in the UK after wrapping up their world tour and must make it back for Christmas. Their efforts are thwarted by an evil Santa, who sings to state they won’t get home until they “find their brotherly magic.”

The back-and-forth between the squabbling siblings is amusing even for the casual viewer, while fans will no doubt notice lots of in-jokes as they attempt to get back using all transportation available.

It’s a travelogue of mishaps.

It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is excellent for devotees and a solid start to the day.

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

8.45am - Tinsel Town

A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland appears as a movie actor roped into a "panto".

“A panto-what??” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and older action hero Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose representative has tricked him into thinking he’s appearing in renowned British drama.

His pantomime cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he protests. You can guess their reply. That is, unless you’re unfamiliar with traditional British theatre traditions.

There are some hilarious moments, some cockle-warming side stories, and the rest of the cast is cracking, too.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma

A familiar face pops up at the outset of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the next movie straight. Might this become 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 The Big Bang Theory’s Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by Bend It Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story develops as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is visited by the spirits of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This Indian Scrooge is at least unique from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s performance is lifeless—a significant issue when he’s so the main character.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Lunchtime: Stuffed

Before lunch for a major broadcaster's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “doesn’t really do Christmas.”

But after he gets an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) persuades him splurging the cash 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.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

Early Afternoon: Champagne Problems

This is one of those Christmas films where the festive trappings are in the backdrop—Christmas is the environment of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same.

High-powered businesswoman Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is assigned to a French chateau to secure an acquisition for a champagne business. On the way, she meets a man in a literary haven who offers to show her Christmas in Paris.

A critic recently claimed this is the best new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a holiday love story with a touch of class and gives the necessary cozy feelings.

The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is particularly strong too.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas

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

The truth is to be discovered, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the expert help of a group of well-known experts and celebrities.

It’s understated but endearing, and ideal viewing while anticipating Santa to visit.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄

Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a bickering American family who gather for the holidays—including other Oscar nominee 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 stating: “They need to make a movie about the true heroes of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s the premise, but in practice it’s really a mash-up of those inspirations, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually comes into her own.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Formulaic Fun

The day’s gone downhill, but happily here’s a new entry in the packed genre of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and utterly watchable—festive fodder.

It’s a story as old as time: An American woman journeys to a distant snowy land and ends up finding romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher