🔗 Share this article 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 sofa and devour a packet of festive treats in front of a great film, a bad movie, or one that’s terrible yet terrific. Once again, a selection of fresh seasonal stories hopes to be part of our seasonal watchlist—maybe even joining the ranks alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). Therefore, in a vital public service to separate the winners from the losers, and to find the Christmas spirit, I watched as many new festive movies as possible in a single day. 7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Starting, hopefully, on a positive note. This film is the sole 2025 title on a famous website's list of the best 100 Christmas movies of all time. The popular band find themselves stranded in the UK after concluding their world tour and must return for Christmas. Their attempts are hampered by an villainous Saint Nick, who bursts into melody to state they won’t get home until they “rekindle their familial spark.” The banter between the squabbling siblings is amusing even for the non-fan, while devotees will undoubtedly catch lots of references as they attempt to get back using all transportation available. It’s a travelogue of mishaps. It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is great for devotees and a positive start to the day. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who must sit through it. Next: A Star in Panto Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland appears as a movie actor cast a "panto". “A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and older star Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose representative has tricked him into thinking he’s appearing in prestigious English theatre. His Aladdin cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he insists angrily. One can imagine their reply. Unless you’re ignorant of traditional British theatre traditions. There are some hilarious moments, some heartwarming sub-plots, and the rest of the cast is cracking, too. It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit cheesy at another season, but is a great entertainment at Christmas. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 A New Spin on Scrooge Danny Dyer shows up at the beginning of this film, too, insulting someone for the second film in a row. Might this become a new Christmas tradition? This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who collects Mr Sood, the latest spin 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 familiar story progresses as the miserly Mr Sood is confronted by the spirits of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This Indian Scrooge is at least distinct from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s portrayal is flat—a problem when he’s so the main character. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special There’s time for a channel's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “isn't big on Christmas.” But after he gets an large festive windfall at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) talks him into splurging the cash on a vacation to Lapland. There’s just one problem—he discovers there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to pay back the difference. Fun while it lasts but not lasting. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 1.12pm - 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. Ambitious executive Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is sent to a country estate to do a deal for a champagne business. During her travels, she runs into a fellow in a book store who promises to show her the holidays in the City of Light. A commentator recently stated this is the finest new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a Christmas romance with a hint of sophistication and gives the necessary warm and fuzzy feels. The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is very good too. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, regardless of the attempts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the reality. The secret is somewhere, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the assistance of a team of well-known figures. It’s low-key but charming, and ideal viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother 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 Christmas classics like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before saying: “They need to make a movie about the real champions of the holidays—moms.” So that’s what this is, but in practice it’s really a combination of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally comes into her own. Festive score: 🎄🎄 6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s waned in quality, but happily here’s a new offering in the saturated market of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and highly entertaining—holiday fare. It’s a tale as well-worn: An American woman travels to a picturesque cold country and ends up stumbling across romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
It is the season to lounge on the sofa and devour a packet of festive treats in front of a great film, a bad movie, or one that’s terrible yet terrific. Once again, a selection of fresh seasonal stories hopes to be part of our seasonal watchlist—maybe even joining the ranks alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start). Therefore, in a vital public service to separate the winners from the losers, and to find the Christmas spirit, I watched as many new festive movies as possible in a single day. 7.17am - A Very Jonas Christmas Movie Starting, hopefully, on a positive note. This film is the sole 2025 title on a famous website's list of the best 100 Christmas movies of all time. The popular band find themselves stranded in the UK after concluding their world tour and must return for Christmas. Their attempts are hampered by an villainous Saint Nick, who bursts into melody to state they won’t get home until they “rekindle their familial spark.” The banter between the squabbling siblings is amusing even for the non-fan, while devotees will undoubtedly catch lots of references as they attempt to get back using all transportation available. It’s a travelogue of mishaps. It’s not a timeless masterpiece, but is great for devotees and a positive start to the day. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who must sit through it. Next: A Star in Panto Hollywood star Kiefer Sutherland appears as a movie actor cast a "panto". “A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and older star Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose representative has tricked him into thinking he’s appearing in prestigious English theatre. His Aladdin cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he insists angrily. One can imagine their reply. Unless you’re ignorant of traditional British theatre traditions. There are some hilarious moments, some heartwarming sub-plots, and the rest of the cast is cracking, too. It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit cheesy at another season, but is a great entertainment at Christmas. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄 A New Spin on Scrooge Danny Dyer shows up at the beginning of this film, too, insulting someone for the second film in a row. Might this become a new Christmas tradition? This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who collects Mr Sood, the latest spin 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 familiar story progresses as the miserly Mr Sood is confronted by the spirits of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George. This Indian Scrooge is at least distinct from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s portrayal is flat—a problem when he’s so the main character. Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄 Noon: A BBC Special There’s time for a channel's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “isn't big on Christmas.” But after he gets an large festive windfall at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) talks him into splurging the cash on a vacation to Lapland. There’s just one problem—he discovers there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to figure out how to pay back the difference. Fun while it lasts but not lasting. Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄 1.12pm - 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. Ambitious executive Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is sent to a country estate to do a deal for a champagne business. During her travels, she runs into a fellow in a book store who promises to show her the holidays in the City of Light. A commentator recently stated this is the finest new Christmas film of the past few years. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a Christmas romance with a hint of sophistication and gives the necessary warm and fuzzy feels. The scene with a detailed conversation about Die Hard is very good too. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, regardless of the attempts of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the reality. The secret is somewhere, and Chris embarks on a quest to find it with the assistance of a team of well-known figures. It’s low-key but charming, and ideal viewing while expecting Santa to visit. Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄 4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun. Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother 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 Christmas classics like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, It’s A Wonderful Life and Home Alone, before saying: “They need to make a movie about the real champions of the holidays—moms.” So that’s what this is, but in practice it’s really a combination of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character finally comes into her own. Festive score: 🎄🎄 6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret The day’s waned in quality, but happily here’s a new offering in the saturated market of formulaic, schmaltzy, badly acted—and highly entertaining—holiday fare. It’s a tale as well-worn: An American woman travels to a picturesque cold country and ends up stumbling across romance. In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher