Devouring 2025's Festive Features: Highlights, Lowlights, and Unexpected Delights.
It is the time of year to relax on the sofa and consume a box of festive treats in front of a great film, a poor film, or one that’s awesomely awful.
This year, a crop of latest holiday movies hopes to be part of our festive viewing—perhaps even earning a place alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it).
So, in a noble effort to separate the winners from the losers, and to find the festive feeling, I watched as many new festive movies as possible in a single day.
First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick
Kicking off, optimistically, on a high. This release is the exclusive 2025 title on a famous website's list of the best 100 Christmas movies of all time.
The Jonas Brothers are trapped in the UK after concluding their international trek and must make it back for Christmas. Their attempts are thwarted by an evil Santa, who bursts into melody to declare they won’t get home until they “find their brotherly magic.”
The repartee between the bickering brothers is enjoyable even for the non-fan, while followers will no doubt notice lots of easter eggs as they attempt to get back using all transportation available.
It’s a journey of epic proportions.
It’s not an all-time classic, but is excellent for devotees and a positive start to the day.
Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who must sit through it.
Next: A Star in Panto
A-list actor Kiefer Sutherland appears as a movie actor tricked into a traditional British stage show.
“A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and older star Brad Mack, who has fallen on hard times and whose representative has tricked him into thinking he’s performing in prestigious English theatre.
His Aladdin cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he protests. You can guess their retort. That is, unless you’re not acquainted with traditional British theatre traditions.
There are some very funny lines, some heartwarming storylines, and the supporting actors is cracking, too.
It’s the type of film that would be a bit cheesy at a different time, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄
Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma
An actor shows up at the start of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the second consecutive movie. Might this become a new Christmas tradition?
This time, he’s a crooning chauffeur who collects Mr Sood, the latest spin 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 familiar story progresses as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is haunted 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 distinct from all the others, but sadly he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s portrayal is flat—a problem when he’s so the main character.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄
12.04pm - Stuffed
There's just enough time for a network's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a endearingly grumpy man who “isn't big on Christmas.”
But after he receives an large festive windfall at work, his wife (portrayed by Morgana Robinson) persuades him splurging the cash on a vacation to Lapland.
There’s just one issue—he discovers there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to return the excess.
Fun while it lasts but not lasting.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄
1.12pm - Champagne Problems
This is one of those Christmas films where the festive trappings are in the setting—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its raison d’etre—but it feels warm and holiday-like all the same.
High-powered businesswoman Sydney (played by Minka Kelly) is sent to a French chateau to negotiate a purchase for a champagne business. En route, she meets a man in a literary haven who promises to show her the holidays in the City of Light.
An expert recently claimed this is the finest new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a holiday love story with a dash of elegance and gives the necessary heartwarming sensation.
The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is particularly strong too.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄
3.29pm - Finding Father Christmas
Sixteen-year-old Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, despite the efforts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him the reality.
The answer is to be discovered, and Chris sets out to find it with the assistance of a group of well-known scientists and personalities.
It’s gentle but sweet, and good viewing while waiting for Santa to visit.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄
Late Afternoon: Oh. What. Fun.
Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a quarrelling American family who reunite for the holidays—including fellow acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.
Pfeiffer opens by name-dropping 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 unsung heroes of the holidays—moms.”
So that’s what this is, but in reality it’s really a jumble of those aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually takes center stage.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄
6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret
The day’s taken a dip, but thankfully here’s a new addition in the packed genre of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and highly entertaining—festive fodder.
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
