‘Tis the season to lounge on the sofa and consume a tin of mince pies in front of a great film, a awful feature, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.
As always, a selection of fresh holiday movies hopes to be part of our holiday traditions—potentially even joining the ranks alongside beloved favorites like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (no arguments).
So, in a helpful attempt to distinguish the gems from the coal, and to embrace the festive feeling, I watched as many recent holiday releases as possible in a single day.
Kicking off, ideally, on a good foot. This is the only 2025 title on a famous website's list of the top 100 Christmas movies of all time.
The musical trio find themselves stranded in the UK after concluding their global concert series and must get home for Christmas. Their efforts are thwarted by an evil Santa, who bursts into melody to state they won’t get home until they “find their brotherly magic.”
The banter between the arguing trio is enjoyable even for the uninitiated, while devotees will undoubtedly catch lots of in-jokes as they attempt to get back using any means of transport necessary.
It’s a travelogue of mishaps.
It’s not legendary, but is excellent for devotees and a good start to the day.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who will have to sit through it.
Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland has been cast as a celebrity cast a "panto".
“A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and older lead Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose agent has deceived him into thinking he’s starring in prestigious English theatre.
His pantomime fellow actors let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Oh no I’m not,” he retorts. It's easy to predict their retort. Except if you’re ignorant of traditional British theatre traditions.
There are some hilarious moments, some cockle-warming storylines, and the rest of the cast is cracking, too.
It’s the kind of movie that would be a bit cheesy at any other time of year, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas.
Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄
A familiar face appears 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 newest interpretation 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 filmmaker behind Gurinder Chadha. The classic narrative progresses as the tight-fisted Mr Sood is confronted by the spirits of Christmas yesterday, today, and tomorrow, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.
This South Asian reinterpretation is at least different from all the others, but regrettably he’s not very captivating and Nayyar’s acting is wooden—a problem when he’s so central to everything.
Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄
There’s time for a major broadcaster's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “doesn’t really do Christmas.”
But after he gets an £8,000 Christmas bonus at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) talks him into splurging the cash on a vacation to Lapland.
There’s just one issue—he learns there was an error with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to devise a plan for how to reimburse the difference.
Enjoyable but forgettable.
Festive score: 🎄🎄
This is one of those Christmas films where the tree, fairy lights and snow are in the background—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same.
Ambitious executive Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is assigned to a country estate to do a deal for a sparkling wine company. En route, she meets a fellow in a book store who vows to show her the holidays in the City of Light.
A critic recently claimed this is the finest new Christmas film of the last several seasons. That’s a bit of a stretch, but it is a holiday love story with a dash of elegance and gives the required cozy feelings.
The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is very good too.
Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄
Young Chris, played by Lenny Rush, holds onto his belief in Father Christmas, regardless of the persuasion of his dad (played by James Buckley) to tell him the truth.
The answer is out there, and Chris sets out to find it with the guidance of a team of well-known figures.
It’s understated but endearing, and perfect viewing while expecting Santa to visit.
Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄
Michelle Pfeiffer is the mother of a dysfunctional American family who reunite for the holidays—including fellow acclaimed actress Felicity Jones, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jason Schwartzman, and dad Denis Leary.
Pfeiffer begins by referencing 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 the concept, but in reality it’s really a mash-up of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last comes into her own.
Festive score: 🎄🎄
The day’s gone downhill, but fortunately here’s a new entry in the saturated market of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and utterly watchable—holiday fare.
It’s a tale as familiar as can be: An American woman goes on a quest to a distant snowy land and ends up discovering romance.
In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher
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