Devouring 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 mince pies in front of a good movie, a bad movie, or one that’s terrible yet terrific.

As always, a selection of fresh seasonal stories hopes to be part of our festive viewing—potentially even earning a place alongside enduring classics like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (we won’t debate it).

Therefore, in a vital public service to separate the winners from the losers, and to find the holiday mood, I binged as many recent holiday releases as possible in a single day.

Early Morning: A Very Jonas Christmas Movie

Beginning, optimistically, on a positive note. This film is the sole 2025 entry on a popular review site's list of the top 100 holiday films of all time.

The Jonas Brothers end up trapped in the UK after concluding their international trek and must get home for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an villainous Saint Nick, who bursts into melody to declare they won’t get home until they “rediscover their familial spark.”

The banter between the bickering brothers is enjoyable even for the non-fan, while devotees will certainly notice lots of references as they endeavor to get back using every mode of travel possible.

It’s a travelogue of mishaps.

It’s not legendary, but is superb for devotees and a solid 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

Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland stars as a Hollywood star cast a pantomime.

“A what's a panto??” asks Sutherland’s “hard-to-work-with” and aging lead Brad Mack, who has seen better days and whose representative has deceived him into thinking he’s starring in prestigious English theatre.

His pantomime cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “No I'm not,” he insists angrily. You can guess their reply. Unless you’re not acquainted with traditional stage call-and-response.

There are some hilarious moments, some cockle-warming storylines, and the supporting actors is excellent, too.

It’s the type of film that would be a bit naff at a different time, but is a highly enjoyable at Christmas.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Morning: Christmas Karma

An actor pops up at the beginning of this film, too, delivering a signature line for the second consecutive movie. Could this be a budding festive ritual?

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 The Big Bang Theory’s Kunal Nayyar and Christmas Karma is directed by the director of Gurinder Chadha. The familiar story unfolds as the stingy 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 unique from all the others, but sadly he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s acting is lifeless—a problem when he’s so the main character.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

12.04pm - Stuffed

Before lunch for a channel's Christmas comedy-drama—which stars Guz Khan as a charmingly cantankerous character who “avoids Christmas.”

But after he is awarded an large festive windfall at work, his wife (starring Morgana Robinson) convinces him splurging the cash on a holiday to Lapland.

There’s just one problem—he finds out there was an mistake with his bonus, which should have been £800, and he has to determine how to reimburse the remainder.

Pleasant yet unmemorable.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

A Classy Netflix Romance

This is one of those Christmas films where the festive trappings are in the background—Christmas is the scene of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels comfortable and seasonal all the same.

Ambitious executive Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is sent to a French chateau to negotiate a purchase for a sparkling wine company. During her travels, she encounters a fellow in a bookshop who vows to show her a festive Paris.

A commentator recently stated this is the top new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a overstatement, but it is a festive dalliance with a touch of class and gives the required cozy feelings.

The scene with a lengthy discussion about Die Hard is particularly strong too.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

Mid-Afternoon: Finding Father Christmas

Teenage Chris, played by Lenny Rush, continues to believe in Father Christmas, despite the efforts of his dad (starring James Buckley) to tell him otherwise.

The secret is out there, and Chris sets out to find it with the assistance of a panel of well-known experts and celebrities.

It’s gentle but charming, and ideal viewing while expecting Santa to visit.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

4.39pm - Oh. What. Fun.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a dysfunctional American family who reunite for the holidays—including other Oscar nominee 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 stating: “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 aforementioned movies, at least until Pfeiffer’s character at last comes into her own.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

6.43pm - A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s waned in quality, but fortunately here’s a new entry in the saturated market of predictable, sentimental, cheesy—and highly entertaining—festive fodder.

It’s a tale as old as time: An American woman travels to a far-off wintery locale and ends up finding romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher