Marathon Viewing 2025's Festive Features: The Hits, The Misses, and The Guilty Pleasures.

‘Tis the time of year to slob out on the couch and demolish a tin of festive treats in front of a good movie, a awful feature, or one that’s so bad it’s good.

As always, a crop of fresh seasonal stories hopes to be part of our festive viewing—potentially even joining the ranks alongside timeless staples like Home Alone, Elf, Love Actually, and Die Hard (don’t start).

Thus, in a noble effort to sort the crackers from the turkeys, and to get into the festive feeling, I watched as many fresh Christmas films as possible in a single day.

First Up: The Jonas Brothers' Holiday Flick

Kicking off, ideally, on a positive note. 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 concluding their international trek and must make it back for Christmas. Their efforts are hampered by an malevolent Father Christmas, who bursts into melody to state they won’t get home until they “rekindle their brotherly magic.”

The banter between the bickering brothers is amusing even for the uninitiated, while followers will no doubt notice lots of in-jokes as they endeavor to get back using every mode of travel possible.

It’s a journey of epic proportions.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 for Jonas Brothers fans or 🎄🎄🎄 for their loved ones who must sit through it.

Next: A Star in Panto

Famous performer Kiefer Sutherland stars as a celebrity tricked into a pantomime.

“A panto-what?” asks Sutherland’s “difficult” and older star Brad Mack, who has hit a rough patch and whose representative has misled him into thinking he’s starring in high-class London stage.

His pantomime cast-mates let him know he’s playing Buttons. “Absolutely not,” he retorts. It's easy to predict their reply. Unless you’re not acquainted with traditional stage call-and-response.

There are some hilarious moments, some cockle-warming storylines, and the ensemble is brilliant, too.

It’s the sort of feature that would be a bit cheesy at another season, but is a lot of fun at Christmas.

Festive score: 🎄🎄🎄🎄

A New Spin on Scrooge

An actor appears at the outset of this film, too, calling someone a mug for the second consecutive movie. Could this be a new Christmas tradition?

This time, he’s a musical taxi operator who picks up Mr Sood, the newest interpretation 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 unfolds as the miserly Mr Sood is visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, played by Hugh Bonneville, Billy Porter, and Boy George.

This cultural adaptation is at least different from all the others, but unfortunately he’s not very compelling and Nayyar’s portrayal is flat—a major flaw when he’s so central to everything.

Festive score: 🎄🎄

12.04pm - Stuffed

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 is awarded an sizable holiday payout at work, his wife (played by Morgana Robinson) persuades him splurging the cash on a vacation to Lapland.

There’s just one issue—he finds out there was an mistake 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.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄

A Classy Netflix Romance

This is one of those holiday movies where the festive trappings are in the background—Christmas is the setting of the film rather than its core purpose—but it feels cosy and festive all the same.

Driven corporate star Sydney (starring Minka Kelly) is dispatched to a French chateau to secure an acquisition for a sparkling wine company. During her travels, she meets a fellow in a bookshop who offers to show her the holidays in the City of Light.

A critic recently claimed this is the best new Christmas film of the recent era. That’s a bit of a exaggeration, but it is a festive dalliance with a dash of elegance and gives the necessary heartwarming sensation.

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

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

A Charming Quest

Young 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 truth is to be discovered, and Chris ventures forth to find it with the assistance of a group of well-known experts and celebrities.

It’s understated but charming, and perfect viewing while waiting for Santa to visit.

Holiday verdict: 🎄🎄🎄

A Star-Studded Family Drama

Michelle Pfeiffer is the matriarch of a dysfunctional American family who gather for the holidays—including fellow 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 declaring: “They need to make a movie about the true heroes of the holidays—moms.”

So that’s the concept, but in execution it’s really a combination of those forerunner films, at least until Pfeiffer’s character eventually comes into her own.

Christmas tree rating: 🎄🎄

Evening: A Scottish Christmas Secret

The day’s gone downhill, but thankfully here’s a new addition in the saturated market of cliched, saccharine, over-the-top—and highly entertaining—holiday fare.

It’s a tale as well-worn: An American woman goes on a quest to a picturesque cold country and ends up discovering romance.

In this case, Caprice Bourret plays a publisher