Mabel
Nicholas Ma‘s darling coming-of-age film Mabel follows Callie, a 6th-grade botany-obsessed girl who struggles to adjust to her family’s move.
Callie is a genuinely confident and incredibly intelligent tween. Her exasperation with life feels warranted as she navigates starting a new school and the subtle racism from the adults. Feeling uninspired by those around her, Callie sneaks into an 8th-grade science class taught by a spitfire, long-term substitute. She sees an opportunity to connect through her passion, but finds growing up more challenging than growing plants.
Callie’s closest ally is her fern, Mabel. She would rather focus on plants than peers, making it difficult to accept anyone’s attempt to push her beyond her comfort zone. Her parents are doing their best, but Callie’s stubbornness and outright sass offer both laughs and frustration. When she tries to entice Ms. G with an experiment, Callie learns that loyalty and friendship must be carefully cultivated, and even then, it’s up to nature.
Judy Greer is a gem. Having worked with and for scientists, Greer nails the bluntness and often curt tone in Ms. G’s delivery. It’s a performance that wins in its specificity. Newcomer Lexi Perkel‘s raw turn will undoubtedly hit the core of anyone raising a headstrong leader. Perkel settles easily into Callie’s hyper focus. You can see the light in her eyes as the two become one. Perkel is so effortless, you’d think she were the subject of a documentary. 
Mabel struggles slightly with pacing, even at a satisfying 84-minute runtime, but its relatable storytelling keeps it a breezy watch. Anyone who has ever felt different, misunderstood, or any parent of a child on the spectrum (even though Callie is specifically not) will relate to the desire to find connection and genuine friendship. Mabel is a solid family film.
Mabel Trailer:
MABEL Opens in New York at the Cinema Village on April 17
Directed by Nicholas Ma
Written by Nicholas Ma & Joy Goodwin
Produced by Ben Howe, Luca Borghese, & Helen Estabrook
Executive Produced by Jennifer Westphal, Joe Plummer, Bill Helman, John Boccardo, Derek Esplin, Duane Fernandez, Rebecca Fernandez, & Clara Wu
Starring Judy Greer, Christine Ko, Lexi Perkel & Quincy Dunn-Baker*Official Selection – 2024 San Francisco Film Festival*
Biracial Callie (Lexi Perkel) loves trees and plants and little else in Nicholas Ma’s warm debut feature. Surly with her parents and intolerant of people who don’t share her interests, she’s also unhappy about changing middle schools after her family relocates.
But as luck would have it, substitute teacher Ms. G (Judy Greer) is starting a botany unit in a high school science class, and Callie wangles her way in. Held rapt by Ms. G’s lectures and online speeches, Callie develops an experiment raising chrysanthemums in darkness and manages to lure Agnes, her ebullient younger neighbor, into working on the project with her. Precocious, determined, and wryly funny, Callie is a unique protagonist who leverages her love of botany to propel herself into adolescence.
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come
Has a sequel ever been more fun? It’s a question worth sitting with, because the answer is almost certainly no.
Maybe it’s the sheer zaniness of the premise that makes expansion feel so natural. A woman marries into a cursed dynasty of obscene wealth, survives a wedding-night blood sport orchestrated in service of the devil, and then because the universe has a cruel sense of humor gets pulled right back in when the ruling families of the satanic council scramble to fill a vacant seat of power. The countdown starts again. There is a new estate. This one has a casino.
Perfectly blending horror and comedy once again, the film hits the ground running and does not relent for 108 minutes. Notably, it even manages some genuinely touching moments between sisters before hurling you back into the gleefully unhinged action, a trick that requires real skill to pull off without breaking the spell.
Fantasy Life
Sam finds musician David’s absence a subconscious excuse for connecting with the beautiful but aloof Dianne. As the months roll on, Dianne is working out her midlife crisis shit with Sam as her newfound bestie. Crashing out, and rightfully so, over aging, a waning acting career, and deepening depression. Sam, managing the eclectic needs of the three girls, a seemingly narcissistic husband, and his own feelings of inadequacy, must navigate new feelings and old fears.
Something that really stood out to me from an acting and writing standpoint in Fantasy Life warrants a mention. Eating scenes are actually quite rare in film. I don’t mean sitting at a table doing dialogue, I mean actually consuming food as the actors speak. It’s one of the most natural actions in our everyday lives, but we don’t often get treated to genuine relationship-building when actors have their mouths full of food. That simple and very specific choice by Shear has such an impact. It solidifies an immediate intimacy between Sam and Dianne. Bravo.
For all the reasons, Shear and Peet have the most electric chemistry. They share a beautiful, “will they, won’t they” energy, far beyond the trope itself. It’s so very easy.
Jordan Dulieu (Danny) gives us an emo rocker heartthrob and villainous mayhem with equal fire. He is genuinely mesmerizing. Avalon Fast (Gen) is great. Her delivery is so natural, you might think she’s in a documentary. Alexandra McVicker (Anna) brings innocent ingénue energy. The three have stellar chemistry. I not-so-secretly wanted a threesome scene between them. Shout out to Intimacy Coordinator, Zoe Taylor, for the overall hotness. 
MacKay has a neon-saturated visual calling card and always provides a kick-ass soundtrack. Another genius collab with 
SXSW 2026 true-crime doc I Got Bombed at Harvey’s tells the off-the-wall tale of a casino, a ransom note, a homemade bomb with 1000 pounds of dynamite, and 24 hrs. Your jaw will drop as one absolute narcissistic lunatic’s spiral brings his kids down with him.
Juliane Dressner and Miriam Shor bring SXSW 2026 audiences the brave stories of three people living with the daunting realities of Nondisclosure Agreements. The My NDA begins with each of our subjects, and the look of pure fear on their faces as a lawyer tells them that breaking their silence could lead to financial ruin.
![The Peril at Pincer Point (2026) - [www.imdb.com]](https://i0.wp.com/reelnewsdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Peril-at-Pincer-Point-2026-www.imdb_.com_-e1774014647397.png?resize=577%2C882&ssl=1)
The Peril at Pincer Point
The dialogue is outrageously offensive and damn funny. My guess is that they’re closer to reality than comedy since people are assholes, but I digress. The music is delicious. Fantasy sequences are action-packed shenanigans, akin to Everything Everywhere All At Once. Leading man, screenwriter, and showrunner Ash T absolutely kills it playing Raag. Not a single millisecond of hesitation in this absurdist performance; this is star-making stuff of the gods. The plot twist is out of left field, but that’s a complete compliment. I have to know what happens to Raag once the credits roll. I’m going to need HBO to pay attention because Son of a Bikram deserves all the money and every minute of an audience’s attention.
In Lauren Noll’s SXSW 2026 dramedy, Same Same But Different, we follow three Persian childhood friends: a personal trainer, a lawyer, and an aspiring writer, grappling with identity and their ever-evolving relationships.
SXSW 2026 Watchlist
In Cold Light
Hellbent on backsliding into her old ways, Ava’s tough exterior hides a chasm of wounds. As her brother softens to her requests for drug connections, all hell breaks loose when she becomes a target and scapegoat for murder. Now, with the innocent lives of her family members in harm’s way, Ava must decide who she can trust and how far she will go to bargain for their safety.
Oscar winner
While the “why” takes longer to get to than I would have liked, and feels somewhat disjointed, In Cold Light is a definitive, gritty crime thriller. Helen Hunt briefly appears, and introducing her sooner would change everything. Both the editing and handheld camerawork are hypnotic. But it’s the visceral father-daughter dynamic that gets under your skin and stays there. Screenwriter Patrick Whistler delivers unresolved trauma on an astonishing level. Monroe and Kotsur make an undeniably compelling duo. I would love to see them back together, doing anything literally.
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