Octavia Spencer

See Guillermo del Toro’s latest monster in his full scaly glory in the red band trailer for the R-rated fairy tale, ‘The Shape of Water.’

Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water is already making waves since its Venice Film Festival debut, with early reactions indicating that it’s yet another masterpiece from one of our best, most unusual directors. if you’re just dying to see more than a trailer for this movie, good news: Fox has released the first clip from the movie today, introducing us to our heroine, our villain, and one weird-looking fish-man.

Whether it’s horror, fairy tale, or a superhero movie, getting inside the mind of Guillermo del Toro is always a welcomed breaks from reality. Following the ghostly Crimson Peak, the filmmaker is returning to a more Pan’s Labyrinth-esque creature feature with The Shape of Water, though this latest film looks noticably less freaky than that 2006 favorite.

Through all his ups and downs in a career spanning several decades, Guillermo del Toro holds just one Academy Award nomination, for the screenplay of Pan’s Labyrinth from 2006. From the looks of things, del Toro may be hunting some new Oscar nominations in the very near future, as his next project has just landed a very awards-friendly release date.

We’ve had a few weeks off from SNL, and considering Hidden Figures star Octavia Spencer will make her hosting debut this weekend, we’d forgive some unfamiliarity with the 30 Rockefeller Plaza studios. So it is with Spencer’s first promos, which bring a familiar face behind the desk from SNL’s Weekend Update glory days.

SNL didn’t quite have its ducks in a row with the announcement that Hidden Figures star Octavia Spencer would lead the first March show; lacking a musical guest to accompany. Now, not only has NBC filled out the March 4 dance card, but so too will Scarlett Johannson make a return appearance the following week.

Only a half-hour into Alec Baldwin’s SNL return, and March might be ready to top it. NBC has announced the first official SNL host of March 2017, setting Hidden Figures star Octavia Spencer to make her hosting debut.

Like many American moviegoers, I caught the new film Hidden Figures over the weekend. And throughout the true-to-life account of three pioneering women of color that broke boundaries at NASA, one thought kept reoccurring to me (well, two, if you count my realization that I am deeply in love with Janelle Monae): that much like the Wu-Tang, Hidden Figures is for the children. The story’s prevailing message that gender or skin color shouldn’t hinder anyone from achieving excellence is precisely what the youth in this country need, arguably now more than ever. The one problem, of course, is the astronomical price of a movie ticket — not everybody wants to or is able to shell out $15 for a day at the movies.

What does God look like? It’s an eternal question with which fiction has tussled on plenty of occasions, from the standard-issue “bearded white guy clad in flowing robe” to the off-beat “wordless flower child Alanis Morisette” to the factually accurate “Morgan Freeman chilling.” The upcoming faith-based drama The Shack takes a rather unusual tack in its depiction of the Lord; the film adapted from William P. Young’s best-selling novel splits the divine presence into the Trinity, with Jesus Christ as a carpenter of Middle Eastern descent, the Holy Spirit as a meek Asian-American woman named Sarayu, and God portrayed by none other than Octavia goddamn Spencer. Let the record show — God’s real, she’s black, and she’s got an Oscar.

There are few things I’m more excited about right now than the start of Janelle Monae’s acting career. The R&B funk singer made her big screen debut earlier this year in Barry Jenkins Moonlight, which she is wonderful in, and next up she’ll crack some quips in Theodore Melfi’s Hidden Figures. That film, which also stars Taraji P. Henson and Octavia Spencer, is the next thing I’m most excited about.