Remember the Titans—Give this Denzel Washington flick a miss. Disney manages to Disney-fy racial relations, and in doing so polishes off anything that looks like a rough edge. The characters are fabulous—as in of or like a fable—and the plot is so predictable and trite that you wouldn’t miss a thing if you walked out halfway through.

Malcolm X—This film, Spike Lee’s pride and joy, is a particularly moving portrayal of the controversial black leader, Malcolm X. Denzel Washington makes for a charismatic, yet very intense, figure. The film is a little stilted, but overall quite well done.