Halle Berry won a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Dorothy Dandridge in this engrossing biopic. As the first black performer to be nominated for a Best Actress Oscar back in 1954, Dandridge should have had the world at her feet, but a combination of racism, treachery, drugs and her own weakness saw her career and life ruined. Not exactly a barrel of laughs, painting as it does a shocking portrait of the racism rife in '50s Hollywood, but fascinating stuff. find out more...

Spike Lee's mainstream take on the ex-petty crook turned Islamic preacher and leading 60s Civil Rights spokesman Malcolm X. Washington's performance is riveting in this epic. find out more...

A mesmerising dramatisation of one of the kings, Ray Charles. Unsurprisingly the soundtrack is pure bliss, but it is Jamie Foxx in the title role that pulls everything together, an hypnotic performance of a music legend, through all his highs and lows, and one of those increasingly rare examples of a leading actor Oscar that actually makes sense. find out more...