This is a good, solid (and now Oscar-nominated) movie. But what keeps it from rising to the level of a truly great film is the subdued tone of almost all the acting. It's as if director Ava DuVernay were afraid of being melodramatic and took things too far in the other direction. More fire, less restraint would have done a world of good. Still, while some of the actors flounder (Tom Wilkinson and Tim Roth, usually so reliable, seem ill at ease), David Oyelowo and Carmen Ejogo create indelible portrayals of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Coretta Scott King. Their performances breathe with vivid life. And this story - of the Selma voter registration protests and the fight against racial inequity in the 1960s - resonates powerfully today.

- KRISTINA DORSEY