Although Costner's later films were awful, I actually thought "Dances With Wolves" was terrific when it came out - actually, an almost perfect movie. I realize as time passes, a lot of the sentiment appears naive.
But it's one of the last films about which I would say you HAVE to see it on the big screen with no interruptions. If you watch it chopped up on TV, or even on DVD, you're not getting anywhere near the full impact.
Of the films currently out, the one you need to see is "Crash." Yes, some of it depends too much on coincidence, and there is the occasional false scene, but it's extremely, extremely powerful.