KANSAS CITY, Kan. (BP)--Crude comedies and end-of-the-world actioneers dominated the box office in 2009.

Missing was the spiritual poignancy found in past dramas like "Schindler's List" and "Dead Man Walking." Absent were guileless comedies such as 1965's sight gag festooned "The Great Race," or the droll, anecdotal-laced standup concert "Bill Cosby: Himself."

This decade's redesigning of the comedy genre continued in '09 with witless and coarse examples, as in the case of "Year One," a film that didn't visit just the toilet for its humor, but also the sewer. And satires like "Thank You For Smoking" and "Dr. Strangelove" were morphed into the likes of "The Men Who Stare At Goats," a mindless mess that caused this critic to wonder if it weren't just the film's protagonists ingesting LSD.

Hollywood's movie-making strength was revealed through documentaries and animation. With exceptions, most everything else seemed populated by people who made a lot more money than their artistry deserved. Indeed, after "Land of the Lost," Will Ferrell owes us all.

Allow your humble movie correspondent to spotlight a few films I believe uplifted the spirit as well as entertained. Before renting them, please visit previewonline.org for full reviews and the reasons for their ratings. As to Hollywood's worst of 2009, the industry continued its attack on people of faith, and worse, its irreverence for our Creator. I'll include the most offending offenders so you can be warned as they make their way onto video store shelves. But first ...

THE BEST MOVIES OF 2009

-- "The Blind Side" (Rated PG-13 for some language, one scene involving brief violence, drug and sexual references). It's not cynical or profane, the leads aren't dysfunctional, and what's this, could many of the main characters actually be Christians? The film's subject, a wealthy family take in a homeless youth, is handled with a blend of humor and pathos, giving audiences a funny, sensitive and uplifting night at the cinema. It stars the gifted Sandra Bullock, who, alas, also gave us this year's worst film, "All About Steve."

-- "Earth" (G). Narrated by James Earl Jones, Disney's nature documentary tells the remarkable story of three animal families and their journeys across this planet we share. Mesmerizing, the visuals alone are breathtaking, as the documentarians approach the wonder of our world with the same magic and majesty found in "March of the Penguins" and "Winged Migration." With scale and drama the production follows five main topics: the Earth and the sun, great migrations, adaptation and habitat, predators and prey, and life cycles. A picture is worth a thousand words and a thousand pictures are mind-blowing.