Avatar: Still a Groundbreaker in CGI, but Not in Story
I suppose you could argue that the story wasn’t what Director James Cameron was aiming for, it was the visuals. The spectacle of it all was the point, and it certainly shows.

Former national Aussie Football player Ledge had to quit the sport due to injury and started a fine career as police detective. He gets injured in a case. However IA, which always considered him the commissioner's pet, investigates against him. His old mate and competent lawyer Andy Grace gets him off, after which he retires honorably. However the criminals decide to set them up, using crafty underage homeless pickpocket The Kid. The gang has hidden ramifications.
I suppose you could argue that the story wasn’t what Director James Cameron was aiming for, it was the visuals. The spectacle of it all was the point, and it certainly shows.
"Warrior" is a Bruce Lee written and inspired story that follows a diverse cast of Chinese American characters and does a terrific job of setting the story in 1878 San Francisco - all without pulling their punches with the systemic racism, discrimination, and struggle for power that old and young immigrants that crossed the country at that time had to go through.
When it comes the horror genre, I am VERY hard to please or impress, much less scare. Coming from a current mindset of appreciation for chilling, unsettling, tension-inducing efforts such as "Hereditary", "The Conjuring" (ONLY the first one to date, mind you), "Lights Out", "The Babadook", "Midsommar", "Talk To Me", "Oddity", "Bring Her Back", and the like
Movies also have the ability to make the audience think deeper about an issue that plagues society. "Blindspotting" does that without shying away from the intense reality of police brutality and racial discrimination.
A documentary film about a disabled female athlete who builds courage within herself and seeks faith.
This HBO mini-series asks why a young white man turned to violence and finds no easy answers. But why do we only ask questions about certain kinds of killers?