The Driftwood #42: Movie Recs

Taylor Swift Movies

When most people think of Taylor Swift, the first thing that comes to mind is her music, and rightfully so. She is an amazing musician who has made herself an icon through her profoundly relatable lyrics and wide range of genres to choose from. While she is a musician first and foremost, Swift has ventured into Hollywood a few times (six to be exact) and has been in some great projects as well as a few rougher ones (*cough cough* Cats 2019 *cough*). In celebration of her upcoming new album The Tortured Poets Department, this edition of the Driftwood will be highlighting some of the films Taylor Swift has been in that are definitely worth a watch.

The Lorax

The Lorax posterBased on the book by Dr. Seuss, The Lorax is a musical movie that is perfect for family movie nights. The story follows a boy named Ted (voiced by Zac Efron) who lives in a world where there is no more nature and everything around him is artificial. They even have to buy fresh air in bottles because of how polluted the world has become! When Ted finds out his crush Audrey (Swift’s character), dreams of seeing a real tree, he decides he is going to get her one. He sneaks out of town to go visit a mysterious man named The Onceler, who is said to be the only person who knows what happens to the trees. The man tells Ted about the mythic creature called the Lorax who is the protector of the forest and tells him the story of where all the trees went.

Unfortunately for Ted, Aloysius O’Hare, the CEO of the biggest fresh-air retailer, finds out about his excursions outside of the city and decides he needs to stop Ted from bringing back trees and eliminating the need for people to buy his air. Will Ted be able to get a real tree, or will O’Hare get to him before he can? Available on Amazon Prime and Freevee.

The Giver

The Giver posterThe Giver is a story about a dystopian society based on the novel of the same title by author Lois Lowry. Within this society, the citizens have no memory of the past and are controlled in every aspect of their lives. They are told who they will marry, assigned children who have been genetically perfected, forced to take daily injections for their health, and assigned what job they will have for the rest of their lives. There is no music, no art, no literature, no emotion, not even color! Their world is completely black and white.

The main character Jonas is finally old enough to get his job assignment, along with the rest of his peers. Things don’t go as he would expect when he is seemingly skipped over during the assignments. He is finally given the job of being the Receiver of Memory, a job that is very seldom assigned. With his new role, he ventures off to begin his training with a man who tells Jonas to call him the Giver. This man tells Jonas that his job is to hold all the memories of the world, including those from the time before their society. He learns of color, music, dancing, exploration, love, and so much more. The days he spends learning from the Giver start to change how he sees the world he lives in, and he decides things should go back to how they once were. Will Jonas be able to restore humanity to its more colorful and vibrant past? Why did the leaders of this society take away all the memories in the first place?

You may be saying, “Wait, you didn’t mention Taylor,” and you would be right. To tell you who she plays would be a spoiler for the movie, so you will simply have to watch and find out! Available on Netflix, Hulu, Max, Amazon Prime, and Pluto TV.

—Payton Rhyner, Movies Editor 

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