The Nanny Diaries

The Nanny Diaries

    Because of my background in childcare, I was interested in seeing this movie. It looked cute and funny; it might even hit a little close to home. The movie is based on the book >>>"The Nanny Diaries"<<< that is written by two former nannies who cared for children in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Most of the material that is in the story is based an actual events that the authors heard from other nannies.

     The movie was unique from the very start, because Annie aspires to become an anthropologist and she sees her job as a field study and the Upper East Side her foreign land to discover and document. So everything is seen through the eyes of a researcher writing in a notebook and that made for a lot of hilarity. 

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Scarlett Johansson as Annie Braddock

     A college graduate from New Jersey, who has majored in Anthropology, Annie Braddock wants a job as soon as possible to get herself started in the world. The problem is...Annie doesn't really know what she wants to do, even as a college grad. So, after a failed job interview, Annie walks along the streets of Manhattan contemplating her life and her purpose in the world. 

     Then a happy accident happens and she is offered the role of a nanny for a socialite mother. As matter of fact she ends up getting quite a few job offers. Not knowing anything about childcare, Annie jumps in (without telling her ambitious mother who thinks she has gotten a job at the bank) and begins her summer as "Nanny."

   She thinks that childcare going to be easy and fun, but very quickly the words easy and fun become replaced with complicated and disastrous. She learns about the lives of other nannies who struggle with their difficult employers and have sacrificed much to care for privileged children who have everything but love. 

     Annie is kind, generous and very open, but can also be obstinate, headstrong, and judgmental. Her life with the family, known as the Xs and their son Grayer, gives her a very hard look at her life and what she should truly want from it. Does money and success lead to a happy life? Or does hard work and honesty have more to offer? Overtime, Annie realizes that life with Xs, that life lived on the top, is not the life for her, but she also understands that just because some people in that facet of society are a certain way doesn't mean that everyone is.

     

     Scarlett was amazing in this role!!! I loved her! She was just personable and lovable from the very beginning of the movie and you could really see the character development that Annie goes through. I wouldn't have really tagged her for a role like this, but she pulled it off flawlessly. She totally tapped into the childcare attitude. Which is unconditional love for the children you take care of and constant conflict with the parents.

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Laura Linney as Mrs. X

Paul Gimatti as Mr. X

     Annie refers to her employers as the Xs, because names could cause conflict with her "field study." These people are wealthy, popular, have a beautiful son (which they take no notice of), and seem to have it made, but as Annie realizes, they are completely miserable with each other.

     Mrs. X (who we later find out is Alexandra) may seem kind and composed while shopping in public, but as soon as she steps through the door of her swank apartment, she is a complete monster to her son and Annie. She is typical social climber who would rather get facials than eat lunch with her child and puts all her marital stress on the nanny. Her cold and callous nature stems from the pressure of the upper society to be bigger and better than everyone else.

     Mr. X is a philandering work....or more like affair...obsessed man who gives no time to his desperate wife and son. Selfish, rude and arrogant, Mr. X is the major reason why Mrs. X is the way that she is. He treats her with complete disrespect and her anger gets passed down to Grayer and Annie. Eventually you begin to pity his wife and the situation that she's in.

     Laura Linney and Paul Giamatti did a great job portraying these very incompatible partners in this very dysfunctional relationship. Laura played Mrs. X in a wide variety of emotions, causing people to loathe her one moment and then pity her the next. Paul Giamatti....was just a jerk...lets just leave in at that.

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Nicholas Art as Grayer X

      Grayer or Grover, his secret name given to him by Nanny, is a five 1/2 year old who is bright, witty, full of love and life, and anxious for his parents attention. All he gets from them is a slammed door in his face. So when Nanny shows up he has an immediate dislike of her, but overtime he grows to love her...more than his own parents. Grayer is the product of what is being known as white collar child neglect, which are children from upper class families who are left to the care of nannies and have parents who care nothing about them.

     Definitely one of the best characters in the story! Some of the funniest scenes have to do with Grayer and Annie as they get to know one another. Annie's love for Grayer is what keeps her their with the Xs and Grayer's love for Annie is what causes his mother to resent and dislike her even more. Grayer was a delightful lovable little boy that makes you want to love from the beginning to the move to the end.

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Chris Evans as Hayden 'Harvard Hottie'

     Chris Evans could have been an obvious hook for a 22 year old woman like me to watch the movie and his role in it was a worthwhile watch. Annie refers to Hayden as Harvard Hottie because her job requires her to be single and she believes that names are unimportant. Everytime Annie meets 'Harvard Hottie,' she is in the worst position you can imagine. Their first meeting is unfortunate to say the least, the second is just down right humiliating, but the third meeting is eye opening and causes him to want to know her more. 

     Annie stereotypes Harvard Hottie as a snobbish upper crust jerk who has (in her mind) lived a perfect charmed life, free from the stresses of the world. Harvard Hottie proves her wrong by telling her his life story which has been painful and lonely. Afterwards, Annie sees him as her salvation and the only reason to stay in Manhattan (with the exception of Grayer).

     Chris was charming and romantic in his own quirky humorous way. His and Annie's developing relationship provided much of the comic relief in the film. It was also wonderful to see how the more Annie got to know him, the more she began to understand herself and her place in the world.

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Alicia Keys as Lynette

     Annie's practical, no-nonsense best friend who thinks that Annie can do better than the life of a domestic. Lynette is the type of friend someone should have. She's honest, caring, and willing to help Annie out with her situations at last minute. Her calm presence and clear minded advice make Annie realize that her rash decision to take a nanny position may not have been the wisest, but that she may also end learning more about herself than she thought.

     Although I've only known Alicia Keys as a musical artist, I was really impressed with her as an actress. She had the same vibrant character that Scarlett has, just in a more subdued way!

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Grayer and Annie's first meeting in Central Park

     Eventually, Annie is fed up with the X's lifestyle and lets Mr. and Mrs. X have it through the lens of the 'nanny cam.' Disgusted and over their shallow living, Annie releases her anger and frustration on Mrs. X and her neglect of Grayer and on Mr. X and his treatment of his wife and son. Only then does Mrs. X realize how her selfish living is costing her more than money, but a relationship with her son.

     As a former childcare worker, I could really identify with Annie's ordeal of having to be the middleman between parents and children. I was glad that the book was written by former nannies who had experience with the life of the Upper East Side and get a real inside look at the difficulties people face inside their mansions.

     This has definitely become one of my favorite movies! It's funny and romantic, but there is a serious undertone of wealth and selfishness that comes from money and possessions. As Annie says to Grayer, "Money can buy you a lot of things, but it can never buy love."

Avengers Marriage

      Robert Downey Jr.s son, Exton Elias just turned one in February. Chris Hemsworth's daughter, India Rose will turn one in May...

And then a few years go by.... 

I mean, seriously, how cute?!?!

Visual Reality & Mental Reality

 

 

 

 

 When I watch I Spy (great movie!) with Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson,

This is the visual reality:

Eddie Murphy and Owen Wison in "I Spy"(2002)

 

 

This is the mental reality:

 

Spring Break!!!

                                    

     Yahhh! Spring break is finally here and I am so glad too; this semester has been much more difficult than last semester. I love school so much though, that I really can't complain too much about it. It's so hard to believe that I'm almost done, too! I might take summer classes...I don't know yet.

     Sadly, I've actually been sick for the last few days with a really bad cold. So I've been coughing and sneezing all over the place and it's so embarrassing and aggravating, because if there's one thing I cannot stand, it's sneezing. Also, I have come to find out in recent years that NyQuil has not affect on me, whatsoever. If I take NyQuil than I will be tossing and turning all night with fever dreams and that is absolute misery for me. Anyone who has had fever dreams may agree with me, it's terrible. It's been a slow process, but I am getting better : )

     On the flip side, Bella Rose over at >>>To Say Nothing of Reality<<< has quite a talent for making homemade music videos and made this wonderful Downton Abbey video for me, that's about Mary and Matthew Crawley! She did it to Bryan Adams "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)," which (for anyone who is a lover of Mary and Matthew) is absolutely perfect! Then she goes to tell me that she has never seen Downton Abbey! Has that for the intervention of fate?!

Someone from YouTube accused Bella of stealing their material and YouTube forced her to take the video down! So, sadly you can't see it, but it was beautiful.

     Thank you, Bella Rose! 

This is definitely one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done for me! 

      Sooo...as for plans for spring break...I don't really have anything...except for all the homework my English teacher gave me...and research for my argumentative paper, which is about women's rights in the Middle East and it really is quite difficult, but I'll get through. Oh yeah! I spent a good deal of my day (30 min.) last Saturday  posting the new movies that are coming out this summer! They're on the my left sidebar and if you click them, they'll link you to the individual movie page on IMDb that gives you all the information you need. My family and I are all big movie lovers and we love going to the theater. I think it's going to be a great movie summer and might even top last summer, which was an amazing year all around (seeing as Les Miserables and The Hobbit came out in December).

Iron Man 3/May 3

     The movie I most excited to see...probably Iron Man 3, seeing as Iron Man is my favorite super hero, (favorite Avenger at least; my favorite superhero is Professor X. from X-Men). I found out that he's Bella Rose's favorite too and so we spent the last couple of days in ridiculous fan-girl fervor...awesome : ) As a matter of fact, I'm going to continue doing the superhero movie reviews and my next one will be Iron Man, followed by Iron Man 2. So keep a look out for that in the next few days. I want to get those done before the third movie comes out. (I love doing movie reviews!!!)

     Alright! Get off the computer! Lunch and housework are calling!!!

~Ivy

Captain America: The First Avenger

     As one who has never been a big comic book fan, I only watched Captain America, because I enjoyed the fact that it took place during WWII. My brother had brought it home one night for a family movie and I thought, "Why not?"

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 Capt. Steve Rogers/Captain America

Chris Evans as Capt. Steve Rogers/Captain America

     In 1942, America is at war with Germany, patriotic spirit is high and every available young man is eager to sign up to fight for their country's freedom. Especially Steve Rogers...the only problem is he isn't soldier material...at least on the outside. He has a list of health problems, too small, too skinny, and just isn't the best man for the job. On the inside he has courage, compassion, honor, and an iron determination to do his part and fight. After failing to join the army for the fifth time, he is seen by a kindly German doctor, Abraham Erskine, who sees what he possesses internally and not what he lacks externally.

     Through a leap of faith, Erskine gets Steve into the army, but as a recruit for Scientific Strategic Reserve. He believes Steve to be a perfect candidate for a special super human testing that turns an ordinary man into an extraordinary man, to turn a soldier into a super soldier, but above all, to take good and make it better; not for ourselves, but for everyone around us. Afraid, but determined to do his part, Steve accepts, not knowing what the ending results will be.

     To everyone's shock and disbelief the super-soldier formula works and the once small, scrawny, unimportant little guy from Brooklyn turns into a tall, strong, and powerful soldier. Steve has abilities that are superhuman, but instead of enlisting him for military service, he becomes a showman under the name Captain America. Although, he is somewhat relieved to finally be doing something, Steve feels that he can do something more.

     When Steve discovers that his best friend, Bucky, is a POW in enemy territory, he defies orders and risks life and limb to rescue his childhood friend and over 300 other soldiers in the 107th regiment, and comes face to face with his worst enemy of all, Red Skull. There he is finally in the war zone and has found that his superhuman powers are truly meant for something more, that he is meant for something so much more.

     I have to admit, I kind of...sort of...fell in love with Steve Rogers...I mean he is too good to be true, but at the same time there is a reality to his story. He wasn't born with a perfect body, but his heart was honorable, he wasn't born with superhuman strength, but his strength of character was so much stronger, he wasn't born with incredible speed, but his courage kept him from running away from war.

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Johann Schmidt/The Red Skull

Hugo Weaving as Johann Schmidt/The Red Skull

  

   I have seen a lot of frightening villains, but this one was nothing short of terrifying! Johann Schmidt is a part of the inner Nazi Research Division HYDRA. His mission is to tract down artifacts with supposed mystic powers to be used for Nazi intelligence. Schmidt is mainly after the tesseract, a legendary Norse relic that possesses an extraordinary amount of energy than can be limitless in its uses. Schmidt will stop at nothing to find and capture the relic, but more than anything, he wants complete possession of absolute superhuman power. 

     He is as evil as evil can get. He has no heart, no moral conscience, no code of conduct that he lives by. When Schmidt got a hold of the super-soldier formula before it was done with its testing, the formula backfires causing terrible burns throughout his face and body. His real appearance is now a bright red deathlike skeleton that reflects the evil inside and out. The formula also amplifies whatever characteristics the person had and in Schmidt's case, who was already power hungry and evil, he become even more power hungry and evil.

     Johann Schmidt's lust for power to be used for evil and selfish gain is the utter antithesis of Captain America, who uses power for good and to protect others. It's a recurring theme throughout the story, is complete power used for good and for evil? Can what is bad become worse and what is good become better?

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Agent Peggy Carter

Hayley Atwell as Agent Peggy Carter

 

    When I saw Peggy's appearance in the movie for the first time, I was surprised to find that they would have a female (as well as a British) soldier on the front lines. Then upon the realization that Peggy wasn't a soldier, but a reconnaissance worker and field agent for Britain, it made more sense to me. Aside from Dr. Erksine, Peggy is the only person who sees any potential in Steve before he is brought in for the experiments. She is actually charmed by his gentlemanly manner and sees the hero's heart in him.

     What I loved most about Peggy, though, was her never-ending drive in the work that she did. A woman with many talents and gifted leadership abilities, Peggy's calm and clear presence in the throws of the war is a relieving effect for Steve. She encourages him to think outside of the rules and restrictions of army life and see that there is more to winning a war than with guns and machines, but rather with friendship, bravery, and love.

     A rare combination of beauty and intelligence that coincides with kindness and courage, made Peggy Carter one of the most enjoyable, as well as enviable, heroines in the Marvel movie series. Her romantic relationship with Steve is strained because of the war, but she hopes that maybe... possibly she may be his right partner for a dance, for the war, and for life.

~ ~ ~

Doctor Abraham Erksine

Stanley Tucci as Doctor Abraham Erksine

 

     I have noticed a recurring theme in the Marvel movies. Usually before our heroes become heroes, there is a mentor/father figure that lead them to the path that they are meant be on. With Tony Stark it was Dr. Yinsen who helped him create what would eventually become Iron Man and whose dying words were for him to value his life. For Thor, it was Dr. Erik Selvigg, who not only got him out of trouble with S.H.I.E.L.D. but taught him that true honor is found through sacrifice of oneself for others. 

     Now, in the case of Steve Rogers, whose own father died on the battlefield in WWI, Dr. Erksine sees potential to become a  great soldier while remaining a good man. He of all people would know the consequences of doing the right thing. He was originally a brilliant German scientist who was commissioned by Schmidt to create the serum for Hydra, but refused to finish it due to what serum had done Schmidt before it was even finished. After that, Dr. Erksine become a fugitive running from Schmidt and Hydra.

     One can safely say, that without Dr. Erksine, there would be no Captain America. He knew the pain and agony of being judged by outward appearances and not by what was truly inside. Sometimes in life, we come across ordinary people who believe in ordinary ideals, but when these ideals are used in extreme situations, they may not seem so ordinary. Dr. Erksine proved that with Steve Rogers who proved that with becoming Captain America.

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Colonel Chester Phillips

Tommy Lee Jones as Colonel Chester Phillips

  

    As soon as Tommy Lee Jones appeared, I immediately knew that this was going to be a great movie. As usual, he was the needed comic relief for the film. As the creator of  the Scientific Strategic Reserve, Col. Phillips is at constant odds with Dr. Erksine's request to recruit Steve as a candidate for the super-soldier formula. Even when the formula comes our with fantastic results, Col. Phillips still refuses to let Steve fight and believes he is better off in a science lab. After Steve proves him wrong and delivers the rest of the 107th back to allied territory, Col. Phillips gives him the go ahead to become an army captain, while still remaining the status of Captain America.

     Without a doubt, Col. Phillips had the best lines in the movie! These are some of my favorites.

"If you have something to say, right now's a perfect time to keep it to yourself."-- to Peggy Carter

"Look at that. He's makin' me cry." --[looking at Steve's best effort but belabored execution to do jumping jacks] 

"Our goal is to create the best army in history, but every army starts with one man. At the end of this week, we will choose that man. He will be the first in a new breed of super-soldier. You may personally escort Adolf Hitler through the gates of Hell." --to the new recruits at The Scientific Strategic Reserve.

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James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes

Sebastian Shaw as James "Bucky" Barnes

 

      Steve Roger's loyal and protective best friend who is everything Steve is not. When Bucky is held captive in a POW camp in Austria, Steve's only motive is to rescue his best friend who had always rescued him. Every story needs a good companion and every hero needs a loyal best friends that believes in the strengths that no one else may see. Bucky was the epitome of the honorable best friend who, although shocked at first at Steve's drastic change, fought alongside his best friend no matter what the outcome may have been.

~ ~ ~

Howard Stark

Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark

   

  If the last name didn't tell you anything, this dashing young man becomes the father of Tony Stark and the creator of Stark Enterprises. For now, he is a brilliant scientist with head full of ideas for a better tomorrow. Like his son, Howard can be rash, a little reckless, has no regard for the rules (the only reason he stays on good terms with Col. Phillips is because of his money) and full of himself because of his incredible talent, but is by no means as arrogant and self-centered as Tony is. Reason being, was that he was in war and the last person someone needs to be thinking about in a country's time of need is themselves.

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Captain America: The First Avenger

  

   What this movie captured the most was the real essence of a WWII action film. It was in the costumes, the set designs, the music, and even the lighting gave it an old-fashioned quality and you immediately get into the feel of the patriotic spirit. While I was watching it, I would sometimes forget that it was a super hero movie and find myself thinking that it was an actual film about WWII, that tells you how into it I was! Of all the Marvel movies that have been made, I believe this one to be its absolute finest.

~ ~ ~

     As Steve Rogers continues his affiliation with S.H.I.E.L.D and struggles to embrace his role in the modern world, he's reunited with James 'Bucky' Barnes, who is now brainwashed Russian assassin known as the 'Winter Soldier'.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

 

"Your roguish eye, a glance it darts, and around falls a shower of hearts. I've prayed to good St. Valentine, You keep the one I called mine."

~A Prayer to St. Valentine.

~ ~ ~

"A Flower cannot blossom without sunshine and a man cannot live without love."

~Max Muller

Edit:

I found this quiz on >>>Downton Abbey Addicts<<<

Which Downton Abbey Couple Are You? 

 

Anna & Bates

 

You may not call your man "Mr." but your relationship is most like Anna and Bates'! You have stood by your man with unswerving devotion and been a true partner, helping him through his hardships. Both of you want the best for each other and are willing to sacrifice your own happiness for the other. But if you're blessed with, finally, a bit of good fortune, neither of you should have to sacrifice happiness. May you continue to find it in each other!

Click on the banner to take the quiz!

All The Single Ladies Blog Party ~ Day Seven

Hey Soul Sister

     I have four sisters and I'm right in the middle of them, as well as in the middle of four boys and the middle of nine children. So basically, this is how my family goes:  

Girl, Girl, Boy, Boy, Girl (me), Boy, Boy, Girl, Girl

     Crazy? Pretty much. Everyone in my family has always had their own little buddy system going on since they came into the world. I'm seven years younger than the sister before me and seven years older than the sister after me, even crazier sometimes. I'm close to my sisters, but we have never been like really super tight with one another. We all definitely need our personal space!

     As I've said before, I don't really have a lot of friends. Friends came in and out of my life like the changing seasons. We would have great times together and then they would always go off and find someone else; it would hurt sometimes, but I got use to it. That's probably why I'm such a private person, because I've never really had anyone to share my personal feelings to.

     Even though I enjoyed my teenage years, high school was very difficult for me. I was homeschooled and so I had little to no social interaction outside of my own household. All the interaction I got was at my church. Between the ages of about 13 to 15 was my hardest time, because I was just entering into high school and therefore I would be attending youth group. My church youth group wasn't bad, but it wasn't easy to break into either, because almost every teenager in the church went to the same Christian school. Oh yeah, this was also when the minority of homeschooling was at 1% and me being that part of that one. So, I was literally the only homeschooled kid in youth group whereas all the other kids knew each other from school.

    It really was a difficult time for me, but then we went to another church and it got slightly better. Notice, I used the word slightly. By that time I accepted the fact that I probably never have a real best friend. Then I saw "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" in December 2004 and everything changed for me.

     In 2006, I was watching TLLW on DVD when I had the idea to write a fan-fiction about Edmund. It was as simple as that. So I sat down at the computer and I began to write. I wanted other people to read it, so in November, I got a Xanga account (by that time Facebook was just becoming popular) and started to post my story there.

     At the time I was taking an art class for homeschoolers and it was one of the most enjoyable classes I have ever had. I had so much fun there! (sorry I'm a little reminiscent). Anyway, we had started talking about writing and I had mentioned that I was writing a Narnia fan-fiction. One of the girls there (who bore a striking resemblance to Anna Popplewell) was curious about them and so I gave her the link to my site.

       On Monday, February 26, 2007 I received this in my comment feed:

     

Hi! Sarah Hartung told me about your xanga...she said we have a lot in common and I would agree from reading your profile. By the way, I know Sarah because she is my cousin's cousin, if that makes any sense. Anyway you can ask her exactly how we know each other. God Bless!

Posted 2/26/2007 9:56 PM by Whereforeartthouromeo 

     That was posted by Celeste White who was a fourteen year old from Lothian, Maryland. I replied back to her comment and I was never the same again. In less than a couple of weeks it will be six years since I read that comment. Six years that Celeste and I have been friends. Here's the twist, she and I have never met face to face, not once. Over the years we have tried to meet, but it never worked out. As a matter of fact when we first met online, I wasn't holding out much hope, but then we started to write letters and then talk on the phone. Our relationship just grew and grew.

     Celeste and I are very similar and we are also very different. I like to say that we are different enough to find each other interesting, but similar enough to understand one another. I'm a Protestant and she's a Catholic. She is surrounded by her extended family and I only have my immediate family. She's a dancer and I'm a writer. Where I can be melancholy and a introvert, she is very outgoing. Oh yeah, and we tend to have very different taste in men too.

Examples:

I say Sherlock, she says Watson (Sherlock BBC series)

I say Capt. Kirk, she says Dr. McCoy (Star Trek 2009)

I say King Caspian, she says King Edmund (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of The Dawn Treader 2011)

     And somehow she believes that her choices are so superior to mine. The only two men she and I have ever agreed on are Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman. Which is all right with me.

     Celeste has been a constant and unwavering support in my life. She came to me in a time where I desperately needed someone to rely on, to talk to, and to just generally care. When I talk to Celeste, I have complete faith in the fact that she is generally interested in me and my life (which has always been a rarity with me) and I don't have to feign interest to know about her.

     Both of us are huge "Anne of Green Gables" lovers and so we often like to say that we are kindred spirits and I honestly believe that to be true.