Category: Movies

“Now imagine she’s white.”

From: A Time To Kill

Genre: Movies/Books

Who said it?: Jake Brigance

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the film A Time to Kill, which is based on the John Grisham book of the same name. The film and the book is the tale of Jake Brigance, a white attorney who was hired to defend Carl Lee Hailey, a black man who shot and killed two men who raped his daughter.

The quote comes from the very end of the film. Jake Brigance (played by Matthew McConaughey) tells the jury to close their eyes while he narrates the horrors Carl Lee Hailey’s daughter had to endure during her rape. He describes every thing in brutal detail and he asks the jury if they can see the little girl in their minds. This is when the lawyer delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: We tend to have a bias on how similar things are to what we are. This is generally normal but this is also the root of many prejudices around the world. However, when we really get down to things, we are all the same because we are all human beings and should be treated as equals.

Any form of persecution, prejudice and discrimination is wrong.

“There are simply too many notes.”

From: Amadeus

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Emperor Joseph II

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes the Academy Award nominated picture Amadeus. The film is about the life and times of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It is told from the point of view of another composer Antonio Salieri (played by F. Murray Abraham), who after attempting to commit suicide, talks to a priest to “confess” his involvement in Mozart’s death.

The quote comes after Mozart (played by Tom Hulce) plays one of his pieces for Emperor Joseph II (played by Jeffrey Jones), a ruler that prides himself on being a great musician when he really isn’t. While the Emperor is pleased with Mozart’s work, he does have one issue with his composition…

Geek wisdom: There are always going to be people critical of what you do and the results you’ve achieved. However, just because they feel the need to criticize, that doesn’t necessarily mean they know what is actually good and what is bad. There are going to always be people that think they are the authority on a subject when they actually know nothing about it. It can be hard to spot these people but, when you do, you shouldn’t listen to them.

We should be open to criticism. However, he have to make sure we listen to the right kind of criticism (the ones that helps us to improve) and the ones coming from the right kind of people (the ones that actually know what they’re talking about).

“The Dude abides.”

From: The Big Lebowski

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the cult classic comedy film, The Big Lebowski. The film was written by the Coen Brothers and stars Jeff Bridges as slacker Jeffrey Lebowski, more commonly known as “The Dude.” In the movie, The Dude and his friends get into several misadventures that lead to some rather hilarious scenes. Despite being a flop at the box office, the film had a major resurgence of popularity once it hit home video as The Dude’s personality and surreal story struck a chord with people.

The quote comes from the very end of the film. The Dude is participating in the semi-finals of a bowling tournament when he encounters the film’s narrator (played by Sam Elliot). The Dude chats with the guy. The narrator tells The Dude to “take it easy” but he already knows The Dude will because of his personality. That’s when The Dude turns around and delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: Life has a way to throwing us curve balls from time to time. These are usually the times when it becomes easy to get frustrated with the world. We have to realize that we cannot control everything and we just have to relax and go with the flow. We have to let things go and just move forward.

“Oh yes, the past can hurt. But, you can either run from it or learn from it.”

From: The Lion King

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Rafiki

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the Disney classic, The Lion King. The film focuses on Simba, a young lion who, after being tricked by his uncle into believing he is the cause of his father’s death, exiles himself. He then realizes the deception and returns to reclaim his kingdom. The movie has become one of Disney’s most beloved movies and has been re-released in theaters and has become the basis of several sequels, cartoon series and even a Broadway musical.

The quote comes near the end of The Lion King. Simba (voiced by Matthew Broderick) is now an adult but is wary of going back because he still believes he is the reason why his father is dead. The shaman monkey, Rafiki (voiced by Robert Guillaume) then conks Simba on the head. Simba asks why Rafiki did it because it hurts. That’s when the wise monkey delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: We all have something that we’ve done that we have regretted. We’ve all committed these mistakes and that’s totally fine. However, if we keep on doing these mistakes, that’s when it becomes bad. We can either learn from the past or be doomed to repeat our mistakes.

“I don’t want to survive. I want to live.”

From: 12 Years a Slave

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Solomon Northup

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the Academy Award winning film and 2014 Best Picture awardee, 12 Years A Slave. The film is based on the memoirs of Solomon Northup, a free African-American carpenter, skilled violinist and family man, who is living in New York, is kidnapped and sold into slavery. The film details the hardships Solomon Northup had to endure before his freedom was secured after 12 years.

The quote comes fairly early in the film. A group of slaves are contemplating to fight their way to freedom but others have reservations as it would probably mean their deaths if they did decide to push through with it. Solomon (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor), in despair, recalls his life as a free man just a few days ago. It is at this moment he delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: There is a difference between being alive and actual living life. Being alive is going through life without passion and happiness and just gritting your teeth no matter how bad things are. Living life is to actually make an effort to make things better for yourself. We should all strive for the latter.

“Chewie, we’re home!”

From: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Han Solo

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from Episode VII of the Star Wars film series, The Force Awakens. This film heralded the return of the franchise to the big screen and was met with acclaim from fans and casual audiences alike. Of course, it didn’t hurt that The Force Awakens saw the return of some characters from the original Star Wars trilogy, namely Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess/General Leio Organa and Luke Skywalker.

Speaking of Han Solo (played once again by an aging Harrison Ford), it was he who actually delivered the quote. After Ray, Finn and BB-8 escape from Jakku on the Millennium Falcon, the ship that made the Kessel Run in under 12 parsecs, the legendary ships breaks down and it sucked into a large ship. As Ray, Finn and BB-8 hide in the bowels of the ship, Han Solo and Chewbacca, who have been tracking their long lost ship, board the Millennium Falcon which is when Han says the line.

Geek wisdom: There’s no place like home. No matter where you are in the world, home is usually a place where you can feel safe and secure. It’s a place where you can just be yourself. Once in a while, it’s always a good idea to return home just for you to remember that feeling of security.

“All fathers care for their sons.”

From: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Master Splinter

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from the 1990 live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film. While most children who watched this film went to go see it because of the 80’s cartoon, the film has a much darker tone than the lighthearted adventures the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had in the animated series, making this more akin to the original Eastman and Laird comic series.

The quote comes from the middle of the film. Shredder and the Foot Clan has managed to kidnap (ratnap?) Master Splinter, the Turtles sensei and surrogate father. A runaway and fledging Foot Clan member named Danny encounters Master Splinter and the boy tells the rat that his father doesn’t care for him, which is why he ran away. Master Splinter disagrees with Danny’s assessment and delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: It’s Father’s Day tomorrow. Don’t forget to call your dad up and greet him on this special day of his… because all fathers do care for their sons… and daughters as well.

“One man can make a difference.” AND “I guess one person can make a difference. ‘Nuff said.”

From: Knight Rider and Spider-Man 3

Genre: Television and Movies

Who said it?: Wilton Knight and Stan “The Man” Lee

The story behind the quote: Okay, this is going to be rather difference as these two quotes have pretty much the same meaning so I’m giving them it’s own entry. The first is Wilton Knight from the hit ’80s television show, Knight Rider. The second is from the prolific comic book legend, Stan “The Man” Lee

The quote was said in Knight Rider during the first episode of the series. When Michael Knight (played by a legend in his own right, David Hasslehoff)

gets his new identity, he meets up with Wilton Knight, the man who rescued him. Wilton, while on his death bed, pleads to Michael to use KITT (a highly sophisticated car equipped with gadgets and a rather advanced AI) to fight crime because he feels that, even though he is one person, he can still change the world for the better.

The second quote is much more recent as it came from the 2007 superhero movie, Spider-Man 3. As Peter Parker (played by Tobey Maguire) walks along Times Square, he sees a news flash saying that Spider-Man will receive the key to the city. It just so happens that, as he stopped to read the news bulletin, Peter Parker was standing next to Stan Lee. Stan Lee then turns to Peter and delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: We sometimes feel helpless and that whatever we do will not have an impact in the world. However, we can still influence the world around us. Even if it is the smallest change, we are still making an impact on the world. The only time when we won’t make a difference in the world is if we don’t even attempt to make an impact on the world. The point is, we have to keep on trying.

“Brawndo has what plants crave. It’s got electrolytes.”

From: Idiocracy

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: The population of the future!

The story behind the quote: Although he became popular due to his animated outings like Beavis and Butt-head and King of the Hill, Mike Judge has actually achieved a modicum of success from his live-action films. One of those films is the 2006 cult hit, Idiocracy.

In the film, Corporal “Average” Joe Bauers (played by Luke Wilson) becomes a guinea pig for a suspended animation experiment. However, the experiment is forgotten and “Average” Joe wakes up 500 years in the future to a world that has evolved in such a way that intellectualism is scoffed at, leading to the world’s population to be of less than average intelligence, making “Average” Joe the smartest man on the planet.

The quote comes from the middle of the film. Joe advises that, instead of using the energy drink Brawndo, to irrigate the world’s failing crops, they should just use water instead. However, the cabinet just can’t see why ordinary water would be better than Brawndo…

Geek wisdom: It may seem sad, but there are some people that do emulate the future population featured in Idiocracy. These are the same people that only assure what they’ve been told is correct without even checking if its true or not. They blindly follow what they’ve been told because it sounds good but it might not actually be. People sometimes have to think about things rather than just accepting them.

“A strange game. The only winning move is not to play.”

From: WarGames

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Joshua/WOPR

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the 1983 science fiction thriller, WarGames. In the film, all of the United States nuclear launch capabilities is given to a computer called “Joshua” or WOPR, which stands for War Operation Plan Response. It is programmed to consistently run military simulations to concoct the best plan of an attack if nuclear retaliation is needed. David Lightman (played by Matthew Broderick) unwittingly hacks into Joshua and causes the computer to think that the Soviet Union has launched missiles at the United States.

The quote comes from the very end of the film. David forces Joshuato play tic-tac-toe against itself in the attempt to make it understand the concept of mutually assured destruction. As Joshua obtains the final launch code, it runs through all the possible scenarios in an attempt to find a winning plan. After cycling through all of them and not finding one where anyone survives, the machine delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: War is ultimately useless as, while history may say there are winners and losers, there really aren’t as both sides suffer massive losses. No matter which side comes out on top, it’s usually not worth the pain and suffering it does and the only real way to not have war is to not participate.