Category: Movies

“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.

“They’re dinosaurs. ‘Wow’ enough.”

From: Jurassic World

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Owen Grady

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from Jurassic World. Jurassic World is the fourth film in the Jurassic Park franchise and also serves as a way to revive the franchise and update the movies for today’s audiences. In the film, the theme park, Jurassic World, is looking to create a new dinosaur. As such, they create the Indominus Rex, a hybrid of a variety of dinosaurs… with predictably dire consequences.

In the film, Claire Dearing (played by Bryce Dallas Howard) brings Owen Grady (played by Chris Pratt) to the Indominus Rex’s holding pen. She explains that they needed to do this to reinvigorate interest in the park and to do that, they used genetic modification to “up the wow factor.” This is when Owen snidely delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: There’s a lot of amazing things in the world at this very moment. Whether it be something simple and trite as watching the sunrise or a technological marvel like the engineering and manpower that was put into the construction of a building, we just seem to be bored with it as we’ve gotten used to it. As such, we just can’t seem to appreciate these special things. However, that doesn’t make these things any less fantastic.

We have to learn to recognize the beauty of the things around us and appreciate them rather than take them for granted.

“E. T. phone home.”

From: E. T. The Extra-Terrestrial 

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: E. T., Elliot and Gertie

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the classic Steven Spielberg film, Steven Spielberg. The movie is all about an alien who gets left on Earth and is found by a group of kids. The kids attempt to find a way for the alien, who calls himself E. T., to send a message to his home planet in order to rescue him.

The quote comes fairly early in the film. Gertie (played by a very young Drew Barrymore) manages to teach E. T. a few rudimentary words. After returning home, Elliot (played by Henry Thomas) discovers E. T. can talk and starts trying to communicate with him as well. E. T. manages to string together the words he’s learned from Gertie to deliver the quote and to convey what he needs to do.

Geek wisdom: Tomorrow is Mother’s Day! Don’t forget to call your Mother on this special day! I’m sure she’ll appreciate it!

“It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.”

From: Batman Begins

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Batman and Rachel Dawes

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from the superhero/crime drama movie Batman Begins that was directed by Christopher Nolan. Released in 2005, Batman Begins tells the story of Batman’s first years as Gotham’s Dark Knight as a vigilante crime fighter.

The quote actually comes up twice in the film. The first time it’s mentioned is during the early part of the film. After Bruce Wayne (played by Christian Bale), Batman’s alter ego, puts on a show regarding how carefree he is at a hotel, he bumps into his old flame, Rachel Dawes (played by Katie Holmes). Bruce fumbles through a speech, implying that its all an act. However, Rachel rebuffs him by delivering the quote.

The second time the quote it mentioned near the climax of the film. As the city is under assault by Ra’s al Ghul’s League of Assassins, Batman saves Rachel and a child. Batman is about to jump into the fight again when Rachel stops him, asking him who he really is under the mask. This is when Batman turns to Rachel and delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: Actions speak louder than words. It’s incredibly easy to say what kind of person you are. However, all the talking and speeches in the world stating what a great person you are is useless unless you can actually back it up.

“They call me Mr. Tibbs!”

From: In the Heat of the Night

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Virgil Tibbs

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the classic 1967 film In the Heat of the Night. The movie was based on the book of the same name and  the film won the Oscar for Best Picture for the year as well. The movie follows Philadelphia homicide detective Virgil Tibbs, who was wrongfully arrested while passing through the backwater town of Sparta because of the color of his skin. He eventually assists the local and prejudiced police force in solving the murder of Philip Cobert, the very crime for which he was arrested for in the first place.

The quote comes after Virgil Tibbs (played by Sidney Poitier)  is “cleared.” The local police bring in Harvey Oberst, who happens to have Philip Cobert’s wallet in his possession. The Philadelphia detective examines the suspect and notices the man is left-handed. He attempts to talk to the Police Chief Bill Gillespie (played by Rod Steiger, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the role) rebuffs him and feels insulted that a black detective is questioning him in the first place. Gillespie then insults Virgil which is when Mr. Tibbs delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: There are going to be people in the world who are going to try to bring you down. They will insult you and call you strange because of the things that make you unique. You shouldn’t let them get to you ever. You are who you are and that’s perfectly alright. You should always be proud of who you are.

“You learned to dance like that sarcastically?”

From: The Other Guys

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Detective Allan Gamble

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the 2010 action comedy buddy cop movie The Other Guys. The film is about a seemingly mild-mannered detective and former pimp Allan Gamble (played by Will Ferrell) and hot-headed copy Terry ‘Yankee Clipper” Hoitz (played by Mark Wahlberg). Hoitz got the nickname by accidentally shooting at Derek Jeter during the World Series. They are both looked down upon by the entire precinct yet both feel that they just need to crack that one big case to get the respect they deserve.

The quote comes from the middle of the film. Hoitz confronts his former fiancee for joining a strip clup (which is actually a dance studio). Thinking that his ex will let him back if he proves he can dance, Hoitz does a series of outstanding pirouettes and leaves. His partner, Gamble, astonished by his dancing ability asks Hoitz how he learned to do those moves, to which Hoitz replies that he learned how to do that to make fun of the other kids who are actually good at dancing. This is when Gamble delivers the quote…

Geek wisdom: We actually don’t learn skills because we like them or not. We learn them instinctively through repetition. In fact, we may actually become good at things we don’t even enjoy because we keep on doing the same thing over and over again. But, whether or not this new skill is something we enjoy doing or not, we have to be thankful that we learned something new because you never know when it may become useful to us in the future.

“Get busy living, or get busy dying.”

From: The Shawshank Redemption

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Andy Dufresne

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the critically acclaimed film, The Shawshank Redemption. The movie follows Andy Dufrense, who was wrongfully convicted of killing his wife and the man she was having an affair with. He is imprisoned in Shawshank, where he befriends Ellis “Red” Redding, who is serving a life sentence. While not a commercial hit when it was first released, The Shawshank Redemption has become a classic due to near universal approval.

The quote comes after Andy Dufresne (played by Tim Robbins) is released from solitary. He meets up with “Red” Redding (played by Morgan Freeman) and Andy dreams of what he would do if he ever does make it out of prison. Red tells Andy that he shouldn’t keep dreaming about life on the outside. That’s when Andy turns to Red and delivers the quote

Geek wisdom: When in times of deep despair, we can feel that life is hopeless and there is no meaning to living anymore. It can be easy to think that life is all about suffering and pain during these trying times. However, the only time life is actually not worth living is when we give up on the hope that things will never get better.

We should never give up on life and try to move past the hard times. That’s the only way things will actually get better.

“Fear can never kill you.”

From: Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Chiun

The story behind the quote: The movie comes from the little known film, Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins. The movie was loosely based on The Destroyer, a series of books. The movie and the books all focus around Remo Williams (played by Fred Ward), a former New York police officer forcibly recruited into a secret government organization to fight off evils that ordinary law enforcement can tackle. Remo Williams is trained by Chiun (played by Joel Grey), a Korean martial artist, who trains him in the martial art known as Sinanju, which gives Remo the ability to do extraordinary feats, like dodging bullets.

The quote comes early in the film during the initial stages of Remo’s training. Standing on the ledge of the building, Chiun asks Remo to follow him. When Remo climbs up on the ledge, Chiun immediately runs to the other end of the building and beckons his student to follow him. Remo is hesitant as he’s afraid he may fall off. That is when Chiun tells Remo that fear is just a feeling and delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: We sometimes let fear control our actions. While fear may be good in telling us we shouldn’t be doing something dangerous or stupid, we do have a lot of irrational fears that stop us from doing actions that may benefit us. It could be speaking in front of large crowds or being rejected. But we do have to get over some of our fears as these irrational fears prevent us from being more than we can be.

“Take your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape!”

From: Planet of the Apes (1968)

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: George Taylor

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from the sci-fi classic, Planet of the Apes. The film was successful enough to spawn several sequels and the film has been remade in 2001. The series was also rebooted into a new franchise of films starting with 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Essentially, all the films feature intelligent apes overtaking the humans as the superior race of the planet.

The quote comes from the middle of the film. After astronaut George Taylor (played by Charlton Heston) crash lands on the Planet, he is captured by the apes. Upon learning that Taylor possesses higher intelligence than the rest of the humans, Dr. Zaius orders the astronaut to be castrated. Taylor then makes an unsuccessful attempt at escape. As the apes grab Taylor, the human delivers the quote, surprising everyone.

Geek wisdom: It can be scary to fight against oppression, especially if the one doing the abusing is stronger and more powerful than you. But, there has to be a time when we all must fight back. We can’t always cower and take it. We will have to stand up against them if we want to stop being under the thumb of someone else. It will take courage to do so and it may be frightening but it’s much better to fight back than to live in constant fear.

“Stupid is as stupid does.”

From: Forrest Gump

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Forrest Gump

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the critically acclaimed film of the 90’s, Forrest Gump. The movie is about a slow-witted man named Forrest Gump and all of the adventures he goes through as well as how he influenced the world around him. The movie won several awards, including Best Picture during the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes.

The quote comes from the middle of the film. Forrest Gump (played by Tom Hanks) has just been discharged from the Army. He proceeds to fulfill his promise to his friend Bubba, who he met during basic training, to start a shrimping business. Everyone around him, even Bubba’s family, is skeptical that the shrimping business would succeed and they think it’s an dumb idea. This is usually when Forrest delivers the saying that his mother taught him when he was younger.

Geek wisdom: It’s so easy to judge people by the way they look. Based on this, we automatically infer their intelligence as well as questions the decisions they make. But a person’s intellect, quick-wittedness and mental acuity is never determined by the way they look, but, rather, from the choices they make. Look at the decisions and the choices the person makes, not how they look like.