Tag: tom hanks

“You have no one else to call.”

From: Catch Me If You Can

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Carl Hanratty

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from the 2002 crime film Catch Me If You Can. The film was produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and is based on the autobiography of con artist Frank Abagnale, who had managed to elude the police for years due to his quick thinking and charm.

The quote comes from the middle of the film. Frank Abagnale (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) calls the lead of the task force created to catch him, Carl Hanratty (played by Tom Hanks). Frank calls Carl on Christmas Eve to gloat as he managed to trick him into letting him go. Carl then realizes why Frank is even calling him up and delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: All the success and money in the world is worthless unless you have people to share it with.

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“Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you gonna get.”

From: Forrest Gump

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Forrest Gump

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote, once again, comes from DJ Miller. We thank you for your submission again.

The quote from the very quotable film from 1994 film, Forrest Gump. Based on the book of the same name, Forrest Gump is a person of low IQ but, despite his apparent handicap, he proceeds to go on different new adventures and meet people who would go on to make history, making his life one of the most fulfilling ones ever.

The quote comes from the very first scene of the film. While waiting for a bus, Forrest Gump (played by Tom Hanks) offers a piece of chocolate from a box. He then remembers one of his mother’s sayings, which just so happens to be the quote in question.

Fun Fact: Most people think the quote goes “Life is like a box of chocolates” but he actually says “was” at this point. Forrest’s mother (played by Sally Field) does say a version of the quote but she says, “Life is a box of chocolates” without the word “like” in it.

I guess people misremember the quote because the way we remember it is grammatically correct.

Geek wisdom: Life is full of surprises and you never really know what will happen next. Sometimes good things will happen. Sometimes bad things will happen. But that’s just how life goes.

“I wish I were big!”

From: Big

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Josh Baskin

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from the 1988 fantasy comedy movie Big. The film has been ingrained in popular culture because of the walking piano and the Zoltar wishing machine that were featured in the movie. The film stars Tom Hanks as Josh Baskins, a 12-year old boy who wishes to become big.

The quote comes early in the film. Josh Baskins, after being told he’s too small to go on one of the carnival rides, encounters a Zoltar wishing machine. He inserts a coin and, when the Zoltar machine prompts him, he delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: If you’re a kid, don’t be in a rush to grow up. In the movie, the adult Josh Baskins (played by Tom Hanks) is overwhelmed by the responsibilities of being an adult. While you may think being older is all great, there are other aspects, such as working for a living and budgeting your time and money, that you don’t have to think of when your young. So enjoy your time being a kid while you can.

“I’m not a smart man. But I know what love is.”

From: Forrest Gump

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Forrest Gump

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from the very quotable film from 1994 film, Forrest Gump. Based on the book of the same name, Forrest Gump is a person of low IQ but, despite his apparent handicap, he proceeds to go on different new adventures and meet people who would go on to make history, making his life one of the most fulfilling ones ever.

The quote comes from the middle of the film. Forrest (played by Tom Hanks) gets a visit from his childhood friend and longtime crush Jenny (played by Robin Wright). Jenny seems to be trying to get away from something painful so Forrest invites her to stay to live with her. After watching TV, Jenny tells Forrest she’s going to bed. Before she makes it up the stairs, Forrest abruptly proposes to Jenny but she declines because she won’t be good for him. This leaves Forrest confused as he instinctively knows of Jenny’s true feelings. This is about when he delivers the quote before leaving the house.

Geek wisdom: There are actually two meanings for this week’s quote. The first one deals with knowing what love is. Love is nothing we can really “learn.” It’s something we feel deep in our gut and we know about this feeling through pure instinct. And anyone can actually fall in love; there is no prerequisite to getting it.

The second piece of Geek Wisdom we can get from the quote has to deal with Jenny’s true feelings for Forrest. Although she does love him, she feels like she doesn’t deserve him. We sometimes deny ourselves of love because we feel we don’t deserve it like Jenny does. But that’s not true. We’re all deserving of love in our life. We just have to be willing to accept it.

“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.

“Houston, we have a problem.”

From: Apollo 13

Genre: Movies

Who said it?: Jim Lovell

The story behind the quote: The movie Apollo 13 is a bit of an odd film since it isn’t based on a success. Rather, the film tells the story about one of something that should have been very tragic. However, it is also considered to be one of their biggest victories of NASA at the same time as everyone survived the mission.

Jim Lovell (played by Tom Hanks) leads the Apollo 13 mission, which is to make another landing on the moon. However, the mission was plagued by different setback. For one, Lovell’s team was supposed to pilot the Apollo 14 mission but was fastracked to this earlier one. Ken Mattingly (played by Gary Sinise) got the measles and had to to be replaced.

The quote comes from when another accident (and the most destructive one) happens while en route to the moon. One of the oxygen tanks explodes and the crew immediately report this back to Houston.

Geek wisdom: Sometimes, we pride ourselves on being independent and not asking for help to solve our own problems. Thing is, there’s no real harm for asking for help when necessary. A lot of us think that asking for help is a sign of weakness. Actually, it’s the opposite: it takes real strength to admit you need assistance.

We all live our lives surrounded by others. Yet, we still try to live and do difficult things by ourselves. Everyone has their limits and, in order to actually overcome those limits, we will need as much help as possible. That’s the only way we, as a community, can get stronger.