Tonight, my dad and I watched the first part of Lonesome Dove, and it inspired me to add another chapter to the “Movie Wisdom” series. This collection of posts delves into the career of an actor and lists the quotes from their movies that may offer words to live by. For the rules of this endeavor, check out the Burt Reynolds Edition.
This edition examines the films of Tommy Lee Jones.
From Lonesome Dove
A man who wouldn’t cheat for a poke don’t want one bad enough.
From JFK
“Treason doth never prosper,” wrote an English poet, “What’s the reason? For if it prosper, none dare call it treason.”
One may smile and smile and be a villain.
Telling the truth can be a scary thing sometimes.
From The Fugitive
Don’t ever argue with the big dog, because the big dog is always right.
From Natural Born Killers
A moment of realization is worth a thousand prayers.
The media is like the weather, only it’s man-made weather.
Nobody can stop fate, nobody can.
You can’t hide from your shadow.
You know, the only thing that kills the demon… is love.
From Cobb
Greatness is overrated.
The desire for glory is not a sin.
From Batman Forever
Broken wings mend in time.
I guess we’re all two people.
A man’s got to go his own way.
From Men in Black
There’s only one way off this planet.
It’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
From No Country for Old Men
You can’t help but compare yourself against the old timers.
This country’s hard on people, you can’t stop what’s coming, it ain’t all waiting on you. That’s vanity.
But I think once you quit hearing “sir” and “ma’am,” the rest is soon to foller.
Well all the time ya spend trying to get back what’s been took from ya, more is going out the door. After a while you just have to try to get a tourniquet on it.
SBI: A Thinning Crowd 
From Under Siege (I have no shame)
Tom Breaker: Look, Bill, if this is about reliving the 60’s, you can forget about it, buddy. The movement is dead.
William Strannix (TLJ): Yes, of course! Hence
the name: movement. It moves a certain distance, then it stops, you see? A revolution gets its name by always coming back around in your face. You tried to kill me you son of a bitch… so welcome to the revolution.
~~Awesome~~
Those are some great lines. Unfortunately, I’ve never seen that one, so I couldn’t list it. I’ll need to check it out now. Thanks for the comment.
I loved him in Space Cowboys (besides all those films that you have mentioned above)
One of my most favorite scene is him getting to know that he has Cancer and responsds, “What is a pancreas, anyhow? I mean, I don’t know what the damn thing does for you, besides give you cancer. “
That was a good movie. I just couldn’t figure out any wisdom lines to list.
Oh. Okay. 🙂
Lincoln?
It was more political, 19th Century type stuff. I couldn’ta really pull out anything for everyday life.
There are too many good TLJ lines in Lincoln!
The greatest measure of the Nineteenth Century. Passed by corruption, aided and abetted by the purest man in America
**
How can I hold that all men are created equal, when here before me stands, stinking, the moral carcass of the gentleman from Ohio, proof that some men are inferior, endowed by their Maker with dim wits, impermeable to reason, with cold, pallid slime in their veins instead of hot red blood! You are more reptile than man, George! So low and flat, that the foot of man is incapable of crushing you!
There are a lot of great lines in that movie from a lot of great actors.
Can I make a request for a Tom Hanks, Ed Harris, or Paul Newman edition?
I have one for Paul Newman and should have linked it in the post. Let’s see, there is one for Don Knotts, Kevin Costner, Jodie Foster, George Peppard. There may be a few more.
You’ve got the Burt Reynolds linked in the post.
Don Knotts! George Peppard! I’d do a somersault if I could manage it. I’ll wade in the waters of your blog for the others.
They are all listed under Movies. Maybe I should make a Movie Wisdom category.