Before I begin, full disclosure,  I am a Star Wars fan.   I own a lot of memorabilia, my bed was draped in Star Wars sheets, I had the toys.  As an adult, I have lightsabers – Yeah, I’m pretty geeky.   But I’m not the nerd who reads all the books.

I saw The Last Jedi, twice.  Once in 2D and another time in 3D.   There’s really no difference, so seeing it in 2D is a.o.k.

Did I enjoy the movie?   Well, as a Star Wars fan, it was fun.   But the writers of The Last Jedi, failed miserably.

The screenwriters self-projected their own fears about life onto the Star Wars characters.  Most artists, especially the great ones, are usually on a lifelong journey finding themselves.  They are natural introverts, retract from society because they don’t feel they belong, and emerge to reconnect once they create an identity.  Their new identity is usually extreme, very expressive, and different from the norm.     Doesn’t this sound like almost every character in The Last Jedi?  Internally lost, searching for their meaning, their purpose, in life?   Everyone was just so confused in The Last Jedi, especially Luke Skywalker, who only found his purpose – after death.   Such an artists view.

One of the biggest no-no’s in writing is to write yourself into the book (unless you’re completely honest with yourself).   These screenwriters not only wrote themselves into this book, but made every character like themselves.

Hero’s in the story were idiots.   Did you notice that?

When Princess Lea gets knocked out of power, the next in line commander thinks it’s a better idea to keep her plan of escaping to a secret rebel base, secret.  Especially from Poe.  Since when is keeping a life-saving plan away from your entire crew a good idea?  Never.   And the reason she gives Poe, for keeping a plan secret, is some metaphoric interpretation of hope (another artist reason)  Poe and Fin’s idea fails to save the day, or course, because it actually makes sense.  That’s fine to leave in the script.  But why spend almost three-quarters of the entire movie setting the audience up for no payoff?   Watching this was just a waste of the audience’s time.

The screenwriters also tried to make some political statements.    One statement was about the military-industrial complex, which the writers truly don’t understand that well.   In real life, there are only a handful of companies that sell weapons to the military, keyword “companies” not “people.”   And to my knowledge, one company who makes the tie-fighter does not also make the x-wing fighter.  But if this were true, wouldn’t the rebels or the empire target the military supply company, rather than just being a customer?   The empire targeted a single engineer in Rogue One.   The writers are just not thinking things through.

Screenwriters need to think……think, think, think.  There is really a lack of thinking going on at Disney.

Want to hear some extraordinary examples of non-thinking by screenwriters in The Last Jedi?

In their space, there is gravity!   Remember the bombs that needed to be dropped?   Well, that won’t happen in space, unless there’s gravity.   How does one drop bombs in space?   And Space Bombers wouldn’t travel slower in space than x-wing fighters, everything is weightless – unless space is not a vacuum.   There’s no reason for a big heavy bomber to fly slowler in space, that only happens on earth! And why did spaceships need gas to continually travel forward – in space?    Asteroids, the earth, satellites, and anything in space doesn’t need gas to set things in orbit once it gets going.   These writers forgot simple elementary science.   Talk about bad.

So, Luke Skywalker in his send-off didn’t even get to go out with an awesome swordfight.   Boo….  I thought Jedi’s fight.

Luke Skywalker could have killed Kylo Ren multiple times, but didn’t.

Yoda, who can control lightning, could have rescued the rebels, killed Snook, killed Kylo Ren, but didn’t.  Talk about how useless he is.  Instead, he just burns books.

Kylo Ren is the Supreme Leader, a powerful immature young adult who has no idea how to control a military.     Geez, isn’t that a smart move.  Now there’s no strong antagonist for the franchise.

All of these obvious concerns are truly simple script problems that should have been resolved through multiple rewrites.   But the problem here is that you have a director/writer who thinks he can get away with this because it’s fiction, or it’s plain out hubris.

The best intergalactic screenwriting going on these days?  Try Orville or Voltron on Netflix.  The Last Jedi is just a failure.

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Steve Young

THE BIG MAN at Dream Weddings Hawaii

I pretty much do everything around here, from photography and video production, to the organization of all of my weddings. As you can see, I'm also the head writer too! If for some reason you can't reach me at my direct line, or my toll free number, feel free to hit me up on my company cell at (808) 479-0685. Call anytime...well, almost anytime. Don't call on Super Bowl Sunday or when the Philadelphia Eagles are playing!

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Get Out to see this!

GET OUT

RATING: A+

When my friend told me they wanted to see this movie, I was reluctant.   I saw the previews, and I thought, Oh man – this movie is just going to be another excuse for studios to play the race card.  But it’s far from that.  The movie is great; there is simple twist in there, sprinkles of comedy, and a lot of “what the!” moments.   You should definitely see it.   I enjoyed it – immensely.

Matt Damon plays an action hero – again.

GREAT WALL

RATING: Solid B-

I enjo

yed this movie, but some people just thought it was stupid.   There are some stupid parts in there, I agree, but it wasn’t that bad.   I did notice Matt Damon’s accent going in and out through the movie.   The plot was a bit thin, a lot of common sense holes.   But what can you expect?  Chinese movies have tons of these plot holes in them

Man, I fell asleep!

LEGO BATMAN

RATING: C- to D

Okay, so many people are going to hate me for this rating.  The critics loved it; I know many people who thought it was the funniest thing in the world.  And you know what, I love comedies.  I love stupid humor.   I love offensive humor.   But much of this movie just wasn’t funny.  I wasn’t laughing all the way, though.   The characters talk too fast, and it throws off the comedic timing.  I really wanted to enjoy this movie.  I went on opening night, bought the IMAX tickets.  It just wasn’t fun.  I even fell asleep a bit!

This is a hit or miss movie

Better than you think!

FIST FIGHT

RATING: A-

Ice Cube always plays the tough guy character, the bully, the alpha-male.  He’s pretty much the same guy in this movie.   I guess that’s who he is.  But hey, it works, and it was funny.   The story was really funny.  There’s a lot of sex jokes in here that are not appropriate for kids.   Leave them at home.

Keanu Reeves knows much more than Kung Fu in this movie

JOHN WICK 2

RATING: A

Most action movies don’t have much plot to them.   Most sequels to action movies suck.  Well, this one has a plot and it doesn’t suck.   Keanu Reeves, man – he’s a badass, isn’t he?  It’s very violent.  I heard the kill count in this movie is close to 2 million?

you probably already saw this

ROGUE ONE: STAR WARS

RATING: A

This is probably one of the best Star Wars out there.  There are so many holes in it that I wish the writers would have written a more honest script.   But hey, it was still good.  It answers the question, why was the design of the Death Star soooooooooo stupid.  Now we know.   And knowing is half the force – G.I. JOE!  (okay if you get that humor, you were born in 1977)

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Steve Young

THE BIG MAN at Dream Weddings Hawaii

I pretty much do everything around here, from photography and video production, to the organization of all of my weddings. As you can see, I'm also the head writer too! If for some reason you can't reach me at my direct line, or my toll free number, feel free to hit me up on my company cell at (808) 479-0685. Call anytime...well, almost anytime. Don't call on Super Bowl Sunday or when the Philadelphia Eagles are playing!

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I saw Batman vs. Superman a week after if came out and I thought it was great.  SCREW THE CRITICS.

It’s a long movie, about 2 and 1/2 hours long, and I made sure I didn’t drink any Diet Coke (because Diet Coke makes you pee!)   As you probably already know, this movie has been hammered by the movie critics, not to mention, comic book nerds.    Comic book nerds have been up in arms about Batman vs. Superman because it’s not canon.  If case you don’t know what canon means, it’s the comic book term for “keeping it real.”   They’re right, this movie doesn’t follow the comics, but who cares.   Really.  It’s a fun movie for Peter Parker’s sake.

Critics have bashed Batman vs. Superman for being boring.   These are the same critics who praised Quentin Tarintino’s Hateful Eight and Leonardo’s Revenant as Oscar Worthy, which just happened to be horribly boring movies.  Let me just take a second to point out here, that most Oscar winning movies are freaking boring.  Dances with Wolves, English Patient, Fargo, Goodwill Hunting, Revenant, were so boring, buying popcorn at the concession stand was the highlight of my evening.   Batman vs. Superman was not boring.   There were a few slow spots in there, like any movie, but after that, it was all action.   And the action scenes are great.

This movie is not like Star Wars Jar-Jar Binks One.   This movie was very entertaining and written honestly.

Go see the movie.  It’s worth it. I’m seeing it again!

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Steve Young

THE BIG MAN at Dream Weddings Hawaii

I pretty much do everything around here, from photography and video production, to the organization of all of my weddings. As you can see, I'm also the head writer too! If for some reason you can't reach me at my direct line, or my toll free number, feel free to hit me up on my company cell at (808) 479-0685. Call anytime...well, almost anytime. Don't call on Super Bowl Sunday or when the Philadelphia Eagles are playing!

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So what can I say or admit?  I’m a bit of a geek I guess. I watched Star Wars on premier night…alone.  I couldn’t wait.  I was gonna wait to watch it with my friends on another day, but anticipation got the better of me.   So I took my moviepass card, which only allows me to watch one movie only once, and soaked in one of the premiers at 11:20pm on Thursday night.   Because my premiere was rather late, the theater wasn’t too crowded.  But I did get to see a handful of great dressed up nerds who attended the earlier shows.

The movie was good, better than average, and one of the better movies of the year.  I’ve read some of the reviews out there that said this installment of Star Wars was one of the greatest movies J.J. Abrams ever made.  I don’t know about that.  I think I had more fun watching Star Trek.   But don’t misunderstand my few criticisms, this movie was very good.  And the writing was rather honest.    The acting was a lot less cheesy than the prequels, or even the original.    My non-spoiler comments.  Carrie Fisher looks old.  Harrison Ford still has swagger.   The bad guys still have a lot big blinking lights that serve no other function other than to blink.  Apparently, evil empires use the same interior designers.  And I’m betting some stupid media pundit is going to call Star Wars racist.  Oh wait, they already did!

Beware, the force is not strong with this one.

It’s going to be fun to see what happens next.  I’m thinking, somewhere eventually along the sequel, we may see something that has to do with time travel.  J.J. Abrams loves to screw with time travel for some reason.   He did that to Star Trek, Lost, Revolution, just to name a few.   Hmm…Time travel in Star Wars.  Now that would throw everyone for a loop.

I don’t have to say this, but I will anyway.  See the movie.   Don’t drink diet soda or else you’ll have to pee during the movie.  This is a movie in which every scene is worth seeing, unlike past movies which George Lucas conveniently ruined.

[srizonfbalbum id=82]

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Steve Young

THE BIG MAN at Dream Weddings Hawaii

I pretty much do everything around here, from photography and video production, to the organization of all of my weddings. As you can see, I'm also the head writer too! If for some reason you can't reach me at my direct line, or my toll free number, feel free to hit me up on my company cell at (808) 479-0685. Call anytime...well, almost anytime. Don't call on Super Bowl Sunday or when the Philadelphia Eagles are playing!

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MoviePass Card Allows You Unlimited Access to Movies

MOVIE PASS: Subscription Based Theater Movie Going.  A+++

I’m a fan of subscription based entertainment.  I’m a subscriber to Netflix, NFL Game Rewind, Hulu, HBO, not to mention, my favorite, NFL Sunday Ticket.  About a year ago, I was introduced to Movie Pass, but didn’t sign up for it’s service till a few weeks ago.  I’m not sure why I didn’t do it sooner. I call it plain stupidity.  For $30 a month, I can watch one movie per 24 hours in the theater.

The catch 22’s?

• I can’t watch the same movie twice, and I am limited to (at least in Hawaii) to watching 2D movies.   But if you’re in a market with AMC theaters, you can watch 3D and Imax movies as well.
• The first 2 weeks of Movie Pass is free.  After that, it’s $30 per month for one year.  Yes, they lock in you for one year.
• You must be within 100 yards of the movie theater to check-in to charge your movie pass debit card.  Once you are within 100 yards of the theater, you can reserve ANY movie time you want for that day.

How it works is rather simple. Surf the web to moviepass.com and sign up.  Then they’ll mail you a movie pass mastercard debit card in less than a week.   Next step, download the movie pass app when you get your debit card in the mail.  Then use the app to check into the movie of your choice.  The app is a little finicky, but if you follow these directions, you should be able to make it work everytime.

• Make sure to turn on the GPS on your phone BEFORE using the app to check into your movie.
• Make sure you are 1000 yards or less away from the theater.
• Because the app uses a GPS, this means if your theater is indoors, you must check-in outdoors.

Once you check into your movie, your debit card is charged with a movie credit.   Next steps are as simple as buying a regular movie ticket.  Mosey over to the box office, tell the attendant the exact time and name of the movie you checked in, and then use your movie pass credit card to pay for your ticket like a regular credit card.   Make sure to use your movie theaters membership point card as well.  Every movie you watch can still earn you free movies, free candy, free drinks, etc..etc…

If you’re a frequent movie goer, it’s worth it.   You can sign up BY CLICKING HERE!  By clicking on that link to sign up, it gives me a $10 credit (hehe…care to help me out?)

I’ll be reviewing more movies since I can watch more now….

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 5:  Tom Cruise Does it again.  GREAT MOVIE A+++

Does Tom Cruise make bad movies?   Okay, maybe Mission Impossible 2 wasn’t that hot.  But he makes some good movies that have great third acts.  If there’s one growing theme with Tom Cruise movies is the solutions to his conflicts are never easy, and they are always genius.  Mission Impossible 5 is a rather long movie, so try not to drink too much Diet Soda.  Not only is it long, it’s very entertaining.

FANTASTIC 4:  One of the Worse Marvel Movies to date F-

What can I say about this reboot that isn’t negative.  It’s boring, the acting is poor, the casting is awful.  Storyline is horrible.  Doctor Doom as the worlds first Eco Terrorist?   Come on.

MR. HOLMES:  The Worse Sherlock Holmes Movie ever made F-

Sometimes you wish Ian McKellen who plays Sherlock Holmes would transform into Magneto to make this movie interesting.   The movie is a mixture of flashbacks to Sherlock Holme’s last case, which was nothing more than a bore.   Some movie art fanatics love this movie because it made them think.  Really?   This movie was so boring, the cases so idiotic, and it was a challenge to stay awake.   See Mission Impossible 5 instead.

ANT-MAN:  Awesome A+

I wasn’t really a fan of Ant-Man, but now I am.  This movie was very intelligently written, directed, and acted.   The blend of humor and action brings you back to the feeling you got when you watched the Avengers.  There’s a lot of moments where you wanted to clap, because it was so fun.

MINIONS:  Not as good as Despicable Me: B

Man, I love the minions.  But this movie wasn’t even as close to the fun Despicable Me 1 or 2 was.   Not even close.  I think it’s because there was no warm and fuzzy moments.   The movie is still a lot of fun, and I’m going to see it again…

PIXELS:  Now that was a fun movie: A+

I was a little nervous about Pixels.  But this was a perfect blend of comedy and action.   Lots of laugh out loud moments, not to mention cheering moments where you were so happy to cheer for the good guy.   See it.

Well, that’s all the movies I saw so far.  Like I mentioned, I’m seeing a lot more movies because of movie pass.   That thing is quite the awesome.   Get it if you love movies, or you just want to bum off some cool A/C.

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Steve Young

THE BIG MAN at Dream Weddings Hawaii

I pretty much do everything around here, from photography and video production, to the organization of all of my weddings. As you can see, I'm also the head writer too! If for some reason you can't reach me at my direct line, or my toll free number, feel free to hit me up on my company cell at (808) 479-0685. Call anytime...well, almost anytime. Don't call on Super Bowl Sunday or when the Philadelphia Eagles are playing!

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I saw two movies this weekend: Mad Max and San Andreas.  Both were good, one was better than the other.  Here’s my quick review without any spoilers.

• Mad Max ~ good movie, entertaining movie, not much plot, lots of action, lots of non-stop action.   Would I buy Mad Max?  No.  Would I see it again?  No.   Did I have fun watching it?  yes.  It was a little confusing in the beginning, but it came around.
• San Andreas ~ This is probably one of the greatest disaster movies I’ve seen in a long time.  The director and the screenwriter really earned their pay because they actually did their homework.  Characters were pretty much honest and smart.  Action was honest.  The science was so-so honest, but you expect Hollywood to stretch the truth a little when it comes to science.  There’s also some of the over-the-top action scenes.  But hey, that’s expected too.  What is really to be enjoyed about the movie is that characters logically solve problems, kinda like McGyver.  Remember him?  Hollywood rarely has their characters think that much nowadays.  A simple punch in the face, or an unrealistic jump across a 100 foot gap, is how a character usually solves their problems.   In San Andreas, that doesn’t happen.  They actually figure out problems, somewhat realistically.

Here’s my verdict.  If you have to choose between the two movies, see San Andreas.

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There’s really not much to say here other than Avengers 2 was a pretty fun movie.  It wasn’t as dark as I expected it to be, which I felt was a plus.  Marvel Comic lines, at least when it comes to movies, tends to be lighter in feel, with bits and pieces of comedy thrown into action scenes; unlike it’s rival DC Comic movies, such as Batman or Superman, which tends to be very dramatic pieces intertwined with political statements.   Avengers 2 is to safe to see with kids.  There’s maybe one or two swear words in the the entire movie.  I can’t comment on the 3D because I didn’t see it in 3D.

Was it as good as the first one?   No, it wasn’t.  But it was still a great movie.

My only complaint about the movie was that at times, the action was hard to follow.   I mean really hard to follow.  I have a feeling that was a result of our theater’s projector being a little out of focus.

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Steve Young

THE BIG MAN at Dream Weddings Hawaii

I pretty much do everything around here, from photography and video production, to the organization of all of my weddings. As you can see, I'm also the head writer too! If for some reason you can't reach me at my direct line, or my toll free number, feel free to hit me up on my company cell at (808) 479-0685. Call anytime...well, almost anytime. Don't call on Super Bowl Sunday or when the Philadelphia Eagles are playing!

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Chappie can be best described as Johnny-Five 2.0.  If you have no idea who Johnny-Five is, he’s the living robot from the infamous movie called Short Circuit.  On a side-note, if you have no idea who Johnny-Five is, that means I’m showing my age.   There have been many movies made about a robot gaining a conscious, or getting a brain; all which have been great for the most part. Chappie though, is a little different as it’s a bit more honest.

Neil Blomkamp, the director and writer for Chappie,  approach to sci-fi is very simplistic.  His technique utilizes taking real world conflict, changing the characters, scenes, and settings, and playing the characters and scenes out honestly in-front of the camera as though it’s a raw documentary.  District 9 was very much about the Jews, their struggle with anti-antisemitism, the holocaust, and their current conflict with the Palestinians (not to mention the Gaza strip).   Elysium was much about Obamacare, and the growing mantra from Occupy Wallstreet about the 99%.   Chappie, on the other hand, is not political. It’s a very honest version of a dysfunctional family dynamic, filled with extreme violence, and its hopeful evolution for the better.  That’s as much as I’ll say without ruining the movie for you.

See Chappie.  It’s definitely worth it.    Great writing, superb directing, awesome action.

P.S. THIS MOVIE IS NOT FOR KIDS

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Steve Young

THE BIG MAN at Dream Weddings Hawaii

I pretty much do everything around here, from photography and video production, to the organization of all of my weddings. As you can see, I'm also the head writer too! If for some reason you can't reach me at my direct line, or my toll free number, feel free to hit me up on my company cell at (808) 479-0685. Call anytime...well, almost anytime. Don't call on Super Bowl Sunday or when the Philadelphia Eagles are playing!

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A lot of people make the mistake that because I used to be a screenwriter, and because I am very critical of storytelling, that I prefer to see serious “deep thinking” movies.   Nothing could be farther from the truth.  I love comedies.  In fact, I love what many people consider stupid comedies.  So when the 2nd Hot Tub Time Machine was announced, I was jumping for joy.   Well not literally.  But, you know what I mean.  P.S. I loathe deep thinking.

“Awesome” is what I think of the first Hot Tub Time Machine.  I thought it was written very well, acted very well, and was the right amount of funny and gross to tell your friends all about.   But the sequel was stupid.  And it was painful to watch this movie bomb.   There were definitely parts of this movie that made you laugh.   But there were far too many jokes wrapped around a very thin story-line, and characters that were just not likable.   The original screenwriter and director returned to film the sequel.  Missing, were two other screenwriters from the first, who most likely were responsible for rewriting the original script in Hot Tub Time Machine One to include more story.

A script is usually ALWAYS fixed during pre-production and the writers who help fix it receive no credit.  That is, unless the original script was heavily rewritten to the point were the union demanded credit.   I believe the original script in the first movie was heavily rewritten, thus the additional writing credits.  The sequel, not so much, since there is only one credit.

Don’t go to to see this movie in the theaters.   Wait for DVD.  If you didn’t see the 1st one, it’s worth watching.

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Steve Young

THE BIG MAN at Dream Weddings Hawaii

I pretty much do everything around here, from photography and video production, to the organization of all of my weddings. As you can see, I'm also the head writer too! If for some reason you can't reach me at my direct line, or my toll free number, feel free to hit me up on my company cell at (808) 479-0685. Call anytime...well, almost anytime. Don't call on Super Bowl Sunday or when the Philadelphia Eagles are playing!

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There’s no need to echo why this movie has made the news unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past month.  Hot off the press, as of today (12/30/2015), the FBI may be considering evidence that those responsible for the Sony Hack may be disgruntled Ex-Sony employees, rather than crazy communist.  That’s a new twist.  But the FBI still stands by it’s own investigation that North Korea is behind the attack.  I agree.  Motive matches….insane motive matches…

The movie, not surprisingly, was not a hit with the critics.  And like most critic reviews, you should toss their opinion straight out the door.  The Interview, is a good movie.  It’s not going to win an Oscar, but who really cares about the Oscars anyway.   Most of the time, movies that win the Oscar are crap.   What The Interview is not is a slapstick, Jim Carey, funny movie.  It is surprisingly a well written clever satirical view of the egos that surround the tabloid news industry, Hollywood, and government. It answers the age old question, “Why doesn’t the CIA hire news anchors to assassinate leaders of the enemy state during an interview.”  It also tried to answer the question, “Why does Dennis Rodman consider Kim-Jun-Un, a friend?”

There’s a couple of people who will most likely hate this movie:

• Slow-brained-humor people ~  You know, the people who have no idea why everyone in the theater is laughing and has to whisper in your ear, “What’s so funny?”
• Deep thinkers ~ those who go to movies to find their inner child.
• Those-who-get-disgusted-at-locker-room-guy-humor ~  Yeah, the humor in here is not clean.  But with some men, this is the normal joking that goes around when women are not present.

This movie is definitely not for kids as there is nudity and a very strong amount of sexual references.

If you want to see this movie, as you probably already know, you’re going to need to rent it or buy it online.   Go here for more information  I bought it on youtube and had some trouble streaming it on my Smart TV and ended up watching it on my laptop.  I wanted to wait till it was available to purchase through Amazon or Netflix because their apps are much better than youtube, but I couldn’t wait.

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Steve Young

THE BIG MAN at Dream Weddings Hawaii

I pretty much do everything around here, from photography and video production, to the organization of all of my weddings. As you can see, I'm also the head writer too! If for some reason you can't reach me at my direct line, or my toll free number, feel free to hit me up on my company cell at (808) 479-0685. Call anytime...well, almost anytime. Don't call on Super Bowl Sunday or when the Philadelphia Eagles are playing!

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