aimee

AIMEE Review: A Propulsive Rescue Actioner Told Through A Raw, Chilling Lens

Stunt professional Lee Whittaker turns filmmaker after years of earning his stripes on film and television through stuntwork, and even cutting his teeth at the helm for a time with the 2015 short film drama, Catching Fireflies. Aimee marks his feature debut, joining him alongside creative partner Mary Whittaker and co-writer Kara Myers for a period of development that would see the project nourished from its proof-of-concept stages a little over five years earlier, to its full-length delivery now brought to life with none other than Jamie M. Timmons in the title role. Shepherding our story of course is Jess (Jet Jandreau), a former U.S. Marine homeward bound from touring in Afghanistan after a brutal mission that has left her suffering from PTSD. It is not until she finally lands in the states, however, that she learns of the violent kidnapping of her younger sister, Aimee, and with the cops […]

“IF YOU SEE SOMETHING…”: A Word With AIMEE Director Lee Whittaker

Lee B. Golden III

Stunt professional Lee Whittaker is approaching nearly thirty years into his successful career, having climbed the ladder and worked on some of entertainment’s biggest and most beloved projects in TV and film, including martial arts saga WMAC Masters, Sammo Hung vehicle Martial Law, and Universal’s Fast Five to name a few. This especially goes for the opportunities he’s earned working in India, and to a much larger point, it’s still a career that’s had its hurdles, and prerequisites for discretion in one area: directing. There’s a reason for it too, and Whittaker goes into all of this and much more as we now grow closer to ramping up the campaign for Whittaker’s completed feature directing debut, Aimee. Written by Whittaker and co-writer Kara Myers, the film stars German-American actress Jet Jandreau in her latest role here as a U.S. Marine vet suffering from PTSD. Upon arriving from Afghanistan, she comes […]

AIMEE: A Soldier’s War On Human Trafficking Begins In The Official Trailer

Lee B. Golden III

Five years since making headway with an award-winning shortfilm on the same premise, stunt multi-hyphenate and filmmaker Lee Whittaker (stunt credits on “Kickin’ It”, Vishwaroopam 1 & 2, Baahubali 1 & 2, Agent Game) is out to make a strong case for his feature directing debut with rescue actioner, Aimee. The film stars Jamie M. Timmons in the title role with award-winning German-American actress Jet Jandreau (The Trail) playing her armed forces sister on a mission to cast a damning spotlight on an ongoing crisis on American soil. Returning from Afghanistan, Jessica, a Spec OPS Marine, finds herself in a war she never imagined and discovers middle America suburbia has changed when her thirteen year old sister, Aimee, is abducted by sex traffickers. Aimee was filmed just before the pandemic set in, and as it stands, Whittaker and his team managed to finish post-production as of last week with an […]

AIMEE: War Hits Suburbia In The Official Trailer For Lee Whittaker’s Compelling Directorial Debut

Lee B. Golden III

Nearly thirty years in with an immense and notable career in stunts and action with a few short films in his wake, one of Lee Whittaker’s most crowning achievements to date now emerges with an official trailer for, his long-awaited feature debut, Aimee. Award-winning German-American actress Jasmin Jandreau (The Trail) leads the story of a former solider home from the battlefield who suddenly finds herself on another when she learns her once idyllic, typical middle-American hometown harbors holding houses for young girls, kidnapped to be siphoned into the underworld for sex trafficking. Upon discovering that her thirteen year-old sister, Aimee, has been taken, it’s up to Jessica and the aid of a friend to apply their trade tools and essentially raze the seedy trafficking network plaguing their community, especially as long as there is any chance of Jessica finding her sister. Aimee stems from Whittaker’s own steadfast, intended focus on […]

Review: Award-Winning Shortfilm Thriller, AIMEE, Is A Call To Action

Lee B. Golden III

Almost thirty years in with a career in stunts and acting, Lee Whittaker has since taken the initiative into filmmaking with at least two shortfilm projects in his wake. His latest, Aimee, is already making the festival rounds for sometime now, and making a fantastic case for its circulation since debuting at the Hoboken International Film Festival last May and winning Best Dramatic Short at CENFLO last Fall. The project takes its cues from the script of a current feature film hopeful that strongly invokes Whittaker’s keen eye for kinetic story telling that still retains a sharpness in his desired aesthetic. Each scene is a brisk, fluid transition from one moment to the next that illustrates actress Amanda S. Hall in the already-immersed role of Jessica, an Afghanistan vet home from service and on a hard-hitting mission to rescue her sister from America’s festering underworld of underage sex trafficking. Jamie […]

THE HIT LIST: January 16, 2017

Lee B. Golden III

I did something a little different this weekend while I was putting the Hit List together – at five reels, I decided to watch it all the way through and it was pretty refreshing since normally I watch mostly snippets in the course of browsing just to get a good feel of how it all plays out so I can work faster. I may change my approach there. ☺ Anyway, onward and forward we go for this week’s installment of The Hit List with the latest round of amazing stunt reels and various shortfilm projects, promotional or otherwise full in release. As always, the stunts come first because without the players and their committment, the Hit List wouldn’t exist. Stellar b-girl and exceptional stuntwoman Lee Chesley kicks the first playlist off to an energizing start followed by the high-flying feats of dayjob superhero, Ross Kohnstam. Pam Wellington has some fresh […]