Kevin Ragsdale Movies

Four time world record holding endurance swimmer Martin Strel attempts to swim all 3,375 miles of the mighty Amazon River as filmmaker John Maringoin follows him on every stroke of his treacherous and fantastic journey. Over the course of sixty-six grueling days, the hard-drinking, overweight, fifty-two year old Strel would draw on sheer willpower to accomplish his lofty goal as a hand-picked group of faith-healers, outsiders, and drunks cheered him along from the shoreline. The resulting is a film that not only focuses on the trials that Strel endured on his record-breaking swim, but also draws much-needed attention to the Amazonian Rain Forest - a landscape that faces an uncertain future due to the combined stresses of progress and pollution. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

David Mamet wrote the screenplay for this adaptation of his play about a man who suddenly stumbles into a new and dangerous life. Edmond Burke (William H. Macy) is on his way home from work one evening when he impulsively stops to have his fortune read by a woman who informs him, "You are not where you belong." When he does arrive home, Edmond soon falls into an argument with his wife (Rebecca Pidgeon), and he storms out into the city, where he stops at a bar for a few drinks. There, Edmond finds himself talking with a man (Joe Mantegna) who freely shares his racist views about the role of African-Americans in society, and suddenly Edmond begins letting go of the sense of self-control that has always governed his actions. After a crawl through the city's underbelly of watering holes, strip clubs, gambling dens, and brothels, Edmond comes face to face with the violence of this world, and unexpectedly finds himself responding in kind. Edmond also stars Julia Stiles, Denise Richards, Mena Suvari, Bai Ling, and Dylan Walsh; it was directed by Stuart Gordon, who worked often with David Mamet during their early days at Chicago's Organic Theater Company. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Mummies stars Danny Trejo, Max Perlich, and Billy Worth as members of a group of criminals who set out to find a cache of gold hidden in Mexico. The group soon discovers that mummies are in charge of protecting the valuable commodity. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Actress and filmmaker Asia Argento directed this faithful screen adaptation of the fictional J.T. Leroy's fictional memoir, which documents a boy's truly harrowing road to adulthood. Jeremiah (Jimmy Bennett) is the seven-year-old son of Sarah (Asia Argento), an unstable and unwed mother who abandoned her son and left him to be raised by foster parents. Jeremiah has come to love his guardians, and is devastated when Sarah arrives at their doorstep, demanding her child back. Threatening Jeremiah with torture if he tries to run away, Sarah introduces her young son to drugs and encourages her one-night-stand paramours to help "discipline" her son when she feels his behavior is inappropriate. Sarah marries a man named Emerson (Jeremy Renner), but abandons him shortly afterward; Emerson responds by molesting Jeremiah, and soon the child is left in the care of his grandparents (Peter Fonda and Ornella Muti), members of a fundamentalist Christian sect which emphasizes child discipline that's strict to the point of abuse. After three years, Sarah returns with a new husband, Kenny (Matt Schulze), and takes Jeremiah (now played by Dylan Sprouse and Cole Sprouse) with her; Kenny spends most of his time on the road as a trucker, and Sarah supports the family at home as a stripper and a prostitute. Sarah also begins dressing her son is girl's clothing, which excites the perverse appetites of Sarah's latest boyfriend, Jackson (Marilyn Manson); she soon leaves Jackson and pairs off with Chester (Jeremy Sisto), a biker with a dangerous way of making a living. The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things premiered at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, where it was screened as part of the "Directors Fortnight" series. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this gritty film noir, David sits in a dim bar and recounts the story of desire and deception that brought him there. Fighting against everyone from the police to his own family, and traveling from Buffalo, NY, to Niagara Falls, David has relentlessly searched for his missing ex-girlfriend (Diedre Kilgore), only to find that reaching success in his journey may have been the last thing he wanted. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide