Top 5 movie picks for Sarasota-Bradenton: June 23-29

This week features two new summer movie season offerings, Scott Derrickson's horror film "The Black Phone" and Baz Luhrmann's Elvis Presley biopic "Elvis," heading to the big screen after film festival premieres. Watching from home? Two other movies that previously played the festival circuit, including one that recently screened at Sarasota Film Festival, debut on video on demand as well. Here are this week's highlights.

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1. ‘The Black Phone’

Horror movie production company Blumhouse is behind this adaptation of the 2004 short story by Casey Key resident Stephen King's son and fellow author Joe Hill, centering on a child who’s abducted by a masked serial killer (Ethan Hawke) and trapped in a basement, where he starts receiving calls from previous victims through a disconnected phone. Reuniting Hawke and director/co-writer Scott Derrickson after they worked together on the 2012 horror film “Sinister,” “The Black Phone” premiered at last year’s Fantastic Fest, where it received positive reviews.

Where to watch: Theaters on Friday

2. 'Flux Gourmet'

Writer-director Peter Strickland's latest film stars Asa Butterfield ("Hugo," "Sex Education") and Gwendoline Christie ("Game of Thrones," "Star Wars") and follows a collective devoted to the sounds of food. Premiering at this year's Berlin International Film Festival, "Flux Gourmet" sounds like a blend of the high-concept of Strickland's haunted dress film "In Fabric" and the aural focus of his thriller "Berberian Sound Studio" (though for Strickland newcomers, "The Duke of Burgundy" remains his best movie.)

Where to watch: Video on demand and limited release in theaters on Friday

3. 'Down with the King'

Rapper Freddie Gibbs stars in his first feature film role as a fictional emcee who's sent to the rural countryside to work on his next album, but finds himself disenchanted with fame and attracted to small-town life. A magnetic rapper on albums such as 2020's Grammy-nominated "Alfredo," Gibbs proves himself to be a charismatic presence on the big screen as well in this drama, which premiered at last year's Cannes Film Festival in the ACID parallel section and screened at this year's Sarasota Film Festival.

Where to watch: Video on demand on Tuesday

4. 'Elvis'

"Moulin Rouge!" director Baz Luhrmann helms this biopic of Elvis Presley, played by Austin Butler, with Tom Hanks portraying his manager Colonel Tom Parker. "Elvis" premiered out of competition at this year's Cannes, where it earned mildly positive reviews, although the performance by relative newcomer Butler (until now probably best known for playing Manson Family member Tex Watson in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood") received nearly universal praise.

Where to watch: Theaters on Friday

5. 'Endangered'

This documentary chronicles a year in the life of four journalists living and working in Mexico City, São Paulo, Brazil and the United States who find their safety and professions under threat as they cover political rallies, protests and the pandemic. Oscar-nominated "Jesus Camp" filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady direct, and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Ronan Farrow executive produces, this documentary that recently premiered at this year's Tribeca Film Festival.

Where to watch: HBO and HBO Max on Tuesday

Email entertainment reporter Jimmy Geurts at jimmy.geurts@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota-Bradenton top 5 movie picks, June 23-29