Johnathan Walker:All the best Toronto film festival highlights, from 'Conclave' to the Boss

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After six days, 25 movies, a lot of coffee and enough orders at the local Mr. Sub to become a regular, it's time to make like a maple leaf in a headwind and depart Canada.

It's been a successful Toronto International Film Festival this year, with a bunch of big names starring in good projects that we'll definitely be talking more about in the pages of USA TODAY leading up to the Oscars. After Cannes and Venice and just before New York, Toronto is a prime-time spot for awards season, and most of the real contenders stop in before the big push at the end of the year. Even JLo was here! "The Boss," too! And after sitting through dozens of films and celebrity-filled Q&As, I'm psyched to see which projects ride a wave to the Academy Awards and tell you what to keep an eye on so you can see the good stuff for yourself.

Here are my favorite things from this year's fest:

'Conclave,' 'The Life of Chuck' are tops in Toronto

My absolute favorite thing to do at film festivals is keep a running list of everything I see. (And it's usually a lot. I like movies, what can I say?) The top of my chart at Toronto '24 is "Conclave," a papal thriller starring Ralph Fiennes as a stressed-out cardinal that has elements of a taut courtroom drama, detective yarn and political thriller. (It's also got a murderer's row of supporting actors, including John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci and Isabella Rossellini.) I'm no Oscar night Carnac the Magnificent, but "Conclave" has a darn good shot of winning best picture.

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And my second choice? "The Life of Chuck," director Mike Flanagan's adaptation that nails the quirks and emotional heft of the fantastic Stephen King novella. It's a character study, told backwards, of what happens in the life of a seemingly ordinary accountant (played by Tom Hiddleston) and includes one apocalypse, multiple dance extravaganzas and a haunted attic.

Actress transformations are having a moment

One thing I noticed about a lot of the movies at TIFF this year are the interesting transformations by actresses. Amy Adams turning into a dog in "Nightbitch," for example. Or Demi Moore embracing her body-horror era with the gonzo must-watch "The Substance." Among them, as well as Alicia Vikander in "The Assessment" and Pamela Anderson in "The Last Showgirl," we might see one or two in the hunt for the best actress Oscar.

Sebastian Stan makes a pretty good Donald Trump

There was a surprise special screening of the Donald Trump biopic "The Apprentice" north of the border. It'll definitely anger a certain former president, guaranteed. More of a reason to watch is the pair of strong leads, Sebastian Stan as young Trump and Jeremy Strong as his mentor Roy Cohn, performing a tightrope walk with their character arcs.

Bruce Springsteen talks being 'The Boss' of the E Street Band

Unlike some of my colleagues recently, I have never been in the presence of Bruce Springsteen. That was remedied at the premiere of his new Hulu documentary "Road Diary," where he sat a few rows down from me in the theater. (Watching him bop his head to "Glory Days" before the film started was pretty cool.) The movie follows the E Street Band on its recent world tour, and is an intriguing behind-the-scenes look at how Springsteen works as a band leader and the way he looks at age and mortality as a still-vital rock legend. “We have the only job in the world where the people you went to high school with, at 75, you're still with those people," he said.

Even more Toronto goodness to check out!

• "Field of Dreams" is my favorite movie. Elton John also loves it. I think we're best friends now.
• Amy Adams came clean on the time she "freaked out" her doggy co-stars making "Nightbitch."
• For "Unstoppable," Jennifer Lopez Zoomed with the real-life mom she plays in the heartwarming wrestling drama.
• Pamela Anderson says she's "been getting ready my whole life" for her dramatic role in "The Last Showgirl."
• Demi Moore admits that when she first read the script for "The Substance," she thought it'd be “either be something extraordinary or it could be an absolute disaster." (It is definitely the former.)

Got thoughts, questions, ideas, concerns, compliments or maybe even some recs for me? Email [email protected] and follow me on the socials: I'm @briantruitt on Twitter (not calling it X!), Instagram and Threads.