Notable films grab great reviews at the Toronto International Film Festival

This time of year might be a bit slow at the box office, but it's anything but dull as far as major film festivals go. This year's Toronto International Film Festival is in full swing, and several big movies are getting rave reviews from festival-goers and movie critics alike. I thought this might be a good time to take a closer look at TIFF and some of the biggest and best reviewed movies thus far.

First and foremost, a little background: The Toronto International Film Festival ranks right up there alongside Cannes now as far as film festivals are concerned. TIFF began as a small festival back in 1976, but each year, it gets bigger and bigger. A lot of major films have their world premiere at TIFF. Last year, for example, Oscar darlings Argo and Silver Linings Playbook premiered there to rave reviews.

That's just one of the reasons I follow happenings at TIFF so closely: With so many Academy Award-caliber films set to come out between now and December, I find it helps me sort out my strategy. As much as I'd love to, I can't afford to see every single new movie I want to see. But if it's a huge hit at TIFF? Yeah, that movie goes on my "to see" list almost immediately, and I'll tell you why: As BBC News journalist Neil Smith points out, unlike Cannes and the Venice Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival relies on its audience to select the best film with a People's Choice ballot. Some of the films that have won the prestigious People's Choice Award at TIFF include Silver Linings Playbook, The King's Speech, Precious and Slumdog Millionaire. This year, the People's Choice Award will be announced on September 15, 2013. Pay close attention to the winner, because I promise you, it's almost a guarantee that film will garner a Best Picture Academy Award nomination.

This year, nearly 300 feature films are showing at the Toronto International Film Festival. Of those, 140 are world premieres. Which films are getting the most buzz? At the moment, the film that's buzzing high above everyone else right now is the Steve McQueen-directed epic drama 12 Years a Slave. This film tells the true story of Northerner Solomon Northup, who was kidnapped and forced to work as a slave in the South in the 1800s. Those who saw 12 Years a Slave at TIFF are positively raving about the film, which was adapted from Northrup's autobiography. You can check out some of the official reviews on Rotten Tomatoes to get an idea of what's coming, and The Atlantic offers up several snippets of the overwhelmingly positive sentiment for the film expressed by critics.

Let's just go ahead and add 12 Years a Slave to our "must see" list now, shall we? The film opens in limited release in the U.S. on October 18, 2013, though I strongly suspect a wide release will come quickly.  

Another big name film on my radar that got rave reviews at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival is the Jean-Marc Vallée-directed drama Dallas Buyers Club. Not long ago, I gave you the scoop about the first big Dallas Buyers Club trailer and if I sounded excited about the movie then, I'm even more excited now.

The reviews coming from critics who screened this big budget film are positive, not surprisingly. The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney says this "enthralling drama" is going to garner star Matthew McConaughey raves, adding that his portrayal of Ron Woodruff is a "a full-bodied characterization that will take McConaughey’s already impressive career regeneration several steps further."

Dallas Buyers Club opens in wide release in U.S. theaters on November 1, 2013. Is there any question that this one's also on my must see list? I didn't think so.

One last note: Another upcoming movie I'm curious about, the crime drama/police procedural Prisoners, starring Hugh Jackman, also got great reviews after it's TIFF premiere. The cast is what first got my attention: In addition to Jackman, Prisoners also stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Terrence Howard, Viola Davis, Paul Dano and Melissa Leo. That's basically a Who's Who of Oscar winners over the past decade or so.

Here''s a very nice interview with Prisoners director Denis Villeneuve about how it feels to go from primarily Indie director to full-on Hollywood heavyweight with this film. And check out some of these awesome early reviews on Rotten Tomatoes -- it sure looks like we have a Best September 2013 movie winner to me.

Prisoners is coming out in just a couple of weeks: The U.S. release date for the movie is September 20, 2013. I plan on seeing it as soon as possible, and I'll definitely have a review up quickly for you.

Photos courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter and The Beaumont Enterprise