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HomeTopicsArts and CultureThe 4 Oscar-nominated films that are currently showing in Costa Rica

The 4 Oscar-nominated films that are currently showing in Costa Rica

The Academy Award nominations were released Friday morning, with somewhat-true crime caper “American Hustle” and visually stunning space flick “Gravity” leading the way, with 10 nods each. Of the nine best picture nominees only “Captain Phillips” is playing in Costa Rica. Alfonso Cuarón’s ” Gravity” received a wide release, but is no longer in cinemas. The other seven best picture nominees haven’t shown here yet.

A few more of the alleged best films of the year probably will get here before the awards show on March 2. But right now only four films that received any nominations are playing in Costa Rica.

Best animated picture nominee “Frozen” (which also received a nomination for best song) is playing in just about every cinema in the country. But like most animated releases in Costa Rica, theaters are only showing a Spanish-dubbed version of the film.

That leaves English-speaking cinema-goers with a trio of options if they want an Oscar-nominated film:  the aforementioned “Captain Phillips”, “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” and “Inside Llewyn Davis.”

Unless you’re a Lord of the Rings zealot, the Tom Hanks survival film or the Coen Brothers latest picture seem like better choices to see here.

“Captain Phillips” tells the true story of a U.S. man whose shipped was hijacked by Somali pirates in 2009. Hanks missed out on an Oscar nomination, but supporting actor Barkhad Abdi and director Paul Greengrass each grabbed one. The film received six nominations overall, and is playing at Plaza Paraíso in Cartago.

“Inside Llewyn Davis” follows a hard-luck folk singer who’s not quite good enough for a week in the 1960s. The movie was shut out of all the major categories despite universal praise from critics (including much love for the movie’s Guatelaman-born star Óscar Isaac). But the movie still managed nominations in the categories of best cinematography and best sound mixing.  The latest Hobbit film also landed nods in the thrilling technical category of best sound mixing category, along with best visual effects and best sound editing.

You have a week to catch “Inside Llewyn Davis” at the historic Cine Magaly in downtown San José (the theater gloated on Facebook about the 5-star review the film received in La Nación. Here are the showtimes). “Inside Llewyn Davis” also is playing at Mall Multiplaza Escazú, according to the cinema’s website.

If a gloomy folk film doesn’t interest you either, one other quality English-language film option in theaters is the Formula 1 flick “Rush.”  Actor Daniel Brühl’s lack of an Oscar nomination is considered one of this year’s biggest snubs. The film is playing in most of the Central Valley as is “The Hobbit” sequel.

See a full list of the Oscar nominations here. We listed the major categories below:

Best Picture
• “American Hustle”
• “Captain Phillips”
• “Dallas Buyers Club”
• “Gravity”
• “Her”
• “Nebraska”
• “Philomena”
• “12 Years a Slave”
• “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Best Actor in a Leading Role
• Christian Bale, “American Hustle”
• Bruce Dern, “Nebraska”
• Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Wolf of Wall Street”
• Chiwetel Ejiofor, “12 Years a Slave”
• Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club”

Best Actress in a Leading Role
• Amy Adams, “American Hustle”
• Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”
• Sandra Bullock, “Gravity”
• Judi Dench, “Philomena”
• Meryl Streep, “August: Osage County”

Best Supporting Actor
• Barkhad Abdi, “Captain Phillips”
• Bradley Cooper, “American Hustle”
• Michael Fassbender, “12 Years a Slave”
• Jonah Hill, “The Wolf of Wall Street”
• Jared Leto, “The Dallas Buyers Club”

Best Supporting Actress
• Sally Hawkins, “Blue Jasmine”
• Jennifer Lawrence, “American Hustle”
• Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave”
• Julia Roberts, “August: Osage County”
• June Squibb, “Nebraska”

Best Director
• David O. Russell, “American Hustle”
• Alfonso Cuaron, “Gravity”
• Alexander Payne, “Nebraska”
• Steve McQueen, “12 Years a Slave”
• Martin Scorsese, “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Best Original Screenplay
• “American Hustle” – Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell
• “Blue Jasmine” – Written by Woody Allen
• “Her” – Written by Spike Jonze
• “Nebraska” – Written by Bob Nelson
• “Dallas Buyers Club” – Written by Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack

Best Adapted Screenplay
• “Before Midnight” – Written by Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke
• “Captain Phillips” – Screenplay by Billy Ray
• “Philomena” – Screenplay by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope
• “12 Years a Slave” – Screenplay by John Ridley
• “The Wolf of Wall Street” – Screenplay by Terence Winter

Best Animated Film
• “The Croods”
• “Despicable Me 2”
• “Ernest & Celestine”
• “Frozen”
• “The Wind Rises”

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