State of the Race: October Predictions - Best Supporting Actor

My Predictions
Kenneth Branagh "My Week With Marilyn"
Albert Brooks "Drive"
Patton Oswalt "Young Adult"
Christopher Plummer "Beginners"
Max von Sydow "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"

Other Contenders - Philip Seymour Hoffman "Moneyball", Philip Seymour Hoffman "The Ides of March", George Clooney "The Ides of March", Jim Broadbent "The Iron Lady", Ezra Miller "We Need to Talk About Kevin", Nick Nolte "Warrior", Brad Pitt "The Tree of Life", Niels Astrup "War Horse", Benedict Cumberbatch "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy", Jonah Hill "Moneyball", Ralph Fiennes "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2", Jeremy Irvine "War Horse", Armie Hammer "J. Edgar", John Hawkes "Martha Marcy May Marlene", Robert Forster "The Descendants"

Commentary - Unlike my Best Supporting Actress nominations which have held steady since September, I have flipped a few of my Supporting Actor ones around. I have currently taken Ezra Miller out simply for lack of buzz, and Armie Hammer, because I am growing fearful that J. Edgar will not impress. That being said, the categories biggest contenders at the moment seem to be veterans, none of whom have ever gotten the recognition they deserved. Christopher Plummer is still the frontrunner at the moment, but the newest entry of the great Max von Sydow puts a kink in Plummer's supposedly easy ride to the podium. Although until we see Daldry's latest, this is all mere speculation. Albert Brooks, despite the film seeming to falter, as remained steady, and may be the film's lone nod. Kenneth Branagh has gotten pretty good reviews so far for My Week with Marilyn, but he could be overshadowed by Williams, and the fact that the film as a whole is not exactly winning over critics. In the last spot, I am thinking outside the box with the pick of Patton Oswalt. He has been a hard working character actor for years, he is in a high profile Jason Reitman film, whose initial reaction is positive, and if he can hold his own against Oscar winner Charlize Theron, I don't see why he is not in the discussion. Now some of you may be confused as to why neither of the Moneyball or Ides of March guys are in the mix, considering they are Academy favorites. I just am hesitant, with splitting votes (Clooney v. Hoffman, Hoffman v. Hill, Hoffman v. Hoffman) and with less than stellar reviews for Ides, and an overshadowing performance in Moneball (Pitt), I am holding back until precursors tell me otherwise.