Best Supporting Actor 2012

5. Robert De Niro - Silver Linings Playbook
De Niro has got a fine character in a very good film, but he fails to bring anything into it. There's nothing he did with this character. It's hard for me to even say something about it, for I've seen the film six days ago, and yet I don't remember anything about him. He wanted to play it realisticly, but he was boring and forgettable, instead. I'm sad, because he took place some better supporting performance...

4. Alan Arkin - Argo
Yes, he was there just to be there. His character doesn't have a big purpose, but who cares. He was very nice and likable in all of his scenes, but the truth is he never tried to do something with his role, so that he would be just a little bit memorable. It's also true that he didn't have enough space to shine, but didn't bring much effort to it, either. Another forgettable performance between this year's nominees, but this one was at least funny...

3. Tommy Lee Jones - Lincoln

Right now I can't think of anyone, who'd handle this role better than Jones did. It's written as another of the thousands of supporting players that are in Lincoln, it means it's written forgettably. Jones makes this character interesting and pleasure to watch. Though his last scene is destroying his character, he never allows to fully do it and handles it very gently. That's probably what De Niro and Arkin should do with their characters...

2. Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Master

Playing Lancaster Dodd, the master of scientologic church, Philip Seymour Hoffman should be charming and authoritative. We all knew he can handle that. But his character also should be full of doubts. Why is he doing all this? He's a normal husband, which loves his family and friends, but why is he doing all of this? Does he really believes in everything he says and does? Should we believe in that? These are the questions his performance makes us ask, but we never get a satisfactory answer...

1. Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained

Django Unchained is one of the best films of 2012 and Waltz's performance is one of the best performances of the year. He obviously enjoys playing this character and if an actor enjoys playing his character, so do we enjoy watching his performance. He is funny, charming and adorable. He can be a worthy adversary to the co-stars of the film and the naive simplicity his character handles all of the problems and the way he portrayed it, gives him bonus points...

My Nominees:
1. Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained
2. Javier Bardem - Skyfall
3. Dwight Henry - Beasts of the Southern Wild
4. Matthew McConaughey - Magic Mike
5. Leonardo DiCaprio - Django Unchained

Best Supporting Actor 2012: Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Master

Paul Thomas Anderson has always been a very self-conscious director and writer. And though I prefer his previous film There will be blood, I can't say I didn't like The Master. It's a very solid film with a great message. It doesn't have to - and probably even doesn't - fit everyone. But everyone must admit its undeniable qualities, for instance its performances.
Philip Seymour Hoffman plays the master of The Cause who persuaded Joaqin Phoenix's character to join them. It's a very backhanded character, which makes it more difficult to play. We never know, if it's positive, or negative. We doubt about him and we never know, if he's talking right, or not. The Master actually reminds me of Doubt. You may say I'm crazy, but there is a similarity: we never know, whether we should trust Hoffman's character and whether we should stand on his side. These kinds of characters suit Hoffman greatly and he can handle them with ease, though they are very hard to play.
Hoffman's first mention-worthy scene is the first dialogue between Phoenix and him. They're on Hoffman's boat and he's detecting what Phoenix is doing there and how did he get there. Hoffman is very subtle in this scene, but certainly not boring. His charm is palpable.
The contrast that makes this character so backhanded is in the way he behaves and the way he speaks. The rational part of ourselves says that the things he speaks are bullshits. But the instinctive part of ourselves feels he's a nice likable guy.
Hoffman wonderfully portrayed Lancaster Dodd as a loving and beloved husband and also very manipulative and authoritative man. Every aspect of this performance may be flawless. The three of his best scenes are in my opinion the best scenes of the film: in the prison, the scene he's singing in and the scene of the first interrogating. Especially in the last mentioned scene wonderfully mirrors the contrast of this character. Well done, Mr. Hoffman!
The chances of winning an Oscar: Unfortunately, they are not very big, in my opinion. In fact, he is the fourth after Jones, Waltz and De Niro. But what can I do with that?

Next Year: Best Supporting Actor 2012

The Nominees:
Alan Arkin - Argo
Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained
Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Master
Robert De Niro - Silver Linings Playbook
Tommy Lee Jones - Lincoln (predicted winner)

So, please, comment. Who was snubbed? How would your nominees look like? Who would you like to win? Who do you think I'll let win? And how do you think I'll rate these performances?