Another significant milestone in the American history: President Obama Signs his stimulus package to help American Economy. As he signed the $787bn economic stimulus package, the president said there would be an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability for the money spent, but he said it was not an instant cure for America's economic woes.
Need Michael Jackson's Stuff?
Dr. Mind heard that Michael Jackson is planning to sell off more than 2000 personal items of memorabilia at an auction in April. So guys, wait to participate one of the world's greatest auctions..
Oscar Nominations:
Best Picture:
BENJAMIN BUTTONBrad Pitt was transformed for the role
What is it about? Based on a 1920s story by F Scott Fitzgerald, it looks at the life of Benjamin Button, who ages backwards but is unable to stop the tide of time.
Who is in it? Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Julia Ormond
The critics say: "Represents a richly satisfying serving of deep-dish Hollywood storytelling." (Variety)
"A delightful movie from beginning to end with a cast of likeable characters, moments that will make you laugh and moments that will make you sad." (Empire)
Awards and nominations: The film failed to convert any of its five Golden Globe nominations and pick up any other major awards. Bafta has seen fit to include it in 11 shortlists, including best actor for Brad Pitt.
FROST/NIXON
Frost/Nixon witnesses a historical clash
What is it about? A retelling of the story behind David Frost's groundbreaking TV interviews with former US president Richard Nixon, who had was forced from office over the Watergate scandal.
Who is in it? Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Kevin Bacon
The critics say: "The result is involving, engrossing cinema - more thrilling, in fact, than The Da Vinci Code - film-making of a type rarely seen any more and sorely missed." (Los Angeles Times)
"The film is at its best when Frost and Nixon are face to face. The rest is a distraction." (The Independent)
Awards and nominations: The film has picked up a slew of nominations, but has yet to win a major US award. It has six Bafta nods, including best actor for Frank Langella.
MILK
Sean Penn takes the film's titular role
What is it about? The story of Harvey Milk, San Francisco's first openly gay elected official in the late 1970s, which looks into his private life for the first time on film.
Who is in it? Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna
The critics say: "It is most notable for a surprising and entirely winning performance by Sean Penn in the leading role." (Variety)
"Milk thoroughly deserves all of the press ink that will doubtless be spilt over it." (Empire)
Awards and nominations: The film has picked up a number of awards from the New York Critics, Los Angeles Critics National Board of Review, but failed to make an impact at the Golden Globe awards. It is in the running for four Baftas.
THE READER
The Reader is directed by Stephen Daldry
What is it about? A successful Berlin lawyer recalls an affair he conducted with older woman called Hanna when he was a teenager. He later confronts her when she is on trial for her actions as an SS officer during World War II. We learn how this relationship comes to have a profound effect on their lives.
Who is in it? Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, David Kross
The critics say: "It becomes increasingly unclear what the film is actually about: Personal and national guilt? Romantic trauma? Or the transformative power of the written word?" (The Times)
Awards and nominations: Kate Winslet's central performance in the film has garnered several awards, including one of her Golden Globe gongs. It is nominated for five Baftas, including best film.
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Slumdog Millionaire has been roundly praised by critics
What is it about? A young man from the slums of Mumbai stands to win a fortune on India's Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. His story is told in flashback through each question, while he fights for his childhood sweetheart.
Who is in it? Dev Patel, Anil Kapoor, Freida Pinto, Madhur Mittal
The critics say: "The best old-fashioned audience picture of the year." (Los Angeles Times)
"Slumdog Millionaire is terrific, exhilarating, inspirational entertainment." (Daily Mail)
Awards and nominations: The film was the toast of the Golden Globe awards with four wins including best film. It has 11 nominations at the Bafta awards, which also gave acting nods to its largely unknown leads, Dev Patel and Freida Pinto.
Best Actor:
RICHARD JENKINSRichard Jenkins has appeared in TV series Six Feet Under
Age: 61
Nominated for: The Visitor
The character: Depressed widower Walter Vale is transformed and purified by his unlikely friendship with a free-spirited illegal immigrant called Tarek.
Previous Oscar wins: None
Previous Oscar nominations: None
The critics said: "A key scene in Central Park, where he is invited to join Tarek's drumming group, is mesmerising for how he simultaneously conveys awkwardness, embarrassment, and the dim flickering of childish innocence." (The Times)
He said: "When I read the script, I thought, 'I understand this. I really understand this'. Sometimes you read scripts and you think, 'there are so many guys who could do this better than I can'. But this one, I thought, "if I don't get to do this, it will be really hard on me'."
Trivia: Jenkins, who is perhaps best known as deceased patriarch Nathaniel Fisher in US TV drama Six Feet Under, studied drums for five years in his youth.
FRANK LANGELLA
Frank Langella portrays the disgraced president
Age: 69
Nominated for: Frost/Nixon
The character: Disgraced president, Richard Milhous Nixon who squares off against interviewer David Frost in the wake of the Watergate scandal.
Previous Oscar wins: None
Previous Oscar nominations: None
The critics said: "The all-too unsung Frank Langella, who stoops and rumbles and roars, played Nixon to Sheen's Frost in Peter Morgan's original stage-play. He admirably steeps him in flawed nobility and self-deception, but besides his ache for former glory and a quick buck, there's not enough slime in his Tricky Dicky." (Empire)
He said: "It would have been totally uninteresting to me to play him as a drunk or as a crook. Those were two facets of a very, very complicated man, and we musn't forget that he was brilliant statesman. He was an extraordinary, intelligent man."
Trivia: Langella's recurring role as Minister Jaro on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine went uncredited because, he said, he only took the part for his children.
SEAN PENN
Penn plays the film's titular character
Age: 48
Nominated for: Milk
The character: Harvey Milk, real-life gay rights activist, and the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California - who was shot dead in 1978.
Previous Oscar wins: One (best actor for Mystic River in 2003)
Previous Oscar nominations: Three
The critics said: "Penn is a lion of an actor, but the tenderness he radiates here is revelatory." (Rolling Stone)
He said: "One of the great tragedies of his death was later that year was the beginning of the plague. There is no question in my mind Ronald Reagan would have talked about Aids if Harvey Milk made him."
Trivia: Aside from his high-profile marriages to Madonna and Robin Wright-Penn, the actor was briefly engaged to Bruce Springsteen's sister, Pamela.
BRAD PITT
Pitt's character undergoes an unusual transformation
Age: 45
Nominated for: The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
The character: Pitt plays the title character, whose opening line "I was born under unusual circumstances," dramatically understates his condition - he ages in reverse.
Previous Oscar wins: None
Previous Oscar nominations: One (best supporting actor for Twelve Monkeys in 1995)
The critics said: "He portrays the Ages of Man with much skill. That goes with the territory. But how did he prepare emotionally?" (Chicago Sun-Times)
He said: "It's a tragedy in the sense that any love involves loss, and that's the risk you take. And the greater the love, the greater the loss. I certainly feel that now with the woman I'm with, and the children that I have. But whatever the course may be, this time together is extraordinary."
Trivia: The tattoo on Pitt's stomach is Angelina Jolie's birthdate in Khmer.
MICKEY ROURKE
The Wrestler marks a career comeback for Rourke
Age: 56
Nominated for: The Wrestler
The character: Randy "The Ram" Robinson is a broken-down wrestler clinging to his 1980s glory days who agrees to a 20th anniversary rematch with his most notable opponent.
Previous Oscar wins: None
Previous Oscar nominations: None
The critics said: "For the first time in ages, the star has a chance to show vulnerability and humour: A superb scene, apparently improvised, has the Ram reluctantly serving on a deli counter, and rising to the task with winning showmanship and charm." (The Independent)
He said: "I wanted to secretly have, like, four moves that are really hard to do. We had it choreographed so that any half-assed athlete could do it, but I wanted to take it a step higher and really bring it."
Trivia: Rourke still hasn't watched the film.
