Meet The Spartans

Starring Sean Maguire and Carmen Electra. Rated 14A.

Although consistently formulaic, derivative, and bereft of memorable dialogue, Meet the Spartans is an absolute must-see for everyone who thought 300 would be better if made cheaply and starring Carmen Electra.

As with the parodies in Mad magazine, Meet The Spartans is essentially a beat-for-beat retelling of a popular title, with certain situations and characters swapped with pop-culture references. An important difference is that Mad magazine is funny. Mad is satirically observant, and also value-packed with numerous fake ads, clever poems, the Al Jaffee foldout, and other whimsies to hold one’s attention if the central feature falls flat. Meet the Spartans is just a spoof, with nothing particularly interesting to say about the celebrities and situations that have been inserted. You’re just supposed to recognize the look-alikes. Look, it’s Ugly Betty! Look, it’s You Got Served! Look, it’s Happy Feet! It’s like a series of parade floats.

Danish museum in talks to buy controversial Prophet cartoons

The Royal Library in Copenhagen is attempting to buy a series of controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, but says it will not make them available to the public for at least 10 years.

The cartoons provoked protests around the world after they were published in a Danish newspaper two years ago.

Danish and European embassies were attacked in the Middle East and Far East. Fifty people died in demonstrations.