The Avengers Written and directed by Joss Whedon Review by Malcolm Maclachlan and Tony Sheppard Malcolm: I was thinking about skipping “The Avengers” before I found out it was written and directed by Joss Whedon, who was apparently given free-reign to do basically whatever he wanted. Not because I was ever a huge fan of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (though I did like “Firefly”). Instead, it was because it seemed like if anyone could make sense of the confusing pile of characters and plot lines he’d been handed, it was Whedon. And how. Tony: Agreed - Whedon is on a recent roll, having also co-written and produced the surprisingly fun “The Cabin in the Woods.” Malcolm: “The Avengers” is ea

Every fourth Friday of the month, Club Circuitry features live acts. Last Friday, the club presented Anguidara, a Sacramento-based band, and Shadow Fax, an artist from Modesto.   Anguidara usually consists of a complete instrumental lineup. However, for Friday’s show, only two members were present. Frontman David Wright sang, played a floor tom drum and controlled all preprogrammed sounds while Victor La Rocco played guitar.   “About two years ago, I had a live band that consisted of a keyboardist, me, a guitarist, a bass player, and a drummer,” Wright explained. “All of them have gone their separate ways, except for the bass player, who is still going to be able to come back and play fo

Monsters vs. Aliens Directed by Rob Letterman and Conrad Vernon by Tony Sheppard Capitol Weekly This is an interesting release for Sacramento, for a couple of reasons. For starters, it’s set in California, with the initial action taking place in the Central Valley and the climax in San Francisco. But it’s also a bit of a departure from the established norm in this market, in that it’s being released in 3D on the giant IMAX screen on the same day as it hits the multiplexes – so you can pick your format without having to wait. Susan (voiced by Reese Witherspoon) lives in Modesto, where she’s about to marry the local TV weatherman Derek (Paul Rudd). Derek is waiting to expand his horizons