When Jaws exploded onto our screens in 1975, the world cowered before the most realistic special effects ever created. Cinema and CGI has certainly moved on since then, but we can’t help but notice that the life span of these new, snazzy effects is getting shorter and shorter. Did film-makers have it right to begin with?

What an incredible age we live in! Chemical-filled snacks are readily available on delivery at obscene hours of the morning, social networking has become a national sport and now we can even watch movies in three glorious dimensions. But with the great power of 3D comes great responsibility – so has anyone yet managed to rise up and use it to good effect? Or is it just about making an extra couple of quid per person at the cinema? So far it’s pretty much been the latter – but for every shocker there’s been one to come along and blow the rest out of the 3D piranha-infested waters…

YES IT WILL. Shut up, ‘century-old tradition of insightful French dramas’. Best. Ever.

Though they may be loathed by sixth formers attempting their always-boring ‘minimalist’ plays, props are undoubtedly the bread and butter of popular film. A chance for character development, plot development, or simple comedic value, props can provide allegory and nuance in a way that Hayden Christensen, say, cannot. Here we give a rundown on film’s most memorable props, from the Star Wars light sabre to Herbie the VW Beetle.

What is the future of 3D films? Avatar made the water 3D, then blew everything out of it. Tron: Legacy, whilst being undeniably rubbish, made $44 million in its opening weekend in the US alone, and the list of franchises to have secured box office success continues to grow. So is the future of 3D films secure, or is this a pretty 3D flash in an otherwise 2D pan?

2011 is the year of the toon, bringing us animated movies galore from Pixar, Disney, Dreamworks and their like whether we want it or not. Here’s our rundown of animations due to hit the box office in 2011. Think we missed one? Let us know. Our word for today is ‘completist’.

This update on the original ‘video nasty’ ups the ante not only on its predecessor, but on the entire torture porn genre. Low on chills and high on squirm-inducing “thrills”, it trades on the original’s notoriety while outstripping it on production values, acting and gore. If you go down to the woods today you may not be in for a big surprise… but take some nausea tablets just in case.

We can all think of a video game that somehow, beyond all sense and rationality, made it from the little screen to the big, and we usually wince when we recall them. The list of films based on video games is arguably one of the most excruciating compilations of film fails. So why do people keep on trying? And why do they always suck?

Martin Luther King biopics are like London busses…

J.J. Abrams is keeping news of his 2011 sci-fi film Super 8 under wraps, but it looks like concept art of the Super 8 monster has surfaced on the net…