Asian monster flick D-War tore up the box office in its native South Korea this past summer. Slightly retitled to Dragon Wars by distributor Freestyle Releasing, the film did surprisingly well in the US, grossing more than $10 million, making it the most successful Korean picture released in America. (Total worldwide box office was $66 million, according to Box Office Mojo). It didn't screen for critics, but I saw it anyway, propelled by a childhood love for Godzilla and his monstrous friends.

Director Shim Hyung-Rae's film is incredibly cheesy and nonsensical, but strangely satisfying if you're a fan of monster movies in general and keep your expectations just barely above zero. Unfortunately, the lead characters, played by Jason Behr and Amanda Brooks, are wan and colorless, in part because their roles are so thinly written. Happily, B-movie greats Robert Forster and Chris Mulkey are on hand to juice things up. Most of the production budget was evidently spent on the special effects, which would have been state of the art ten years ago. It's the kind of movie that made me roll my eyes and mutter to myself throughout. Yet days later I found myself quoting some of the more outrageous lines and scenes to others. The DVD includes a featurette entitled "5,000 Years in the Making," storyboard to screen "animatics" and conceptual art gallery.

Japanese auteur Takashi Miike has made dozens of films in almost every conceivable genre (the remake of his horror flick One Missed Call was just released this weekend), but Big Bang Love -- Juvenile A is, I believe, his first foray into the homoerotic prison drama genre. Mark Schilling of The Japan Times noted that it "differs from much of his previous work (especially his recent commercial outings) in its theatrically stylized sets, complex narrative strategies and basic tone." The DVD includes an interview with Miike, "behind the scenes special," an image gallery, trailers and program notes.

Someone call Stephen Hawking and find out if we're in some kind of time warp, because a western was the number one movie in America last weekend. That certainly hasn't happened for awhile. Russell Crowe and Christian Bale's remake of 3:10 to Yuma took top honors, pushing another remake -- Rob Zombie's Halloween -- back to number 2. After being out for several weeks, Superbad and The Bourne Ultimatum are still clinging to the top five like William Shatner clutching his hairpiece in a high wind. Here's the breakdown:

1. 3:10 to Yuma: $14 million
2. Halloween: $9.5 million.
3. Superbad: $7.5 million.
4. Shoot 'Em Up: $5.7 million.
5. The Bourne Ultimatum: $5.6 million.

What's happening this week? We've got vengeance, giant lizards and traumatic memories of gym class. At my house we call that Tuesday. Here's what's coming out this weekend:

The Brave One
What's It All About: Jodie Foster stars as a victim of a brutal assault that leaves her boyfriend dead. Not believing the police will be able to solve the case, she sets out to avenge the crime herself.
Why It Might Do Well: Oscar-winner Foster is joined by Oscar-nominated Terrence Howard and Emmy-nominated Naveen Andrews (he's very cool on Lost), making for a cast worth watching.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Kevin Bacon's similarly themed Death Sentence died at the box office (proving that revenge is NOT a dish best served with bacon) so The Brave One may suffer a similar fate.
Number of Theaters: 2,700
Prediction: $15 million

Dragon Wars
What's It All About: Ancient prophecies are fulfilled and big nasty beasties with scales and pointy teeth lay waste to Los Angeles.
Why It Might Do Well: With all the buzz generated by the Cloverfield trailer (a.k.a. 1-18-08) it seems the public is in the mood for some kaiju-style devastation.
Why It Might Not Do Well: No star power to speak of, but then that never stopped Godzilla and his scaly pals.
Number of Theaters: 2,000
Prediction: $7 million

Mr. Woodcock
What's It All About: Seann William Scott (he who will always be Stifler) learns to his horror that his mother is about to marry Mr. Woodcock (Billy Bob Thornton), the sadistic gym teacher from his childhood.
Why It Might Do Well: Balls of Fury -- another film with a lame double entendre title that refers to male genitalia -- made it into the top five last week, so why not this one?
Why It Might Not Do Well: This looks a lot like Thornton's character from School For Scoundrels, and I've rarely seen Scott stray far from the character he played in American Pie. I don't need more of either.
Number of Theaters: 2,200
Prediction: $8 million

The predictions are getting tougher each week as surefire blockbusters become fewer and farther between. Here's how I think this coming weekend will go.
1. The Brave One
2. 3:10 to Yuma
3. Mr. Woodcock
4. Dragon Wars
5. Halloween

Participation in our weekly box office competition was down last week. Come on, people, don't shy away just because the game got more challenging. Here's last week's results:

1. Bubba8193: 16
2. Ted W: 12
3. Matt: 10
4. Micah Claire: 8
5. Anna07: 7
5. Porcalina: 7
5. Gregory Rubinstein: 7
6. Ray: 4

Here's how the competition works:
Please post your prediction in the comments section below before 5:00PM on Saturday. One point for every top five movie correctly named, two points for every correct placement, and one extra point for the top movie.

It has the greatest, most literal title since Snakes on a Plane, but hopefully Dragon Wars won't be as disappointing. The South Korean movie -- which features American actors, settings and dialogue -- has already made a ton of money back home, and it's due to open in the U.S. on September 14. I shouldn't have to tell you what it's about, since the title explains all you need to know, but here goes a try: an evil, giant, serpent-like creature arrives in Los Angeles with an army of soldiers and monsters in order to find an ancient 'gift', which is located inside a 20-year-old girl, who is the reincarnation of a Korean who possessed the 'gift' 500 years ago. The 'gift' is some sort of magic that will turn the serpent-like creature into a dragon. A local reporter, who happens to be a reincarnated warrior who protected the girl centuries ago, now has to stop the ancient creatures and save her. Makes no sense to me, and so it probably makes less sense to you, so let's just say it's about what the title says: dragon wars.

Anyway, if you're really curious and want to know more specific information about the crazy, hard-to-follow plot, MTV Movies Blog has some helpful visual aids that provide some background about the different creatures we'll see in the movie. There seem to all be paintings rather than screen captures, and include Dawdlers, Dragons, Bulcos, Imoogis and Evil Imoogis. The Evil Imoogie, named Buraki, is the serpent-like creature mentioned above that attacks L.A. Apparently Buraki really, really wants to become a dragon, which is shown as being similar to the long, Eastern-styled dragon familiar via Chinese mythology. Meanwhile, the Bulcos, described as mutated birds, look more like the Western type familiar to fantasy fans. The Dawdlers are the coolest looking, though, mainly because they rocket launchers attached to their backs make me think of Dino-Riders. Admittedly, I'm probably more confused after looking at these renderings, but at least I'm intrigued. Despite the crazy plot, I think Dragon Wars (formerly, and also, known as D-War) is going to be another cool monster movie from the country that gave us The Host.

Many of us at Cinematical have written about just how great the Korean, record-breaking horror flick called The Host is. It is no perfect film, but it has heart, laughs and this funny way of sticking with you. I still smile every time I think of the over-the-top gymnasium scene (check out the DVD to see what I'm talking about). While we're lucky enough to be able watch it from our own comfy couches starting tomorrow, some people are seeing it for the first time. The film has made its way into India, and grossed a respectable 8.39 million Rupees ($208,000) in its first week there on 62 screens, selling 72,500 tickets -- something to note since it seems to be the first Korean flick released in the country.

The success of this Korean flick doesn't seem to be some one-of-a-kind feat, and another film is hot on the killer tadpole's tail. Variety has reported that a new monster movie, D-War, has grossed a super-solid $20.3 million in South Korea after only give days -- just missing the record-breaking opening for The Host. Unlike the other, D-War is a Korean flick with U.S. actors, and it follows a Korean legend about a giant snake that's got its sights set on Los Angeles. The film, which stars Jason Behr, Amanda Brooks and Robert Forster, is going to be released stateside on September 14 under the name Dragon Wars. Horror might be struggling, but monster movies are going good and strong.