The plot is a simple and classic Korean type of story, even though it's been almost 10 years since its release - opposites attract, followed by an intense romance and a sad ending. The girl is from a well-to-do family, well-mannered and gentle, while the guy is gruff, in a blue-collar job, but street-smart and gentlemanly.

The lead couple have sizzling chemistry - you can feel the intensity of their love for each other and the mutual attraction. Jung Woo Sung's character Chul Jin - he's the man every guy wants to be, gruff, oh-so-cool without being pretentious, and the man every woman wants. Dependable, caring, loving, and will sweep you off your feet, all at the same time.

The music is well-chosen, reflecting the whimsical and fairytale-like romance they experience during their courtship, and then the bittersweet tone of the second half of the movie.

I discovered this movie by accident on my local TV channel many years back, but could not complete it because it was too late at night. Glad to have finally finished watching it. Dementia may slowly erase your memories, but it can never take away from the happiness of the moment, the joy of experiencing the here-and-now.

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TL;DR: watch it and enjoy the first 12 episodes. It kinda goes downhill from there.

Let's start with the good points: star-studded and gorgeous cast, gorgeous colours, stylish sets & shooting locations, and moving music.

Additionally, the show started off really well. Song Hye Kyo (Young) and Jo In Sung (Soo) have great chemistry, and it's exciting to watch Soo do all he can to con his way into the hearts of Young and those in her core circle. Kim Bum (Jin Sung) and Eun Ji (Hee Sun) also contribute some laughs to this show.

Now that brings me to the bad: because of that great chemistry, I felt there were several uncomfortable moments in the show between the pair (can't say more without giving it away). And the story disappointingly deteriorates (towards the final third (approximately) after the good start.

There were so many unnecessary twists and turns in the story that did not contribute at all to my understanding of the characters, or their motivations for their past actions. I went into this with my eyes fully open that it was a makjang type of show - full of tragedy, chaebol antics etc. However, I expected more seeing that it was from the writer of Padam Padam, which was tragic, moving, and TOTALLY MADE SENSE.

I would only rewatch this drama for the cute moments between Soo and Young, as well as Jin Sung and Hee Sun.

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The story and plot of this movie is simple: did the suspect murder his wife?

What I like about this movie is the simplicity of the story, and how it does not all take place in the courtroom, which tends to drag down the pace of the movie. Ha Jung Woo, Park Hee Soon and Jang Hyuk all give great performances as the defence counsel, prosecutor and the suspect. Ha Jung Woo is fantastically charismatic and interesting to watch onscreen as the seemingly nonchalant lawyer who grows in the process of defending his client, Park Hee Soon plays a really enigmatic and mysterious prosecutor who seems to have a hidden agenda in his pursuit of this case, and Jang Hyuk does not give away much in his portrayal of the suspect.

I love how the movie is written to constantly shake your assumptions and cause you to doubt your theory - so did he do it or not? Be patient as all will be revealed in the end. A great thriller!

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Without doubt, this film has a Korean nationalistic appeal, due to its historical context. It’s a pretty positive portrayal of Korean independence fighters, but without full knowledge of the Korean independence movement in the relevant time period, it’s hard for me to comment on this aspect.

But, if we can separate it from the historical context and accuracy or lack of it, the movie itself, as a classic good-vs-evil action thriller, is pretty entertaining and exciting. The appeal of it is boosted by its star-studded cast; if it had been a B-list cast it might not have been so popular or well-executed. Lee Jung-jae and Ha Jung Woo in particular are excellent in this. They have great screen presence and are positively smouldering, stealing the limelight in any scene they are featured in. Jeon Ji Hyun does a decent job, especially with the action scenes she was handed.

A thrilling action movie you’ll definitely enjoy.

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The drama feels like a tribute to the growing up years - which is most apt for those of us who have already grown up (at least that is my personal view). It reflects the intensity of our adolescence - when that one thing, whether it's your crush or your favourite boyband, means everything to you and consumes your whole life, such that if you failed at one of those things, your whole world would collapse around you.

The whole drama is written as a look back from the present to the past, starting from the year 1997. Each episode is written around a particular theme or life lesson - very poignant and stirs up feelings of nostalgia within you.

The ensemble cast in this show is quite hilarious - a good mix of experienced and amateur actors who have good chemistry. Eun Ji from A Pink gives a great debut performance. Seo In Guk too, though Eun Ji steals the show.

A high rewatch value for the fact that the show can teach some lessons we need to learn again and again throughout life, no matter what age we are.

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Action sageuks are nothing new, but I guess what sets this apart is the use of ice, something we now take for granted, as the centerpiece of the story.

The ensemble cast is pretty delightful, and is well led by Cha Tae Hyun, who does well as always as the deceivingly bumbling but smart protagonist. His character plays off of Oh Ji Ho's straight-laced, principled character, as always. It makes for many humorous hijinks and dramatic tension and conflict. By the end of the show, I came to love every single character.

The ending credits do have some extra material to enjoy, so don't turn it off till it's really over!

An action sageuk that provides the right thrills, spills and laughs. A very enjoyable ride.

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This movie joins a string of many other movies in 2015 that celebrates the youthful energy and passions that are our 20s.

There is plenty of laughs and tears in this show, which makes it overall an entertaining watch. For those who were familiar with the music of the era and the music from the real Cest Si Bon group, this is sure to be a nostalgic watch for you, with a number of songs from the era on the soundtrack.

Jung Woo's character is the emotional core of the movie and he does a good job carrying the movie. You could say Han Hyo Joo's character is the main antagonist of the movie. She does a decent job as a coy, ambitious young woman who captures the heart of all the men she meets.

Overall, a decent watch with a fair amount of laughs and sad moments.

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If I could summarize this movie, it is about growing up. It is unique because it is a female-centric story about friendship and growing up. We can never have one too many of those.

First loves/crushes. Letting go of your first love. Having your friend's back. Bullying.
Have you ever wanted to give your 17-year-old self a big hug and say "it's okay, it's not the end of the world"? What advice would you give to her/him? Did you ever fulfill those lofty dreams you had as an adolescent? Do you have any regrets?
These are all things that are addressed in the movie. It dispenses valuable lessons, yet doesn't feel preachy. It delivered so many moments of both laughter and tears.

I love that the story is told by intercutting the present time with flashback sequences through the eyes of Na-mi. However, the beating heart of the group is Chun-hwa, and Kang So-ra impressed me as young Chun-hwa. Shim Eun-Kyung also has a breakout role in this movie - so funny at times, so heartfelt at others.

As for the music, the movie used many English-language hit songs from the 80s that probably sound familiar to us now, and were very appropriate to the era. The music also helped create an air of nostalgia suitable to the flashback sequences.

I don't usually like rewatching shows, but I can see the value in rewatching this film, for some of the lessons that are suitable for any station or stage of life you may be in.

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To sum up Heartless City, it is a combination of Infernal Affairs, Shawshank Redemption and maybe CSI.

The story is well crafted and tightly written to keep you on your toes. There are so many twists in the story that keep you hooked, and I mean HOOKED, to the show. Facades are slowly peeled back to reveal the relationships and connections between the characters through secret conversations and flashbacks that tease the real story, layer by layer. Utterly fascinating and addictive. It’s no wonder that the writer spent 6 years perfecting the script.

As a general theme, it is difficult to pinpoint any one character being the hero. There are no heroes, no one emerges blameless. Everyone perpetrates a wrongdoing in some way. This is what I really like about the story.

What stops me from calling this a perfect show is the middle part of it - about episodes 11-15 - during which the story did not develop much. There’s probably at least 2 episodes’ worth of wasted story. The good point about this show also becomes a flaw later on. Loyalties and alliances that keep shifting and changing are only interesting up to a point. After a while they become tiring to follow (that’s what I felt). Perhaps that's just me being lazy.

I like that the love affair is not the central relationship in the show, which gives good time to the other relationships in the story - the sisterly relationship between Jin Sook and Soo Min, the brotherly relationship between Soo and Shi Hyun, the father-son relationship between Hyung Min and Commissioner Ji, etc.

I also like the ending.

Jung Kyung Ho is, no doubt, the star of the show. I noticed him from the show Smile, You in which he played such a cheery character that it was hard to imagine him playing such a fiery, smouldering bada**.

I’ve never liked Nam Gyuri - I always found her look too plastic and thus restricting her ability to emote. However, the transformation she makes as a character is interesting to watch. Even though I didn’t like her face (literally), I think she does a decent job, though I would have preferred a more established actress to portray the character.

I have never seen any of Lee Jae Yoon’s shows before. I think he did a pretty decent job.

The soundtrack is pretty exciting and sexy.

All in all, a good, serious and heavy watch.

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This movie really leans more towards the genre of 'typical action movie' than the sageuk genre - it doesn't put itself in a specific time of Korean history and incorporates modern weaponry. Even the filmmaking style feels really contemporary. I also like the incorporation of an emotional element and character backstory.

As for the cast, Ha Ji Won, being the consummate action star and the main star of this movie, does a really good job in the action side of things, and the emotional side of things. Kang Ye Won was OK and played the requisite doofus of the trio. Of the three angels, Ga In's character is the smallest so she had minimal time to show off her acting chops. I've only watched her in Dream High so far. She was OK I guess.

In short, a pretty straightforward female-focused brainless action movie in a sageuk context.

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Firstly, I really love the story and the ideas put forth by the drama - time travel, whether one man or woman can change the whole course of history, the merits of ancient times and lack of technology as opposed to the merits of the modern world and our abundance, etc.

Initially, I was sceptical of the Kim Hee Sun-Lee Min Ho pairing - among the usual concerns are the age gap - but it grew on me and I like the mature way the romance was played out, probably helped by the writing (no unnecessary noble idiocy and a very forthright couple in this show). Thankfully the show isn't just driven by the KHS-LMH romance, but also by other relationships, which I particularly liked - the relationship between the king and queen, between the king and LMH's character, and the camaraderie & brotherhood amongst the Woodalchi.

There are moments of comedy in this show - the transition KHS's character makes from 2012 Seoul to 14th century Goryeo, and all the modern language and habits she brings with her. At times the villains are hilarious.

Several scenes were poorly executed - weird transitions from scene to scene, music not being used properly to add to the mood of a scene, not enough grandeur given to action scenes etc.

I felt that the story was only adequate for a 20 or 22 episode long drama - 24 episodes felt way too long and I gradually got bored towards the end because several conflicts and threats by the villains were recycled and I was just pleading with them to act on their threats so I could see some plot movement happening. Thankfully the ending was good, but it sure took the drama WAY too long to reach that point.

This had the potential to be a great show, but unfortunately it is just a good show.

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I’ve held back on watching this movie because I’ve heard so many good things about it and wanted to keep it for my viewing pleasure for longer.

In terms of story, it is quite a mixture of heartwarming and hilarity. You can never go wrong with the fish-out-of-water concept.

It is clear the movie is trying to send an explicit message to its audience to respect the elderly, not to look down on them, not to be ashamed of them, to be grateful for their contributions and sacrifices. While these are valid takeaway lessons, what I was hoping to get more of in the movie was for Granny to have an opportunity to look back on her regrets or mistakes. While the movie did raise some of these aspects, we didn’t really show Granny exploring or delving deeply into these regrets.

Shim Eun-kyung is already well-known as a great actress at her tender age. It’s amazing how she perfectly embodies an old soul inhabiting the body of a young woman. Sung Dong Il is as usual great. Lee Jin Wook is of course charming in his role as a young man taken by Shim Eun-kyung’s peculiar character. Jinyoung is okay.

Overall, it’s a good heartwarming watch.

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I can’t help but make comparisons to City Hunter, but while it shares many similarities, it does seem to have a slightly more complex background story and a larger social message to spread.

In terms of story, I would have to wrack my brain to find any flaws in it. When the storyline in your typical thriller would start dropping at episode 10, this drama just keeps going. The pacing never fails. Where you would expect cracks to emerge in the main couple’s relationship, the writer instead takes the opportunity to show the audience that this is a couple to get behind and cheer on.

Admittedly, up till about episode 10, I didn't actually love the show that much, but thankfully the story picked up and pushed through to reach the pace and excitement that this show promised.

So many delightful characters and relationships in this show that are well-developed and evolve through the show. Because I don’t want to spoil it, I can’t reveal my favourite relationship that moved me the most. But my favourite character is Moon-ho, played by Yoo Ji Tae. I don’t know how much credit goes to the writer and how much goes to the actor, but I do love Yoo Ji Tae’s charisma, which just shines off my computer screen.

Yoo Ji-tae is just perfect in this show - perfectly cast and played the role so well. Park Min-young seems to excel at everywoman roles.

It’s a pity that a better actor was not cast for the role of Moon-shik, who would otherwise be a worthy adversary to Moon-ho. The actor cast in this case was pretty stone-faced and wasn’t very menacing for a villain. In any case, Moon-shik is a pretty fascinating character.

All in all, a freaking exciting show to watch.

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The basic plot of this show isn't very new or special - the high school setting has been used so much and having an idol star as a character isn't new either.

The show started off really well, and I really loved some of the endings of the episodes. Each character has his/her chance in the spotlight, where we get to find out more about their mysterious backstories. Unfortunately, there are also some plot holes and befuddling character behaviour that don't get explained or resolved by the end of the show. Actually, because each show ranged from 80-90 minutes, the 12-episode length (shorter than normal) does not explain why these holes could not be resolved properly. Some parts of the story towards the end moved so slowly that I got a bit bored.

Junhyung (of B2ST fame) did a surprisingly good job portraying his idol star character. Ha Yeon Soo is now the Next Big Thing, and Kang Haneul, you are such a HOTTIE. The ensemble cast as a whole makes for a cute watch, but it's the characters' stories that are compelling.

Any rewatch value would probably come from the funny and "d'awww" moments of reconciliation and bromance.

I love the music in this show - to date I didn't know Korean music had such a rich history of meaningful songs and diverse artists and bands. And there were some very sweet songs written for this show. For a show centred on music, it sure delivered on its soundtrack!

Overall a cute watch but not groundbreaking.

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