Cruel City (2013)

This show was amazing. It had my heart beating really fast on almost every episode. I'm not really the melodrama type, but the whole revenge thing I read about tweaked my interest, but the 20 episodes turned me down, because I don't really watch dramas with more than 16 episodes because I think they drag, but Heartless City really was fast paced and it didn't drag. I finished it all in one day. The music was well fitted and placed in the right scenes. I really hate it when the music doesn't go with the scene. Jung kyung ho really shocked with his serious acting. Every time I turned a corner a new secret punched me in the face. All the plot twist were placed really well and revealed in a good way. They were placed throughout the show. I would have to wait until I forget all the secrets to be able to rewatch this show.

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It has been ages since I saw a drama which was so addicting. I was watching this drama knowing that it is good but I never expected to be that good. I can honestly say that this drama was one of the best dramas I've seen so far (despite some little things).

STORY
I really enjoyed the storyline. In the beginning it had many surprising turn overs and it had many unexpected scenes. I was totally hooked on the story. In the late episodes the quality of the storyline fell down a bit. However, I think that writers did an amazing job here. I can't think of any flaws in the story right now, like I can find in other dramas. I think that if you watch this drama you will find out how addicting and GRIPPING this drama is. Seriously!!! I've finished this drama in 2 days!

CAST
Well, there are some flaws when we speak about the actors and their acting. I think that Kim Yoo Mi (as Lee Jin Sook), Yoon Hyun Min (as Kim Hyeon Soo) and Choi Moo Sung (as Safari) did an amazing job!!! All of them are really talented and I could believe every scene they were in.

As for Jung Kyung Ho (as Doctor's Son)....ehm...well, I dont't find him handsome but he is somehow very attractive. He's not really a good actor in my opinion, however, I think, that he fit the role very well. But I don't think that I will watch something with him ever again.

As for Lee Jae Yoon (as Ji Hyung Min), he has to work on his acting skills as well. However, I can imagine him as a police officer, which was his character in this drama. He seemed to me a bit like Seeley Booth in 'Bones'.

Nam Gyu Ri (as Yoon Soo Min) did a good job as well, however, I found her character really annoying.

And finally Son Chang Min (as Min Hong Ki). Currently, I watch ?Glorious Day' and I love him in there. His character and acting is perfect in 'Glorious day'. However, his acting was soooo bad in 'Cruel City'. And I loathed his character as well.

OST
I loved the OST. When I first heard 'Hurt' by Kim Yong Jin in the 1st episode, I was....so... I can't even explain it. For me, this song is master piece. I can still think of scenes where I heard this song. And I really liked the instrumental soundtrack as well.

Overall, well because this story and many unexpected twists and surprising turn overs, the rewatch value won't be so high. I think that this drama was outstanding, despite the bad acting of some the actors.

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The World is Like a Mirror

"The world is like a mirror.
If you spit and curse at it... the world will spit and curse back at you.
If you laugh... I'm sure the world will follow and laugh with you, too. "

So don't be so serious... just laugh. You're prettier when you laugh.
-Shi Hyun

AN ABSOLUTE MASTERPIECE! It's DARK, and HEART-BREAKING! IT'S SOUL CRUSHING!

MUST-WATCH, even if you don't like detective, action dramas, you will enjoy this, it's such an exception!

STORY: I loved how it's realistic and doesn't shy away from violence!

CHARACTERS: I loved them all, and despite the weak start, I loved Soo Min's character just so much. her development was the best and her chemistry with Jin Sook (My favourite character after Doctor's Son) was stunning beyond words!

MUSIC: "LoVE iS dEAd" speaks for itself... it's DEADLY.. it's never lovely!

REWATCH: I only reviewed this drama after I did a rewatch, and got to say, the 2nd time I enjoyed it even more, there were stuff I missed out in the first watch, so I'm glad I did rewatch it whole!

OVERALL:
I will, for life, keep this drama in my heart, and remember the cruel fate that happened to befall the beautiful soul, I admired, Jung Shi Hyun...

Shi Hyuna

Doctor's Son.

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It's a dog-eat-dog world so don't go into the show expecting fluff material

This was simply chaos -but in a good way. It's set in a dog-eat-dog world so when going into the drama chaos is just what you should expect. There ware betrayals, tears, avenging, friendship, drugs, blood and so much more. I'm usually not a fan of dramas that tend to get dirty like this one but the show also managed to have a sort of humane side to it which in the end made me want to give it an 8.5.

The driving force was definitely the characters. That's probably because most of them were always treading along the lines of good and evil and as it goes the most interesting characters are always those that have a shade of gray to them. However, I must say that the standout of this show was definitely Lee Jin Sook . Ugh she was just perfect! She had just the right amount of badass, compassion and charisma that it's impossible to not to fall for her. Definitely going into my list of Top Female Leads. And not to mention her sismance with Yoon Soo Min was EVERYTHING. I came to watch this show for the bromance but looks like I stayed for the womance XD. Either way I'd like to give the cast a standing ovation because they made each and every moment seem so real, to the point where I do have some difficulty trying to remind myself that its just acting.

If there's something that I was disappointed though it was definitely about how the romance was handled in the drama. IT WASN'T ENOUGH !The leads did have their moments together though and sure did love each other but I guess i just wanted to see them on screen a lot more because fucking hell Nam Gyuri and Jung Kyung Ho have such crazy chemistry, and so I'm hoping they will do a melo romance drama together one day (I'm sorry Sooyoung! xD)

This wasn't an easy watch. It wasn't until episode 6 that I became full invested. Plots like this are usually portrayed in movies rather than dramas and I get why -it can get a little tiring sometimes. But as I said the characters are the best thing about this show and even though you sometimes would have no idea who to root for that feeling of indecisiveness is probably what will get you addicted and want to stay till the very end.

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Gah! What a stomach churner of a show. In all good ways. The acting and the story brilliantly executed. The show keeps you guessing who the ultimate antagonist is. The characters were so well fleshed out that you end up rooting for the seemingly bad guys. The show manages to turn tables on what you think is good and evil which makes me tip my hat to the writer. Having said that, I do think the show has a glaring flaw...Soo min. Why. Just why. Her character just seemed irrational and entitled. And that is being compared to drug lords in the drama! While everyone else in the drama, from drug mafia goons to the police were earning their keep...was conscious of the cost that has to paid for every action they take, Soo Min just seemed to take it all for granted. Which made the entire romance angle seem shallow but considering its a drama you can take that leap of faith. Soo Min as a character didnt overpower the brilliance of the show but it kept nagging me everytime the character appeared. I dont if the aim of the writer was to make the audience dislike her or root for her. If she was intended to be disliked, then brilliantly done. If not, then she can be slightly redeemed for being a naive untrained cop.
And kudos to Madam Lee and Doctor's son. Such amazing characters! They totally managed to win me over everytime I thought Soo Min didnt make any sense. Their relationship is so weird yet so enviable. And thats what makes it so fantastic. They have their moments of doubt but never at the cost of each other. The true strength of their relationship is that one moment in the last episode. Oh the tears I shed.
I hated the villians with passion and I loved the heros and antiheros with passion. And that makes the drama golden in its own right. It manages to hit all the right spots in your heart.

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I was sooo close to dropping this drama, but i'm really glad that i didn't, because this drama took me to an emotional rollercoster.
I love romance with action or action with romance xdd In this case there wasn't that much of a romance, but there were a lot of beautiful friendships, different hardships, betrayals... i loved it.
The first 2/3 episodes seemed kind of boring, but that's what it always seems xd after that, i couldn't stop watching.. the suspence when you're watching this is out of this world. Of course there were a lot of cliché things, but that didn't bother me much since sometimes everybody needs it. Some scenes were hilarious, other sad etc. you did not know what to do.. one second i was laughing, then crying, next thing i know i'm watching with my mouth hanging open xdd
The plot wasn't so bad, especially for 2013. I would even say that this was much better from some of those dramas now, but that's probably, because of acting.
As for the cast.. I must say Kim Yoo Mi, Choi Moo Sung and Jung Kyung Ho steal the spotlight from others. Their acting was the most on point. All actors did great job conveying their roles, and the chemistry between most of them was amazing.
I could be talking about this show for a week and it wouldn't be half of what i want to say.
I will definatelly be rewaching this in the near future, and i really recommend you to watch it. You won't regret it.

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Rich characters with an intricate but tangled plot.

When there’s nothing much on the table it’s time to plunder the back catalogue and this one from 2013 is definitely a find. Jung Kyung Ho makes a much better crim than a crush and here he shows off his delicious mean side.

What makes this thriller both unusual and worth watching are the performances and the characters. Especially the central trio played by Jung Kyung Ho, Kim Yoo Mi and Choi Moo Sung who put in top notch all-round characterisations. Very few of the characters are two dimensional and the writer, Yoo Sung Yeol, has beautifully crafted the interrelationships that bind the story together. The characters are nuanced and ambiguous rather than good and bad, and what side you are on is not what’s important here. Conflicting loyalties and debts of gratitude jostle with temptations and sacrifices on all sides of the fence.

It was something I had to eat slowly, like a rich chocolate sauce, one mouthful at a time. It makes demands on you to keep up and I like that. Nothing kills the tension more than explaining every twitch and smile. It ups the rewatch value to the maximum, because there is so much in it that is only half-understood. However, although the plot is a good setup, it borders on being way too clever and incestuous—yep that’s the only word for it and you’ll understand if you watch it. For me, in order to accept the incredible in a drama and suspend my disbelief, it needs to be in a balanced proportion and this one repeatedly flirted with the boundaries of credibility, especially in the first half (or maybe I just got used to it later on). However the plot is intricately designed and written (high five to the writer) and fundamentally very good, so I was willing to go the extra mile for it, in spite of the numerous eye-rolling occasions that frustrated and annoyed me. If you do go with it, it offers enough clever opportunities to wind you up like a coiled spring and send you spinning off in various directions.

There is a lot of violence and perhaps too much of it, especially in the early episodes, appears contrived and manipulated in order to increase the threat and tension. I don’t think it really needs to do that. It had enough guts in the basic premise and execution to keep you interested without having to resort to cheap tricks. I lost track of the body count at around episode 5, and it continued on. Hence the large number of small supporting roles, otherwise they would have had no choice but to chew through all the leads half way through!

The camera loves all of the faces in this drama and there’s a bucket-load of opportunities for the actors to show off their micro-expressions to good effect. The directing allows time for these revelations and they add greatly to the depth and tension of the drama. The production values really create the moody, dark backdrop so well, with great OST and lighting.

This is a hard one to rate, because when it’s good it’s very, very good, but the plot has so many impossible escapes, incredible coincidences and gaping holes that it can only be realised with huge compromises around credibility. Look it’s way better than average and well worth watching, so I’ll up the rating, but it comes with caveats.

What my rating means: 8+ A great drama with interesting content and good writing, direction, acting, OST, cinematography. But didn’t quite have the requisite sparkle to bump it into my all-time fave list. Worth watching.

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This is one of JKH's best drama....

Storyline is good, each episode is like a rollercoaster ride , i did'nt realize the episode ends already and it keeps hanging in there pretty excited for the next episode and i can't seem to lie low for a moment, there is this eagerness in me to continue because the story is so intresting,, it's intense gets you nailed on your seat.

The actors, specially JKH is awesome, 1 of my fave korean actor, he have this ability in acting where you can put your feelings into it, specially the last episode, i can't help but cry...

The soundtrack was great, its like watching a james bond movie, Kim Yong Jin's "Hurt" i sooo love it.. this song is fitted on this drama.. The entire OST gives me an overwhelming feeling...

There is a little flaw though, which is i can't help but notice that the camera man on some parts are somehow trembling specially in parts where they need to focused on the actors facial expression.. but other than that the entire drama is great..

Again, this is one great drama,
You guys should watch it... ❤❤❤

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One advice before I start: DO NOT read anything about the story. Especially not the synopsis. Most of them spoil the first few episodes. And I advise that you watch it without knowing a thing.

Yeah, I almost didn't watch the drama because of the not-so-interesting poster. But I decided to give it a go for the cast. Imagine the mistake I could have made. And good thing I did not read the synopsis.
By the way, this is my first completed 10/10.

Before finishing the drama (after 9 episodes)...
It is unexpectedly so so good.I cannot describe how much affection I unintentionally have for this drama. I usually avoid this genre and type of drama as it is not my cup of tea. But from the simplest things as the sound effects quality to the overall feel of the story, everything is amazing.
I love everyone in this drama and I love everyone’s relationship as much as I hate it as well. I love what has come and what is to come. The sadness of the story makes me smile. Plus, Jung Kyung Ho knows how to play a miserable character in so many different ways (see Life on Mars, etc…).

After finishing the drama…
The acting is so so so heart-wrenching. Everyone’s!
Not a single boring moment.
I forgot how much I liked dark sad twisted dramas.

I made a mistake. I stayed up all night watching it all. It was because I seriously couldn’t let go of it. I don’t know how it could have turned out if i didn’t do it, if I was a little more patient and paced myself. I can’t say that I don’t regret it or that I do. But what I know is that I ruined my standards of ALL upcoming dramas.
The biggest fault and disadvantage from binge watching it was not that I could not grasp enough feelings, quite the opposite; it was TOO much for me to handle, really overwhelming. I don’t know how to deal with the grief and grievance.

It is probably the saddest, most miserable and most sour and frustrated a drama has ever left me. The heart ache is no joke. It has been a while since I genuinely last cared for the fate of characters. I think I need another heart-full noir to get over this. ( months have passed since I finished it)

The thing that makes it superior to other similar dramas is not the romance; the romance is usually much better in some good similar dramas (but also good in here), but it is the friendship that everyone had, the relationships they managed to build, It makes my heart even more sour and hurt. It is so maddening; that fate of theirs and how things turned out. It is the only reason I wasn't going to give it a 10. I keep clenching my fists in anger. It is serious. The state I was in was not normal, after finishing it.
It was so simple; it could have gone well. Anyways, I retreated to self therapy and I am going to believe a lie that I am going to repeat to my self. I'll believe that it is the truth.

But, there will always remain this questions in my mind:

Will there ever be a drama of the same quality as this one??

My heart feels sour once again as I remember that it was released in 2013. I guess it was when drama industry realized the deficits of prior ones and fixed them, by removing unrealistic drama, but keeping enough necessary drama, the quality of picture and sound, the nature of the environment, ignoring few details that are okay to ignore in order to shed light on other important details.
And also, it is was before dramas lost their original touch and were revolutionized into something that is supposed to be modern. I agree that some new dramas are so well done, but scarcely it is that you find something that has the essence of old dramas; that dramatic effect, though slightly, but bearably unrealistic. They focus too much on visuals. It is overdone nowadays that it is distracting from the essence of the story.

By the way, I kinda sensed it beforehand the stuff that happen to Kyung Mi . I consider it one of Cruel City's charms, that I was able to put things together before events occurred. It happened few times. I realized so many things before they happened or they told us about it.
Call it sixth sense but they were really good at hinting with emotions.
The directing is fantastic. The music is so fitting. The cast is irreplaceable. The writing... is from a different world.
This is no ordinary drama. It is one timeless drama!

This drama has my favorite characters that I like the most. Jung Kyung Ho slayed it. And I really really liked Jin Sook, Safari (Sapari), Soo, even Scale, and everyone.

I’ve changed my mind after I watched episodes 18, 19 & 20 again, and the last ever second of the last episode plus a statement that I read, supposedly made by the production crew about the ‘open ending’ made me change my mind. I decided make this my first 10 out of 10 completed drama.

This concludes the longest review I have written in my life so far.

P.S. I watched the 1990s movie 'Leon: The Professional' for the first time, and the instrumental OST 'The Man' in Cruel City sounds so similar to Leon’s popular soundtrack 'Shape of My Heart'. I am not sure how this relates but...

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I had`nt seen this drama recently but I decided to write my ideas about it now because I coudn`t think clearly right after I finished this fantastic drama.
The most dominant feature of this drama is that you could`t guess what will happen next (unlike other kdramas) and being unexpected is one of the reasons that make you have a lot of excitement till the end of the story and even after that.All the actors and actresses played really good(except one who wasn`t as well as others) It is the favorite drama of all the people I recommend this drama to them so I recommend watching this drama to you too...

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I really liked this drama (except the ending), because the story was interesting even though after the continous kidnapping and saying "next time i will get u for this" and then not doing so...I was slightly annoyed.
BUT I just loved Jung Kyung Ho as Doctor`s son and Nam Gyu Ri as Han Soo Min (have you seen her eyes? Those are amazing). Here again from their meeting to the end it was predictable, but I can forgive that because of the amazing acting on their part. I also liked the sister relationship between Soo Min and Jin Sook.
The antagonist is ever again as above mentioned...predictable and rather boring, as they are stereotipical.

I gave this drama a 9 in the overall rating, because of the main cast and for the fact that I did not skip one part of any episode, but watched every minute and second of it (and that says something as I tend to skip the boring parts of dramas rather often :( )

I would not watch this drama again as I did not like the ending, and watching it again would end up with me hating this drama, because there is nothing new to find in rewacthing this drama.
(sometimes when I rewatch a drama and I see a character make an expression I would think " Ah, you new this and that and there you first started planing all this...") But sadly that will not be the case with this one.


Enjoy ^-^

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