Every Move You Make (TVB 2010)
Every Move You Make – <讀心神探>
Cast
Bowie Lam as Yiu Hok Tam
Krystal Tin as Yip Jin Ting (aka Madam/Felix)
Bosco Wong as Hok Lai Hin (Fry Hin)
Aimee Chan as Ching Bui Yee
Chris Lai as Mak Wing Hei
Susan Tse as Chung Sau Xin
Summary (May Contain Spoilers!!!)
Tam (Bowie Lam) was a police constable who had studied psychology at university. As a result, he would examine body languages and facial expressions. His team are faced with different cases and when questioning witnesses and suspects, he would examine the clips which would reveal whether these people are lying or not.
Hin (Bosco Wong) did not agree with Tam’s methods at first because he felt that evidence was much more important than reading expressions. However, he started agreeing with Tam’s methods. Tam influenced Madam (Krystal Tin) and Hin to read facial expressions.
When Tam was little, he witnessed the death of his father and blamed himself for the death. This traumatic eventhad a big impact on him. Tam’s mother got married to another man and they had a child Bui Yee (Aimee Chan). Bui Yee admired her brother and respected her step-brother a lot. However, her father’s family disliked Tam and his mother.
Hin started dating Bui Yee since the two developed feelings for each other. However, they kept their relationship a secret from everyone. Nevertheless, Tam discovered that they were dating.
Although everyone believed he was dead, Tam’s father re-appeared and threatened his mother Xin (Susan Tse). Tam was very happy to learn that his father was still alive. However, it turned out that Tam’s father was really a fraudster who was only after money. He threatened Xin not to say anything. Tam has started to notice that his mother was acting very strange and realised that his father was a fraudster. He persuaded his father to go to the police and confess everything.
Awards
Best Male Character: Hin (Bosco Wong) thought his character was very likeable and very funny.
Best Female Character: Bui Yee (Aimee Chan) I love her character in this series. She was so cute in here.
Best Chemistry: Bosco and Aimee had very good chemistry in this series. I really liked them in Burning Flame 3 and their chemistry was really good here too.
Krystal and Bowie had pretty good chemistry too but not romantic chemistry. They were good partners. However, the ending scene was rather cute.
Best Case: This series had a lot of good cases and they were very unpredictable too. I really like the case withHalina Tam because that was a very strange one. Also I quite like the case with Macy Chan where she claimed she was raped. That was a very unpredictable one and was very good.
Worst Acting Skills: Jeanette – why did they cast her? I am sure that there are better choices than her. I have never really seen her act but I did not really like her in this series. She did have a slight chemistry with Chris Lai but I found her annoying.
Theme Song: The theme song was sung by Bowie and his singing was not bad but I was not very keen on the song.
Overall: I really enjoyed this series. I did not have much expectations of this series before watching it and was not particularly crazy about the cast. However, the first episode engaged me already. This series was copy of the American series, Lie to Me. However, since I did not see the US version, I did not know how close it copied the other series. Although the script was not original TVB material, the series was very good. The cases were different in that they were not always predictable (unless I am that stupid). I found that the ending could have been better though. The last episode was a bit dry and focused mainly on romance which was hardly covered during the series. However, I found the theme rather refreshing.
Rating: 
I think this series did not really get the ratings it deserved. I thought this series was really enjoyable and is one that should be watched this year!!
Review written by Colly, a JayneStars contributing writer.
Maybe it’s because I watch almost all popular US investigation series with better qualities that I found this series lacking in production values, but I respect this opinion above because everyone sees things differently and subjectively.
I just want to point out that “Jeannete Leung” is the actress that played Ruco Chan’s wife and “Loretta Chow” is the cop who hooked up with Lai Lok Yi in the end. Do you mean Loretta?
In my POV at the beginning the acting was poorly done to emphasize the body language. I feel sorry for Ram Tseung and Raymond Cho. Overall acting gets better later. The cases in this series are mediocre in my eyes. Halina’s case isn’t that bad because of Halina’s convincing emotional connection. Angela Tong is convincing and did very well in her part. I like the last case the most because it really brought the series totally into the cop-genre and leave out pointless love drama or family feud drama.
Bosco and Kristal’s characters are underdeveloped. They weren’t given enough substance to work with. It helps that Kristal is fresh and Bosco is sharp.
Aimee is cute and Loretta is raw. Bowie is…err Bowie. I like Bowie but there’s not much distinction about him in this show.
Overall this isn’t a bad series and can be quite an entertaining cop-genre fluff, but I don’t think it’s good either. Many areas are lacking. This series also isn’t filmed in HD unlike the other current TVB series.
This series is not bad, I enjoyed it overall. Of course if you compare it to the US produced versions, it’s going to lack in the production, script, and complexities in cases. I liked the case with Halina as well, and the one with Vivien Yeo I felt was the most predictable one. I also liked the last case with Ruco, but again it was too overused by other series such as DIE as well. What I did not like about the series was the lack in character and relationship development. They focused a lot on Bowie’s family and his past, but I thought they could have developed more on Bosco and Kristal’s characters. Bosco and Aimee were quite cute as a couple, but Bowie and Kristal didn’t have any chemistry at all. The ending was a bit rushed on their hookup. Loretta and Chris match physically, but I think she is still very new as an actress, so it wasn’t as natural of a pairing compared to Aimee and Bosco.
I also liked the last case with Ruco, but again it was too overused by other series such as DIE as well
This is what prevented me from swooning over the final case, but it’s a fine work judging by TVB standard.
They focused a lot on Bowie’s family and his past, but I thought they could have developed more on Bosco and Kristal’s characters
Instead of being a small part of final case the script could’ve connect more into Bosco’s past job in his previous department throughout the show and create more tension and action. There can also be more cop action to Kristal’s character than just Ma dam who mothers over her little boy and her colleagues.
Saw a few clips of it, not impressed. Hope Gun Metal Grey would be better in ripping off Life then this.
Strictly comparing to HK dramas, this was actually pretty good. Unfortunately for them, I am exposed to other sources and I find this series mediocre at max when compared to them.
A random low-rated japanese crime solving drama series is better than this one.
I do have to say Krystal Tin did a very good job =)
A random small network American production is by far better than this =D. I couldn’t get pass the first 4 episodes. But I shouldn’t compare, there’s a lot more competition for talent in the states than there is in HK.
A random low-rated japanese crime solving drama series is better than this
Yes, can’t agree more. TVB is really lagging behind especially in scripting, editing and picture work.
Haven’t finished the series…I found aimee annoying …she needs to work on her acting skills
Aimee was extremely annoying. She uses the same “cute” crap on every character.
If you don’t compare this series with US crime drama (or Japanese one) but just among TVB crime drama, it’s considered pretty good, imho.
I’ve glad that this series didn’t make Bosco and Aimee go through the misunderstanding-breakup-got back together routine. I like it just the way it is. It’s funny how Bosco keep wanting their relationship to be open while Aimee keep wanting it to be underground. Funny how Bosco said he felt like a kept man. Not very often you see in TVB series (or any series for that matter) that the boyfriend ask the girlfriend, ‘when are you going to bring me to meet your parents?’ Lol
I believe one of the main reasons that TVB series lag behind when compared to foreign series is the acting talent (script writing aside). In the US, the actors of a particular series have gone through auditions whereby the producers pick the best person who correctly embodies the character but this doesn’t happen in TVB series. The actors in TVB series are usually there because they look good or TVB is trying to promote them without any care whether or not these individuals suit the characters that they are playing. As a result, the series suffers from lack of acting talent and a poor script to boot.
In terms of script, US script writers and producers actually put in the effort to produce a good solid series, because without a good script, the series wouldn’t even be picked up for production by the TV stations due to the money needed to produce a series. Then they have to worry about ratings because if the ratings suck, the series could get pulled off the air or just cancelled at any time. So a lot of effort and planning actually goes into the production and casting of a series to make sure the series is well received and is there to stay.
I found this series to be quite enjoyable although the cases were pretty predictable. I kind of liked it that this series dealt more with the cases than the relationship. I’ve had my fill of lovely dovey TVB series for the year. I think most of the cast did a great job especially Krystal, this is the first time I’ve seen her act. Same goes for Loretta ( I didn’t even know who she was before this). Loretta still needs a lot of work before she can be consider a decent actress but for a first big effort, I think she did a rather good job especially when compared to Aimee whose been acting in ernest for longer. Chris Lai also seems to have improved a lot. For me, this was his most memorable role to date.
US series aren’t that great sometimes. Look at ALL CSIs. Urghhhh.. Gossip Girl…
Anyway Just wanna say the title “Every Move You Make ” make this series sound more like a stalker series.
“Loretta still needs a lot of work before she can be consider a decent actress but for a first big effort, I think she did a rather good job especially when compared to Aimee whose been acting in ernest for longer. Chris Lai also seems to have improved a lot. For me, this was his most memorable role to date.”
Agree about Loretta she’s very pretty and very tall. She need a lot of work in her acting but this is her first time acting so give her a chance. I also agree that Aimee has been using the cute thing forever and she’s like a brat.
Though I disagree about Chris Lai. He’s still stuck in the same spot from what i see and his chemistry with Loretta is weird. They match physically but not emotionally even though the last case focus the most on their love relationship. Chris doesn’t shine in this series. His most memorable role is HOG.
The worst actor is Jack Hui the other guy. He act much worse than Loretta and is very wooden and detached from the closeknit cops while Loretta can fit in. The worst actress is Vivien Yeo’s sister in law. Who the heck is she?
Haha I guess even with a good net, a few bad fish will still fall through. All though CSI is pretty big in US and elsewhere, but I haven’t watched any of it because as a science person, the science shown on CSI just can’t happen that way. Don’t mention Gossip Girl (shudders), the very name itself turns me off and brings to mind skimpily dressed females fighting and bickering over which guy is theirs and who is the bigger b*%*h.
I didn’t watch HOG so I can’t judge how Chris Lai did in that.
Although I’m not a fan of CSI I’d have to say it’s better than this. There are a few US programs that are phenomenal; Dexter, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Weeds, Californication, etc. Aside from your typical evening soap operas, there are a few network programs that are pretty engaging. They have to be though, there’s a higher pressure to come up with new material as their TV shows last years and decades whereas HK TV shows are more of a mini series.
Yah Colly you got the name wrong XD its Loretta Chow not Jeanette =)
didnt like aimee in the drama cause she sucks at acting but shes still a newbie so yeah.. and she overdoes her cuteness didnt like her with Bosco at all..
I agree with @Vivien.
Loretta Chow.. considering it’s her first time acting… it’s not that bad, you can definitely see that she had a huge effort trying to act her role, and i give her props for that. She’s very pretty and I hope to see her more in future series, and hope her acting will improve more.. i hope she becomes a outstanding actress in the future. she has some potential, imo.
CY: CSI is not the only crime investigation series out there.There are a lot more. Of course there are some bad TV serials from the US, but most that got shipped overseas are “hit” series out there. The execution in this serials have different style with TVB. It can be seen that the producers of these serials put forth a lot of effort in their script details, locations, appropriate lightings, continuity, cinematography, filming angles and so on. However I know it’s hard to totally fault TVB series because TVB might not have this technologies or budget, or they just don’t have the skillful personnels that can produce a better picture overall. A teenage vampire serials in the US can have an overall execution and filming techniques that’s even better than not only HK TVB series but also many HK movies.
Again EMYM isn’t a bad series in TVB standard and most of the cast did fine with whatever they get, but it’s not a very good series either and a lot can be improved.
Funn, why are you being so critical in almost every post. Oh! ya, i’ve been to your blog and read the TV series reviews. It seems non of it are your forte. Then why do you watch and TRASH the cast & etcs?
To those who think TVB didn’t make effort in their crime series, it’s not true. Bowie said the production team spend 2 years to produce this series. So, effort was put in. But, TVB has limited resources. Those Hollywood crime series, they most probably have scriptwriters who have specialised knowledge in that subject, while in TVB, the script most probably have to be written by the same set of scriptwriters who write family dramas.
Anyway, TVB series has their own personality and characteristic that is specific to TVB series. I really don’t want TVB series to be exactly like Hollywood series.
@Rach,
Funn is critical. But, she doesn’t hate everything. There are series where she give positive reviews.
But, TVB has limited resources. Those Hollywood crime series, they most probably have scriptwriters who have specialised knowledge in that subject, while in TVB, the script most probably have to be written by the same set of scriptwriters who write family dramas
This might be why TVB can produce fluffy, cheesy and tearjerking family dramas but rarely produce exceptional specialized drama.
For instance, while I enjoyed the first part of the last episode I can’t help noticing that in real cases where many hostages are involved, reinforcements from special units would’ve called and creep in already, yet TVB chose to let only Bowie’s small squad take matters into their own hands. It would be more believable if the fluff in this episode can be shortened to make way for the psycopath case to have a greater impact ending. I can’t believe they can let a child and a weak old woman meeting an mentally ill psycopath without proper protection no matter how we now there’s one side of him that’s innocent.
Rach, my style is simple. I like it, I write it so. I dislike it, I will explain why. I hate it, I will justify it. But in the end it is an opinion. You may be surprised to know there are many who agrees with me. But I don’t trash for trash sake. If you wish to read glowing reviews in whatever the circumstances, or rather positive ones, go to the fansites of particular star in that series. Nothing is bad to them. I admit I am guilty of the same thing too with people I do like very very much. By the way what did I write in here to make you say I am critical? The title does sound like a stalker series.
Kidd, TVB doesn’t have limited resources per se. Look at those big series, filming everywhere. They have brain drain. Simple. They need better writers and pay them better and let them have freedom to write the series they envision and the directors to film it the way they want and producers decent funding. TVB is capable of making great series, and the concept is sometimes better than the western counterpart because at least you know the story will end in 20 episodes, etc so there’s certainty. But specialised knowledge I admit they have little and those so called professional series, nothing ever seem professional and is the same old thing.
That being said TVB’s forte is family and buddy series. And they revolve all storylines on these 2 elements which is good, and bad. I may cry and grumble and all, at the end of the day I still watch some of the series. If TVB is terrible, I will not even talk about Taiwanese series or the predictable Korean series, sometimes
People tend to forget that everyone’s entitled to their own opinion and the right to voice that opinion. There’s no need to get defensive and dispute someone else’s opinion because it doesn’t align with yours. If you like something you’re entitled to say your peace about it, the same applies to someone who didn’t like it. Being defensive and disputing someone because they don’t feel the same way is just silly.
Masaharu: I know that CSI isn’t the only crime investigation series out there and there are many more like Bones, NCSI etc, but these series in general aren’t my cup of tea. I’m not a fan of the whole cop versus bad guy genre. I just find the science presented in these series to be too ideal and I think they give the bad guys ideas but that’s just me. I’ll watch a couple like MOL and EMYM because I like the cast and have a twisted fascination of watching how badly they’ll mess up the science (It’s a sick pleasure, I know. I’m just weird that way).
I definitely agree with Funn on her most recent post here about TVB series about professionals = less than average. Almost all of them give you very basic concepts in a childish and often inapplicable fashion to the real world.
If people have not realised, this series takes a lot from psychology in general, not the more specialised forensic psyc. But the degree particular theories operate in the real life in regards to telling when someone is lying is never so straight forward and clear cut as portrayed- it practically reaches the level of a joke. They might as well bring back the lie detector…
CSI is the Westernized and superior version of this type of series- it tries ever so much harder to hide the fact of its unrealism with slick production values and complex plots.
Whereas TVB likes to take its audiences for complete dopes with these series on professionals + its monopoly in HK means it operates on the ‘I dun give a shit’ mindset. Of course the fact each series is only slated to be on for a limited run and all its behind-the-scenes staff are on its payroll thus receive no royalties etc. do not help in the creativity department.
Like Funn said, TVB’s forte is making family drama, love stories and buddy series. No matter what professions TVB series feature, the core of the series is still the relationships. You can’t expect it to be like Bones, CSI, Lie To Me etc. TVB’s style is different.
Secondly, people in the profession might role theirs eyes on the simplified depiction of said professions, but, most people who are not in the profession don’t know any better and will just enjoy the series. I don’t know much about forensic psychology, so, even though the criminals are blatantly obvious in the gestures and the depection of the art/science is simplified, I still enjoy the series. I enjoy still seeing the plot unravels and know what actually happen.
Funn always complain how the criminals succumb so fast and tell everything and it’s so unrealistic. But, I like this style, because I get to know from the horse’s mouth what happen. I like to know in details what happen.
Unlike many others, I liked this drama BECAUSE the story places an emphasis on the cases, not the characters. It’s good to have some character development, but an excess of it just makes a crime drama… less of a crime drama, and more boring.
Funn, agree on the brain drain factor on TVB series. Many people loved “Heart of Greed” and “Moonlight Resonance” but to be honest, watching a few sporadic episodes already gave me a headache. These two series seem to be inspired by “Kindred Spirit” where the “intense” moments are too much for me, where 20+ voices jump in every family argument and tears flow so easily. I smirked in the opening sequence of “Moonlight Resonance” because of how overly dramatic the sequences were with the slapping, falling, tears, etc.
“my style is simple. I like it, I write it so. I dislike it, I will explain why. I hate it, I will justify it. ”
Funn, btw, I have enjoyed reading your TVB reviews since the days of EBuzz. 🙂 You’re eloquent and your justifications are often entertaining and humorous.
Thanks Jayne! Thank you very much!
“Unlike many others, I liked this drama BECAUSE the story places an emphasis on the cases, not the characters. It’s good to have some character development, but an excess of it just makes a crime drama… less of a crime drama, and more boring.”
this is totally a crime drama indeed but i think some not satisfied because there is an excessive character development for bowie lam’s role only to the point that some got boring at his annoying family members and so unfair that everyone else i mean the cops got very little development. The criminals in each cases all got much better development and backstory than them.
I liked this series because of the focus on cases and not romance. Yes I agree that police series at tvb are rather unrealistic and they make it seem like its easy 2 solve cases. But these stories are fictional and are not intended 2 be educational.
I have one more point I forgot to add. The setting of police stations r so different now. Looks so comfortable and modern. Iv noticed this in this series and gun metal.
But I like the D.I.E police station the most. 😀
Lol – DIE was hilarious… remember when the ringtone came while they were trying to open this door.
cracked me up!!!!!!
^ I couldn’t remember. More details please to refresh my mind. ^.^
I loved d.i.e. One of the funniest recent series. Iv watched it so many times and I dont even get bored of it.
in the very first few episodes when they first arrived to the new DIE office they wanted to open the storage room. somehow there was a rumor that the office was haunted and at the perfect timing, the head officers ring tone went off and it was a Halloween theme.
^
Hahaha.
I really liked this serie. We can’t compare TVB stuff with American stuff. They dont have the same budget, the same audience, or choice of actors. So let’s only compare HK series with HK series. I really like Bosco even if his roles are similar, you know, charming and stubborn. He does it right so good for him. What I liked the most is that they took enough time to wrap up the story on the characters instead of doing a 5 minutes ending with a kinda thing!
I meant a ONE YEAR LATER kinda thing
I really liked this serie. We can’t compare TVB stuff with American stuff. They dont have the same budget, the same audience, or choice of actors. So let’s only compare HK series with HK series. I really like Bosco even if his roles are similar, you know, charming and stubborn. He does it right so good for him. What I liked the most is that they took enough time to wrap up the story on the characters instead of doing a 5 minutes ending with a kinda thing!
His character don’t have much to do but Bosco looks and shows his man-lier self in this series compared to earlier BF3 or other series, that man-lier presence is yummylicious. He was immature before in BF3 as Encore. Bosco’s Chau Fan also has this ‘can’t be bothered’ attitude towards everyone(except Perlie(Aimee) after they become closer). LOL.
When I was younger I remember liking DIF series a lot. The investigation stories quite impressed me back then and I like the style and later I found Kindaichi, one of my favorite Japanese crime dramas which also has the quite similar crime investigation style. I would watch all the DIF 1-4 series if I can get them.
Masaharu, I believe the cases from Detective Investigation Files I to IV were adapted from Japanese mystery novels, from authors such as Jiro Akagawa (赤川次郎). His novels have been translated into Chinese language and are pretty popular in Hong Kong. I read some of his mystery novels in the past and they are very fast-paced.
Since Detective Investigation based their cases from mystery novels, this explains why these cases are more “intricate” and complex than most standard TVB cases.
Thanx 4 sharing that jayne. Looks like tvb has been copying ideas bk then