Yesterday Was a Lie (2009)

Best movie of this year hands down!

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

the plot seemed to be a mess.Somewhere the story was lost - and the movie relied solely on trying to be a film-noir 0 which it couldn't and trying to rely on it's characters or actors to bring out the interest - which it lacks.The two female leads didn't initiate any real chemistry and if it was to be a lesbian love story, there was none.While the singer looked great and performed great on-stage - the rest of her presence didn't offer anything.The other characters pop in and out for no reason that is memorable.In fact the entire story is far from memorable.The only thing that I did like was the lighting and camera work and music.Plot, acting and story failed for trying to be too much and offering too little.

I had very low hopes for this movie, and it managed to fall below even those.Short form, if you've seen other films noir, you've seen this one, except done better. If you've seen a lot of film noir, you've seen everything in this one, because it seems to be little more than a visual mash-up of what's been done before.That in itself is bad enough, but the acting and the writing are atrocious. If you saw Super 8, at the end of the film you get the see the project film that all the kids are working on throughout the movie. "Yesterday was a Lie" is very slightly better than that. Given that the writer is also the director, and based on the fact that every performance is flat and fails to engage, I think the direction must also be at fault.There is philosophy to be found here. I would urge you to read up on mysticism and physics (particularly quantum mechanics) instead of spending your time on this movie. You'll learn a lot more, and in the end you will have spent your time more wisely.

I saw this together with "Conversation(s) with other women." Both try something ambitious with narrative structure, extending notions I call folding.Here we have something that starts with noir — and by that I mean noir in the popular sense: black and white photography, a hard-boiled detective, some voice-over and seedy settings. These are only accidentally associated with noir in my mind; the real core of noir is the creation of a world that has features we as viewers expect and to some extent control. This filmmaker understands this, so has used noir for his narrative experiment.The experiment revolves around a science fiction device: a notebook with some secrets of Quantum Interaction. The backstory has experiments that use repetitive number patterns to allow a researcher to start to bend time. Two lovers have faded in their love. She is a detective put on a case that leads them to this notebook. He engages in the experiment to recapture their love at the cost of his soul. The story is told from her POV, which involves non-linearity in three respects: what we see and understand, what she sees and understands, what is understandable (in the sense of the physics changing). This last is to the heart of noir, where the act of seeing changes the cosmos.Her cat is named Schrödinger. She has a doppelganger (her sexy female anima), played by a woman who dominates: she is a muse/teacher. She literally is the producer of the film, and she provides some competent moody songs. All of the actors are people we should know from various, mostly bad TeeVee, science fiction. It is all rather brilliant in the way it is conceived and worth seeing because of the ambition.The problems are many though. The actual narrative, those threads you weave out of the fragments you are given? It just is poorly done. This needs more power in the actors, the lines and the cinema. It references urges that can bend the world. Polanski does this and delivers. "Ninth Gate." There is no there here. You may not notice this because it is easy enough to supply that romantic urge: we all have it and have nurtured it in our movie experiences. We carry it into this project and can plug in, indirectly increasing the narrative effect.So that is not a lethal problem. The other problem may not bother you, but it worries me greatly.This experiment relies on some detailed explanations of the "science" involved. As with many popular-level notions, we have selections from the most accessible and attractive features of Jungian cosmology mixed in with common misconceptions of quantum physics. It plays the same role in this story that mentioning a recent meteorite has in zombie movies. You nod, agree that the explanation is plausible and move on to consume the narrative.The problem is both Jung and QI have possibilities that are much more powerful than those appropriated here. You can't start fire with water just because on screen it looks like gasoline. And you don't need all that folderol (good word) anyway. "Conversation(s) with other women" does much the same thing as here, but without the guff. Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

This is not a movie to miss if you hear of it coming to a convention or festival near you. See it for free before you have to pay for it! There are many types of film fanatics that should love this movie. It can be compared to so many different types of films and film makers. All Sci-Fi fans should like the film because of the alternate realities/parallel universe themes. You will also notice the film takes on a very non-linear plot. For some, this is confusing. However, it only adds to the delight of watching this film. This non-linear film making reminds me of films by Quentin Tarantino. This film could certainly be one that can viewed multiple times and enjoyed over and over.This film was originally shot in color and then desaturated in post production. The black and white or "noir" aspect of the film adds its own personality. Color would not have worked for this film because it has a 1940-1950's "Bogart" theme to it. You see Hoyle play the part of the investigator playing the part of the crime detective so well. She plays it as a female; which no doubt, offers a refreshing way to see a detective role played.The convention I attended was the first Con for me. When I saw the Films listed I read more about this film and it looked very interesting. It met and beat all my expectations. I had the chance to meet Chase Masterson playing the Singer and Director James Kerwin. There was a great panel on the film and many questions were answered. Take a look at the cast and you will notice some familiar faces in the Sci-Fi family. If I could only see this film in the area again or buy a DVD I would! See it for free while you can!Have an open mind and see it at a convention or festival now!