gridoon2018 "Dr. M" (aka "Club Extinction") feels alienating at first, because it's an out-of-left-field movie for Claude Chabrol to be involved with - it seems more like something along the lines of, say, David Cronenberg. And there is also an awkward language mixture: English for spoken, German for written. But although the film is difficult and vague at points, it is also extremely intriguing, with a few brilliant and/or shocking scenes (wait for the one in the restaurant....). Jan Niklas makes for an unorthodox lead, and Jennifer Beals has a glorious acting moment, where she delivers a pained "smile" for a photo shoot. Although "Dr. M" is different to the usual Chabrol fare, he proves once again that he is incapable of making an uninteresting film. **1/2 out of 4 .

ofumalow A Frenchman directing mostly Germans speaking awkward phonetic English--that's just one of the problems here, but it's a big one, since so many of the actors here stiltedly handle dialogue that would be problematic under ideal circumstances. The only person here who seems to have a firm grip on what he's doing is Alan Bates, who chooses to play his media-mogul villain role for arch comedy. As a result, he seems to be in a different movie, so at least this one doesn't embarrass him like the luckless other performers. Jennifer Beals has the right droning, narcotic quality in scenes where she's the hypnotic face/voice of sinister advertisements, but elsewhere she has to rely on her acting abilities, which are limited as usual. Jan Niklas has apparently been excellent elsewhere, but he's dreadful here as the noirishly cynical investigating hero. Andrew McCarthy has exactly one brief scene as an assassin--he does get special billing, but it's neither a cameo or supporting role, just a straight-up bit part (I hope he fired his agent after this).Many people have said this film doesn't make much sense. and I'll have to take their word for it--it's so turgid I might well have not paying attention if/when there were elements that did somehow explain things. There's an inexplicable suicide epidemic in a faintly futuristic Berlin. Like Francois Truffault before him (in "Fahrenheit 451"), Chabrol has no particular feel for sci-fi or dystopian fantasy, despite OK production design. He doesn't even try to build suspense around the possibility of sudden violent death at any moment, and the deaths when they occur are indifferently staged.) There are ridiculous scenes in a quasi-fascist quasi-punk club where everyone dresses in designer black; they dance like performance artists trying cluelessly to imitate a mosh pit. There's also one of those hysterically pretentious sex scenes in which naked gyrations (Beals no doubt using a body double) are intercut with archival footage of nuclear explosions, war crimes, etc. Oh, the humanity. Things get even sillier when the protagonists go to a bizarre "resort"--hence the retitling "Club Extinction"--that's like Club Med meets Jonestown meets "The Prisoner."Unfortunately, the whole film is so misconceived and lifeless there's little camp entertainment value to its mess. One among "Dr. M's" many misfortunes is that it was filmed in 1989, and the script makes much of tensions between Wall-separated East and West--but of course that division had collapsed by the time it came out.

przgzr Anyone who saw more then a few Chabrol's movies knows the pattern: a crime story where a crime is either a consequence of human (mostly family) relations, and it happens in second part of the movie, or it happens on the beginning, and during the movie we watch the consequences crime left on characters' lives. From time to time, however, Chabrol jumped out from the string. In 1990. two different movies followed one another, 'Quiet Days In Clichy' and 'Dr M'. While there is a lack of murders in first one, he compensated it well in the second. In fact, number of killed people in 'Dr M' may be equal to deaths in all other Chabrol's movies together. This time we don't watch a troubled family or a silent psychopath but an organized crime group trying to make Berlin a ghost town, by killing its inhabitants, washing their brains or making them leave in panic. If we found a good motive it might sound good, but there isn't any worth believing in. Deadly ill man showing his power, or an irrational anger because the others are still alive and healthy? If Berlin somehow caused his illness, we could understand his revenge, if he had any financial interests, we could easily believe he is capable of doing crimes (maybe even for his family when he dies, what could make us feel some sympathy). But it's not only the motive. Who is he at all, and how does his organization work? (People who are in network or tourism business usually don't kill thousands of people who watch their programs or travel with them.) Was he a big criminal before he became ill? Why do the others still follow his orders? And why, if killing so many others, he hesitates to get rid of the few who can jeopardize his plan? Etc.Another trouble, making this movie the worst Chabrol film I've ever seen. The movie takes the worst from American action movies and old 60's European art movies. Action with no depth and boredom with no excuse. The characters are uninteresting (even in extreme US action movies you can find a few more real persons), and the actors don't add anything. Maybe Chabrol did it on purpose, putting gray faceless persons in gray faceless town. But this is still not a reason to have them slaughtered. After seeing this picture of Berlin, I can suggest a short two-steps brain washing (basic) program:1. Watch Wenders' "Himmel über Berlin".2. Go to 1.

Gus_Grisom I wanted to like this and I did for what it could have been and not the sorry mess it turned out to be ..... I even enjoyed the auto smash it turned into because all the ingredients were there but didnt get used ...Brave concept ..crap realization .... but I do love B Grade sci Fi so I got off on it for the crap it was ... If you like the Outer Limits this one is for you sorta like "the boy and his dog" that thought too much and tried too hard ... woof