Comedian Derek Edwards at the News Cafe

Thriller has steam to spare, but story slogs

Based on a 2018 book by hugely popular, wildly polarizing author Colleen Hoover (whose novels It Ends with Us, Regretting You and Reminders of Him have also been made into movies), this new adaptation is being billed as a sexy psychological thriller.

There is sex — quite a lot of sex. As for those other descriptors, Verity is not only lacking in thrills. It’s almost laughably light on plausible human psychology.

Plausibility can be overrated, of course. Scripter Nick Antosca (2026’s Cape Fear) and director Michael Showalter (The Idea of You) could have thrown plausibility out the window and gone all-in on escapist fun.

But while there is a gorgeous modernist lake house and some excellent knitwear here, and Anne Hathaway, at least, seems to be having a ball with her deliciously two-faced role, Verity is mostly a sloggy mess, with draggy pacing, flat characters and a fatal lack of atmosphere.

Comedian Derek Edwards at the News Cafe

Derek Edwards stops by the News Café to chat with Brad Oswald before his show at the Burton Cummings Theatre.

Transit, roads and city council’s priorities

Did any of you happen to notice that the week of Sept. 14 marked an interesting confluence of events in Winnipeg? First up was the mayoral debate on public transit. Second was an announcement that the city would be undertaking a survey to determine whether their citizens’ “transportation needs” are being met.

The debate on our public bus system, from which our current Mayor Scott Gillingham was tellingly absent, focused primarily on safety rather than the efficiency of the system.

Which, on one level, is no great surprise.

After all unlawful incidents on buses and at transit stops have increased by 280 per cent compared to levels recorded around 2016. Moreover, the candidates were primarily speaking to the bus drivers’ union that organized the event, and bus drivers are often the victims of violent episodes.

Sisters relieved hospital takes accountability after mother’s death

Eight months after losing their mother, two Winnipeg sisters say an internal hospital review has finally given them something they had been seeking since her death: accountability.

Chelsea Mann and Samantha Burns said St. Boniface Hospital officials acknowledged mistakes were made in the care of their mother, Judy Burns, during a recent meeting to discuss the findings of a critical incident review into her death.

The acknowledgement marked a significant departure from an earlier meeting with hospital officials, when they felt their concerns were largely dismissed.

Burns, 68, died on Jan. 21, three days after being admitted, after experiencing rectal bleeding.

Manitoba man accused of killing five family members dismisses lawyers for second time

WINNIPEG - A Manitoba man accused of killing his three young children, their mother and a teen relative has parted ways with his lawyers for the second time this year. 

Ryan Manoakeesick, who is charged with five counts of first-degree murder, is seeking new counsel because of a breakdown in the  relationship with his lawyers.

"We were hopeful that we would be able to maintain that solicitor-client relationship in good standing with Mr. Manoakeesick. But ultimately his latest instructions to us are inconsistent with the last set of instructions of this week," Crystal Antila, one of the lawyers, told Court of King's Bench Justice Candace Grammond on Thursday.

"And at this point he also wishes to explore the opportunity to find other counsel."

Man accused of killing five family members fires second legal team, but murder trial won’t be delayed, judge warns

A Manitoba man accused of killing five family members is once again looking for new lawyers to represent him at trial.

But Ryan Manoakeesick will stand trial, with or without a lawyer in April 2027, a judge warned him Thursday.

“I want to be clear, Mr. Manoakeesick, that the trial dates that have been set are going to remain,” King’s Bench Justice Candace Grammond told him. “Those trial dates are effectively written in stone.

“You may think that is a long time in the future, but in a trial of this kind you need to make sure you have appropriate representation and you will be ready to attend to the matter on that date.”