Johnny Oleksinski
About the Columnist
Johnny Oleksinski has been The Post’s entertainment critic, its leading voice on movies and theater, since 2018. He began at The Post as an entertainment reporter in 2015. Before moving to New York, he was a theater writer/editor at the Chicago Tribune and was chief theater critic of Newcity Chicago. He is a voting member of the New York Drama Critics Circle. Johnny majored in theater at Illinois State University. He lives in the East Village, and can be heard every Tuesday morning at 9:30 on WOR Radio.
The Archive
'The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes' review: Needs a better ending
November 16, 2023 | 5:20pmNow that 11 years have passed since “The Hunger Games” first hit theaters, it’s impossible to spoil these movies anymore. So, I can reveal to you without any shame whatsoever...
Gwyneth Paltrow re-creates her most iconic film character looks for Goop ad
November 15, 2023 | 1:52pmIn a video promoting her lifestyle website Goop’s holiday gift guides posted to social media on Tuesday, Gwyneth Paltrow re-created the looks of some of her most beloved movie characters.
‘Napoleon’ review: Another Joaquin Phoenix looney tunes performance as Ridley Scott offers ho-hum biopic
November 14, 2023 | 7:00pmDepicting one of the most consequential figures in all of European history as a sourpuss clown who crazily rattles off nonsense is a brow-raising choice by Ridley Scott, screenwriter David...
'Office' star Steve Carell is headed to Broadway
November 14, 2023 | 12:06pmSteve Carell, the Academy Award nominee who played Michael Scott on NBC's “The Office,” will make his Broadway debut this spring in the play “Uncle Vanya,” Lincoln Center Theater announced...
'Harmony' review: Barry Manilow's Broadway musical is moving, but doesn't quite sing
November 13, 2023 | 11:18pmWhile “Harmony” is about a sextet of singers whose voices blend like milk and coffee, its elements do not similarly fuse into a cohesive and satisfying musical.
JLS singer's backflip dangerously backfires onstage
November 13, 2023 | 1:32pmJLS singer Aston Merrygold, 35, had a horrifying moment onstage Saturday, when he attempted a backflip but bungled it and landed dangerously on his back.
Jacob Elordi slams 'Kissing Booth' franchise as 'ridiculous': You're 'dead inside'
November 13, 2023 | 11:43am"I didn’t want to make those movies before I made those movies." — Jacob Elordi
'Old Friends' review: Bernadette Peters' Sondheim show is a stellar tribute
November 10, 2023 | 1:56pmThis major moment for Stephen Sondheim’s musicals is not limited to New York, where the late composer’s “Merrily We Roll Along,” “Sweeney Todd” and final show “Here We Are” are...
'Venom 3' release date pushed to late 2024
November 9, 2023 | 1:15pmThe 2024 movie schedule is about to get shaken up.
'The Marvels' is the worst MCU movie yet
November 8, 2023 | 12:18pmIf you thought “Eternals” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” were low points for the limping Marvel Cinematic Universe, strap in for the ride to abject misery that is “The...
Former child actor Evan Ellingson's death being investigated as possible overdose: report
November 7, 2023 | 3:06pmThe death of former child actor Evan Ellingson is being investigated as a possible overdose, according to a new report. Law enforcement sources told TMZ that drug paraphernalia was found in...
Netflix returns to the Upside Down with first glimpse of 'Stranger Things' play
November 6, 2023 | 3:03pm“Stranger Things: The First Shadow" begins performances this month in London.
Robert Pattinson sounds totally unrecognizable in 'Boy and the Heron' trailer
November 3, 2023 | 3:29pmIs that really you, Robert? The English-language trailer for legendary Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki’s likely final movie, “The Boy and the Heron,” dropped Thursday. And in the preview of the...
'I Need That' review: DeVito is a hoarder in a messy Broadway play
November 2, 2023 | 9:00pmTheresa Rebeck’s new play,“I Need That,” is a drama about someone’s mess, but it needn’t be so messy.
Did Meg Ryan watch her famous rom-coms? Directorial debut begs the question in Post's 1-star review
November 2, 2023 | 5:03pmDuring the 1980s and ‘90s, Meg Ryan was the Queen of Rom Coms. She was the luminous star of “When Harry Met Sally,” “You’ve Got Mail” and “Sleepless in Seattle,” but...
'Old Dads' on Netflix proves PC critics can't stop whining about fun
October 31, 2023 | 5:01pmThere’s a whole lot of hemming and hawing going on in the reviews of comedian Bill Burr’s new Netflix comedy “Old Dads.”
Matthew Perry almost turned down 'Friends' for a sci-fi sitcom
October 30, 2023 | 4:25pmMatthew Perry, who died Saturday at age 54, is beloved for playing Chandler Bing on the NBC sitcom "Friends." But he nearly didn't take the role.
David Schwimmer steps out after Matthew Perry's death
October 30, 2023 | 2:29pmDavid Schwimmer was spotted leaving his apartment Monday, two days after the death of his “Friends” co-star Matthew Perry.
Why Matthew Perry didn't want to be remembered just for 'Friends'
October 29, 2023 | 2:15pmMatthew Perry spoke publicly about death a year ago and said how he would like to be remembered — not for “Friends,” but for helping others.
The secret weapon of 'The Addams Family' is a severed hand
October 27, 2023 | 6:31pmNothing in “The Addams Family” is as creepy and kooky or as mysterious and spooky as Thing, the hand.