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
'Gutenberg! The Musical!' review: Gad and Rannells have almost too much fun
October 13, 2023 | 7:10amAndrew Rannells and Josh Gad, that match made in “Mormon,” are back together and hamming it up again on Broadway. It’s swell to see them twelve years later, like old...
'Killers of the Flower Moon' review: Scorsese and DiCaprio score
October 12, 2023 | 5:18pmEven for Martin Scorsese, a master of turning true stories into hot movies, “Killers of the Flower Moon” is a high-wire act of filmmaking. Its subject is a lot trickier...
The worst horror movie sequels of all time — from 'Jaws: The Revenge' to 'Troll 2'
October 12, 2023 | 7:53amThe awful “Exorcist: Believer,” in which Ellen Burstyn returns to battle the same demon again like she’s Rocky Balboa, has been making angry movie-goers’ heads spin. The Post called the...
'Merrily We Roll Along' review: Infamous Sondheim flop is a smash
October 10, 2023 | 1:31pmLike most people do, the three New York friends at the center of the musical “Merrily We Roll Along” get more cynical, jaded, greedy and stubborn with age. Or, as...
'Priscilla' review: Another fantastic, mature Elvis movie
October 6, 2023 | 7:19pmWhen Elvis is a jerk to his wife, he can’t cheaply earn the viewer’s forgiveness by crooning “Can’t Help Falling In Love.”
Deaths, injuries and a fire: How the original 'Exorcist' set was its own horror movie
October 6, 2023 | 4:05pmWell before the movie's release, during its way-behind-schedule, more-than-200-day shoot on-set in Manhattan and abroad, there were so many similarly spooky happenings that many believe director William Friedkin’s petrifying classic...
‘The Exorcist: Believer’ review: The devil made this dud
October 4, 2023 | 12:29pmNobody here is bad, but they’re all an afterthought. The roles are nothing, and so the acting's nothing.
‘Maestro’ review: Bradley Cooper chews scenery as Leonard Bernstein
October 3, 2023 | 7:10pmWhat a shame that the major controversy surrounding the movie “Maestro,” the Leonard Bernstein biopic that had its North American premiere Monday night at the New York Film Festival, was...
Spoilers: 'Only Murders in the Building' Season 3 ending: Who was the killer?
October 3, 2023 | 1:37amThe killer of Hollywood superstar Ben Glenroy was finally revealed on Tuesday. Spoilers ahead for the Season 3 finale of “Only Murders in the Building.” The murderer was … Clifford...
Did Taylor Swift hint that she's in 'Deadpool 3'?
October 2, 2023 | 11:27amThe “Anti-Hero” singer was seen seated with actors Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, leading some Marvel devotees to speculate that she has been cast in “Deadpool 3,” which hits theaters...
Imploding DC Studios is keeping these three superhero actors — for now
September 28, 2023 | 1:23pmThe struggling DC Studios has experienced plenty of recent shakeups. “Batgirl” was unceremoniously shelved by Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav last year, and actor Henry Cavill was fired from...
Garbage Golden Globes adds pathetic blockbuster award in latest crack at relevancy
September 26, 2023 | 4:31pmThe Hollywood Foreign Press Association has lugged out the defibrillator once again to jump-start the program’s barely discernible pulse.
Vince Vaughn remembers 'Rudy' days before Notre Dame game
September 25, 2023 | 4:23pmAs the college football season heats up, actor Vince Vaughn is reliving his glory days as a sports star — in the movies. Appearing on ESPN’s “College GameDay” Saturday ahead...
James Bond almost had a wildly different first name
September 25, 2023 | 12:38pm007’s iconic name was almost completely different, a new book claims. According to “Ian Fleming: The Complete Man,” MI6 superspy James Bond was nearly called Rodney. That surprising revelation, first...
Pauly Shore has been ‘playing phone tag’ with Richard Simmons for new biopic
September 22, 2023 | 1:18pmPauly Shore wants to get sweatin’ to the oldies. The “Encino Man” actor, 55, said in a social media post that he’s attempting to get a Richard Simmons film made...
Michael Bay told Ben Affleck to 'shut the f--k up' over 'Armageddon' flaws
September 21, 2023 | 12:15pmThe mood on the set of “Armageddon,” it turns out, was just as apocalyptic as the movie. A revealing audio clip of star Ben Affleck from the DVD commentary of...
Tiger Woods and Justin Timberlake's new NYC bar needs a personality
September 20, 2023 | 6:27pmCan you bring sexy back to a neighborhood that was never sexy to begin with?
Ex-wife of 'Wolf of Wall Street' confirms weird film detail
September 19, 2023 | 4:06pm“I was mortified,” Macaluso said. “I had already lived this complete Greek tragedy and then it was going to be splashed all over the world. My trauma for the world...
Taylor Swift beat reporter reveals impossibly grueling daily schedule
September 19, 2023 | 9:06amPost critic Johnny Oleksinski recently left to become the Taylor Swift reporter for the Tennessean newspaper, which is owned by USA Today parent Gannett. Here he describes his intense daily...
Kristen Bell warned Russell Brand she'd 'sock him' if he tried anything on 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall'
September 18, 2023 | 1:55pmWhen Russell Brand played oversexed rock star Aldous Snow in the 2008 comedy film “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” co-star Kristen Bell gave him a stern warning about his behavior on set,...