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38 January 5 • 2017 arts & life AT THE MOVIES Opening Friday, Jan. 6: I am not a great fan of the Amityville movies and wasn't going to write about the 17th (!) film in the series — until I saw that Jennifer Jason Leigh, 54, has a starring role. The new film, Amityville: The Awakening, is a pretty familiar plot line: A teenage girl, Bella, and her mother (Leigh) move into a new house, but when strange stuff happens, Bella suspects that her mother has moved the family into the infamous Amityville house. This isn't a prestigious role for Leigh and she probably did it for the Chanukah gelt. However, she is a real pro, and she proved in her Oscar- nominated role in The Hateful Eight (2015) that she could transform herself into a truly gripping evil woman who seemed almost possessed by the devil. If the Amityville script gives her half a chance, she'll make the movie worth a look. NEW TO ME — NEW TO YOU? I thought I knew a lot about Albert Einstein, having read a couple of biographies and having seen a lot of documentaries. But an anecdote I never heard before made me smile, and I think a smile is a good thing to start the New Year with. I just stumbled on a 1991 American Masters Einstein documentary. It began by showing that Einstein was "human" and had a sense of humor — almost the entire first scene was newsreel foot- age of Einstein joking with reporters. This was followed by an interview with Dutch-born physicist Abraham Pais (1918-2000). Pais knew Einstein very well and related this: "[Einstein] loved Jewish jokes. I told him many [Jewish jokes] and the thing I wish most is that I had a record in which I captured Einstein's laughter when he heard a good Jewish joke. His laugh sounded like the sound of a contented seal: a very strange sound." I just love the image of the greatest intellect of the 20th century laugh- ing uproariously at the same jokes I've loved, and laughing at the same jokes that amused the "ordinary" Jews who flocked to the Borscht Belt during Einstein's lifetime. We may not all get "relativity," but the whole tribe gets a good Jewish joke. NEW SERIES The Mick, a new comedy series, pre- miered on Fox on Jan. 1. The second episode aired earlier this week at its normal time (Tuesdays, 8 p.m. —easy to catch up online with free-streaming episodes). Mick stars Kaitlin Olson as Mickey, a middle-aged hustler always looking for an easy life. Her dreams are answered when she is named guardian of her sister's three children and gets to live in their palatial home (her sister and her billionaire brother-in-law have fled the country to escape fraud charges). Mickey's dream has one catch: She's required to turn these three spoiled brats into responsible people. Sofia Black D'elia, 24, plays Sabrina, the oldest child. Sabrina is described as "an ambitious, 18-going-on-30-year-old who is a worthy adversary to Mickey." D'Elia, who has called herself Jewish, is the daughter of a Jewish mother and a non-Jewish father. * Celebrity Jews Nate Bloom Special to the Jewish News Einstein D'elia Leigh 2 6*'$41-'41(%*1+%' (146*15'+06*'-019 «>ÃÌiÀJ>>`ÕÌiÀ°VUÜÜÜ°*>-ÌiÀ°VUÓ{nn{äää{{ theJEWISHNEWS . com DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 1942 - 2016 Covering and Connecting Jewish Detroit Every Week $2.00 DEC. 1-7, 2016 / 1-7 KISLEV 5777 Fighting Justice Attorney Alona Sharon helps non-violent drug off ender win clemency. Page 12. For CELEBRATE 2017 3 Years $ 187 One Year $ 68 Two Years $ 136 Offer applies to In-State Subscriptions only. This offer is only valid during the month of January. with REGULAR RATES! $ 17 off Call to Subscribe: 248-351-5120 uptownshangri-la.com UPTOWN 6407 Orchard Lake Road (15 Mile & Orchard Lake) 248.626.8585 DAILY DIM SUM MIDTOWN 4710 Cass Avenue Detroit, Michigan 48201 313.974.7669 DAILY DIM SUM &SUSHI CHINESE PEOPLE EAT HERE 2067640