Thinking of Sidney Poitier...

This is his Oscar-winning movie. 1963's Lilies of the Field (7.6 stars), starring Sidney Poitier (of course), Lilia Skala, Lisa Mann, Isa Crino, Francesca Jarvis, and Pamela Branch.

In this one, Poitier plays an ex-GI who is also an unemployed construction worker. He travels West, when his car overheats in the desert. He stops by a farm to get some water, where he meets 5 German nuns who had escaped from Communist East Germany. The 5 nuns believe that he was sent by God to help them build a much-needed church.

I really like this movie and highly recommend it. The arguments that Homer (Poitier) and Sister Maria (Skala) get into are terrific. Both use the Bible to support their own opinion. But, it's not an overly religious movie. These arguments aren't exactly theological. They're more of Homer wants to be paid, so he takes a verse from the Bible to support his argument. Maria says that he's getting room and board, and that should be sufficient, and she uses a verse to support her argument.

There's not a lot real conflict in this movie. It's a nice movie about a community coming together to help build a church.

It also does deal with prejudice, but it's not one-sided prejudice. The nuns are German, and from Communist East Germany, and Homer is, of course, an African-American. So, there are several times in this movie when needed material is denied from the nuns and from their builder due to prejudice.

But, Homer is also kind of prejudiced as well. He wants to build this church his own way and unaided. He also doesn't take direction well.

Another terrific little movie.

Till next time.

Kat

I just recorded this one last night. So, I'm going to talk about it now.

This one is 1961's A Raisin in the Sun (8.0 stars), starring Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, Claudia McNeil, Louis Gossett Jr., and Diana Sands. It's based on a Broadway play (originally starring everyone I mentioned here. In fact, MOST of the parts retain their original actors from Broadway), written by Lorraine Hansberry. It's about a family of African-Americans living in New York in 1960. Walter Lee Younger (Poitier) has to take care of his family, wife Ruth (Dee), sister Beneatha (Sands), mother Lena (McNeil), and son (Stephen Perry). The five members live in a tiny, cramped, one-bedroom apartment. Beneatha has fantasies about returning to her African roots and following her boyfriend (Gossett) back to Nigeria. And Walter is just dissatisfied with his lot in life. Then, the family get an insurance payoff and decide to move to a house in the suburbs.

Too bad no one wants them in the neighborhood.

This is a great movie, but it's painful to watch. It is an important movie (and play, which I have read) about racial prejudice. But, I like it because it's also about a man's hopes and dreams and his family's hopes and dreams. And the things in life that just keep knocking you down.

This is a family to root for. Although I did find Beneatha incredibly annoying.

The cast is absolutely wonderful. Of course, Sidney Poitier is going to be incredible. He's so raw in this movie that watching him destroys you as well, little by little. You feel for him.

Apparently, when rehearsals started for the play, both Poitier and McNeil argued that their characters are the heart of this movie. Hansberry supported McNeil. I'm not sure how that Broadway production went, but in this movie, Poitier's character is definitely the heart of this movie. Probably for the best, because he was a major movie star at the time. His name drew the audience.

Great movie. Highly recommend it.

Till next time.

Kat

Ever had one of those movies that you loved when you saw theaters, but hasn't really held up as well in following years? And you realize that it's not the movie itself. It just reminds you of a time and place in your life that you're kind of glad you've passed?

Here's one of many for me: 2005's Hitch (6.7 stars), starring Will Smith, Kevin James, Eva Mendes, and Amber Valletta. It's about a matchmaker (Smith) who is hired by an ordinary man (James) to match him up with a rich heiress (Valletta). Meanwhile, the matchmaker discovers that his own game doesn't quite work on a newspaper columnist with whom he's smitten.

All right. One of the reasons I have kind of grown away from this movie is because I don't like rom coms as much as, say, my best friend does. I think these kind of rom-coms have completely ruined what it means to be in love. Real life doesn't work this way. Eva Mendes' character is horrible. I understand where she's coming from, but she doesn't listen to any reason regarding Smith's character. OK, part of the problems in this movie is that her best friend was jilted by a man who claimed to have hired Hitch (Smith's character). In reality, Hitch thought the man was a jerk and refused to work with the man. A true journalist would have checked out the facts before printing a story that almost ruined the lives of both Hitch and Albert (James). The two men should have sued her and the newspaper for everything they have. Instead, she's instantly forgiven--without her even apologizing.

I always get mad at that. She should have been kicked to the curb. Why is it that, in these rom coms, the man always is the one to bend and change for a woman?

Real life isn't like that.

So, that whole plot makes me mad.

Also, every time I watch this movie, I remember seeing it in the theaters. I saw it with four friends--two of which are no longer my friends. And life is better without them. But, that doesn't mean I don't watch this movie and not feel a wave of sadness over that fact.

Now, not everything about this movie is bad. Will Smith is his usual charming self, and he's good in this role. I love Kevin James in this movie. The whole love affair between his character and Valletta 's character is sweet. Albert is dorky, nerdy, and a complete sweetheart. My kind of man.

In fact, the only drawback to the movie itself is Eva Mendes' character. I hate her. I just want to hit her.

Until next time.

Kat

I have a strange sense of humor. I'll admit it. I love Monty Python. And there are a few movies that I find very funny that others just don't understand. In fact, some of the movies I find funny actually surprise even me.

In that vein, I present the first two Harold and Kumar movies: 2004's Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle (7.1 stars) and 2008's Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (6.9 stars). Both star John Cho, Kal Penn, and Neil Patrick Harris (who's part gets bigger and bigger in each subsequent movie.)

The first movie follows the adventures of two stoners, Harold and Kumar, who are high and searching for a White Castle restaurant. For you non-Americans, White Castle is a hamburger restaurant. It relies a lot on stoner, raunchy humor.

This humor actually isn't my preference. However, I like this movie because I really like John Cho and Kal Penn. They're good together, and they're compelling to watch. The story leaves a lot to be desired (in my opinion), but I do admit that there have a lot of genuinely funny moments between the two actors.

Of course, Neil Patrick Harris steals this movie. He's playing "Neil Patrick Harris." This character he plays is a former child star who was in "Doogie Howser," and is heavy into drugs and just like to have sex with women. He's credited as "Neil Patrick Harris" rather than "himself," because he wanted people to understand that he was playing a parody of himself. (This character is loud, a complete has-been, drug and sex addicted guy. The real Neil Patrick Harris seems to be sober, level-headed, and is in a monogamous relationship with his partner for at least 10 years.) Rumor has it that he got the role of Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother due to this cameo appearance in the first movie.

One of the reasons I do like this movie--because, as I said, I'm not really into stoner humor or raunchy humor in general--is that it makes fun of stereotypes, but it's not a racist movie. The two leads are Korean and Indian, and they both have scenes that play with and bust some of the stereotypes that affect these nationalities here in the U.S. The movie isn't classy, by any means. And it does border being stupid (and definitely crosses into that territory time and time again), but it does poke fun at racial ignorance all the way through the movie.

Neil Patrick Harris has a bigger role in the second movie. However, the second movie doesn't rely as much on stoner humor, but it's even more cruder than the first one. And it's not nearly as funny. (However, you Supernatural fans: Danneel Harris Ackles is in this movie.)

The second movie deals with our duo who decide to fly to Amsterdam to see the girl with whom Harold is in love. The two get mistaken to be terrorists and are detained at Guantanamo Bay. They escape and spend the rest of the movie on the run from U.S. authorities.

There's not a lot to say about this one. It's not nearly as good as the first one. Neil Patrick Harris is the best part of this movie, and he has a bigger role in this one than he did the first one. (It looks like he has a huge role in the third movie. I haven't seen it. I don't know if I want to see it.)

Besides Neil Patrick Harris, the thing about this movie is the two stars, John Cho and Kal Penn. I like the two actors. They're funny, they're pretty charming to watch, even as stoners. Although this isn't the best series to really showcase their talents as actors, it is a good one to showcase their talents as comedians.

All right. Until next time.

Kat

One of these is playing now. So, I thought I'd discuss the ones I have of this series. I have 4 out of the 7 movies.

These movies have a lot in common, although they aren't in the same continuity of one another. In all of them, the plot doesn't matter. You're just wanting to see Bob Hope and Bing Crosby play best buds who kind of hate each other and they are fighting over Dorothy Lamour. And there is absolutely no fourth wall. The characters played by Hope and Crosby are extremely aware that they are in a movie. They make fun of Paramount (who produced these movies), they complain that audiences may have missed their songs by coming late, they talk directly to the audience. That's the entire premise of the 7 movies. They're just set in different times and different places.

The movies are 1940's Road to Singapore (7.9 stars). Bing and Bob travel to Singapore to forget past failed romances. They're best buds, until they meet Dorothy Lamour. First out of the seven movies.

Out of the four "Road" movies I've got, I watch this one the least. Hope and Crosby are awesome in it, but it hasn't aged the best. The movie wasn't originally offered to them (originally, the studios tried to get Fred MacMurray and George Burns to star). Paramount offered this to Hope and Crosby, who were friends in real life, when the two were seen clowning around off set of their own movies. There are some slow, dull parts to this movie. But, as I said, Hope and Crosby are awesome in it, as is Lamour.

Next, (the second of the series) is 1941's Road to Zanzibar (7.0 stars). Hope plays a daredevil, and Crosby plays his conniving agent. The two escape a carnival fire and end up having comic adventures in Africa.

This one is better. Again, this movie was originally offered to Fred MacMurray and George Burns. Then Paramount remembered that Road to Singapore had done reasonably well, so they gave the movie to Hope and Crosby. And Lamour was offered to be the straight woman again.

As I said, this movie is better. A lot of laughs. The plot is kind of confusing, but if you're watching these movies for the plot, you're watching for the wrong reasons.

The third one is my favorite of the bunch: 1942's Road to Morocco (7.2 stars) Hope and Crosby are castaways in Morocco who compete for the love of Princess Shalmar. This one also has Anthony Quinn in it, who is hilarious because he's clearly in a different movie. He's playing his part remarkably straight.

This is the first of the movies that was original and was written for Hope and Crosby. And, it is also one of the very first movies absolutely has no fourth wall. The fourth wall (what separates the audience from the movie--the audience looks in on the world of the movie) is not only broken down, but is gleefully pounded into dust by Hope and Crosby. The first song that Hope and Crosby sing says that they aren't afraid of what happens because Paramount owns their contracts; Hope complains in the last scene that Crosby ruined his chance to win an Oscar; in the middle of the movie, Hope' recaps what we've seen so far because he wants the audience who came in on the movie late to know what's gone on, and Crosby pouts that people missed his song. Camels talk (although the funniest thing with a camel--when it spits in Hope's face--wasn't planned. Hope's recoil and Crosby's reaction was so funny that it was included in the movie.)

Out of the 4 I have, this is the one I recommend the most.

The movie playing right now is the fourth movie of the series: 1946's Road to Utopia (7.4 stars). Hope and Crosby play vaudeville entertainers/con men who go to Alaska to hunt for a gold mine. They're mistaken for criminals. (And yes, Lamour is in it. She plays the girl with the map.)

The plot, which is completely ridiculous, is probably the most coherent of the movies. We don't know why Hope and Crosby spend most of the movie masquerading as known criminals (and they know these guys are criminals.) Also, the movie keeps being interrupted by commentary from Robert Benchley about the nature of the movie and generally making unfunny jokes. The commentator is not needed. Hope and Crosby do enough breaking the fourth wall that Benchley is just redundant.

In the movie, Hope and Crosby are in a cabin, sleeping on the floor, and they're joined by a bear. The trainer insisted that the bear was tame, and the trainer would be just off-camera. Hope and Crosby reluctantly agreed to this. The first take, the bear ambled over to Hope, but instead of laying down beside him, the bear sniffed him and growled. That did it. Hope and Crosby refused to be on set with the bear, despite the trainer protesting. The very next day, the bear attacked his trainer and tore off the trainer's arm.

All right. Until next time.

Kat

I went to see "The Muppets" tonight. And I loved it. I felt like a kid watching it again!

The movie was co-written by star Jason Segel. Gary (Segel), his girlfriend, Mary (Amy Adams), and Gary's brother, Walter (who is a Muppet) take a vacation to Los Angeles. Walter is very excited, because he always felt like an outsider until he discovered the Muppets. The three of them take a tour of the dilapidated Muppet theater. Walter gets separated from the group and hears bad guy Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) say that the Muppets have 1 week to raise $10 million dollars to save the theater, or it gets turned over to him. And he's going to tear down the theater and drill for oil.

That sets Walter, Gary, and Mary off to first convince Kermit the Frog to get the old gang back together to do one last show to save their theater. And, he decides to get the gang back together to do one last show.

It's absolutely adorable. I sat there with a big grin on my face, singing along to "The Rainbow Connection," feeling like I was 5 years old again. But, in a good way. Because I can understand more of the jokes than when I was 5 years old (obviously.) I also laughed throughout the whole thing (I about died laughing when Jim Parsons was revealed to be the human Walter. Ha! Sheldon Cooper would not approve!)

But, it brought back warm fuzzy nostalgic feelings. Kermit was my first crush (I was 5 years old!) I loved the Muppets so much! But, I got older, and didn't pay much attention to them anymore. Not like they were really coming out with anything good (Muppets Christmas Carol was the last thing I ever saw of them, and that came out in... '91? I know it came out shortly after Jim Henson died.) I was surprised to learn that various things have come out the last 20 years. But, I never watched them.

But, this movie brought back the joy of watching the Muppets.

It's loaded with cameos. Jack Black plays himself--Animal's anger management sponsor (with serious anger issues) who the Muppets kidnap to get him to host their show. Tons of cameos from various celebrities (including Neil Patrick Harris) has celebrity telephone operators answering the phones. I mentioned Jim Parsons. Alan Arkin plays the tour guide. There's even an appearance by Mickey Rooney!

Great movie. Really.

Till next time.

Kat

Not the movie I was planning on doing today, but since it's now playing on TCM, I thought I'd do this one.

This is 1940's The Mortal Storm (7.8 stars), It stars Jimmy Stewart, Margaret Sullivan, Robert Young, Robert Stack, and Frank Morgan.

This is one of the first U.S. movies about the dangers of Nazi Germany rise to power. It's about a university professor and his family and stepfamily who live in a small German town. Although the movie doesn't specify that the father and his daughter are Jewish, married into a mixed family, it strongly suggests that. The family is friends with a visiting American professor (Stewart). Life is good, and then the Nazis come to power. The professor's two stepsons join the Nazi Party, which tears the family apart. Particularly since they have to go after their stepfather, whom they formerly loved, and their American friend, for being "non-Aryan."

This film was made and released when America was not at war with Germany. In fact, at the time this movie came out, most Americans were favoring isolation. People felt that America should stay out of the problems in Europe. Some people, such as Charles Lindberg (who was probably the most famous at the time), was actively pro-Nazi. For whatever reason.

This is one of seven movies that came out from 1939 to 1941 (remember that U.S. didn't get actively involved until December of 1941) that advocated for American involvement in the war (which started September 1939) going on in Europe. I have half of them.

This is also one of the first American movies that suggests that Nazis had some nefarious plan against "non-Aryans." The only other movie from this time I can think of that definitely states this fact is The Great Dictator, which is a spoof about Nazi Germany. The thing is that it really isn't an "American" movie. I counted it in the 7 movies listed above. Now, in TGD, Charlie Chaplin comes out and says that the persecuted people are Jewish; in this movie, they're "non-Aryans."

Needless to say, Germany banned this movie. Shocked, huh? Hitler was so enraged by this movie that he also banned every other MGM movie released, simply because the same studio released this movie.

I really like this movie. Now, it's cheesy and corny. But, it does acknowledge that some good people got caught up with the whole Nazi propaganda.

All right. Until next time.

Kat

I don't want to do work today. We have our Department's Holiday Party, starting in a few minutes, and I'm running back and forth trying to accomplish that, because I'm the organizer. Doing enrollment is the furthest thing from my mind.

Plus, a few minutes ago, I seriously thought I broke my hand. I didn't. And the pain is pretty much gone. But, it hasn't been the best morning.

(Terrific. The catering is late. I had a nightmare last night where I had to stretch 6 veggie subs for 60 people! I hope my nightmare isn't coming true! The party starts in 10 minutes!)

So, I thought I'd relax and talk to you about a short internet movie I've got on DVD. You can find the whole thing on YouTube (broken into the three segments), or you can find the complete, unbroken movie on Hulu, if you live in the States.

(It's now 1:30. Catering arrived 5 minutes after I wrote that, and they even threw in a meat that I didn't order! Everything went well. My boss gave the staff a very nice Christmas present, and I bought two more movies with it!)

It's 2008's Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (8.8 stars). This makes it the 2nd highest-rated movie I've done so far. However, since it wasn't released as a movie, it's not part of the IMDb's Top 250 List.

This is actually a difficult thing to classify. It won an Emmy, and Time Magazine named it the 4th Best Television Series of 2008. However, it NEVER aired on TV. It was an internet video (and now, it's a DVD. Only for North America. Sorry.)

Actually, I can give you the entire cast list, seeing that there are only about 15 cast members, but I won't. I'll give you the main three: Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, Felicia Day. It's written by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, Zack Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen. It's directed by Joss Whedon.

It's about a wannabe super villain, Dr. Horrible/Billy (Harris) who has two dreams: he wants to get into the Evil League of Evil, and he wants Penny (Day), the girl at the laundromat he frequents as Billy. He does a video blog, regarding his plans to get into the E.L.E. and his hatred for the local hero, Captain Hammer (Fillion). (Captain Hammer is well named, because he's about as subtle as one.) However, Captain Hammer and Penny soon get together, further frustrating Billy/Dr. Horrible.

It is a musical, and the songs are insanely good! Really. I have the soundtrack, and I listen to it all the time. For a long time, the soundtrack #1 TV season on iTunes for 5 weeks in a row.

Here's the story behind this project:

It was filmed during the writer's strike of 2008. Joss Whedon (who you probably know as the creator of Buffy, Firefly, Angel, Dollhouse) wanted to do a project, separate from the conflict between the writers and producers. One of the things that were being fought about was the writers wanted compensation for producers streaming the shows that they write online. Whedon decided to showcase that the Internet is a powerful new medium for movies and shows. And, he wanted to do something cheap, cheap, cheap. But it also had to be good.

So, they came up with this project. Everyone worked for free, with promise of profits (if any. And there were.) It was streamed for free. The DVD and the soundtrack were purchased, as was the downloads from iTunes (viewers would also have to pay for the download, but if you wanted to watch it one time on their website, that was free.)

And this was a major hit.

The DVD is pretty awesome. There are two commentary tracks. The first one is just a standard cast and director/writers commentary track. The second one is the funnier of the two. It's a musical commentary track, and it is hilarious! Completely new songs, the cast make fun of each other, Joss, the whole process, the writer's strike. According to this commentary, Neil Patrick Harris is a meglomaniac showoff, Nathan Fillion has some serious jealousy (or possibly denial) issues, Felicia Day is a wannabe artiste, Joss Whedon is one step away from destroying the world to reflect his mood. It's absolutely hilarious (and, no, I don't believe for one minute that they're actually like that.)

Find it on YouTube or Hulu. It's 45 minutes, total. Warning: it ends very Joss Whedon-like (tragically). And there is a lot of debate about what the very last image means. I don't want to tell you what I think, because that would spoil everything.

Hope you like it!

Till next time.

Kat

Today is, what my parents joke, a high holy day for me. It is the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Here's hoping that I'll be able to get to Pearl Harbor in 5 years to celebrate the 75th anniversary!

I've studied the attack for fun all my life. To the point where I have a friend who says that if I had any past lives (and I don't believe in that), I may have been a soldier who died on the Arizonia. I get teary-eyed every time I see that magnificent ship blow up.

I got my Master's Degree studying documentary films of World War II. That was what my thesis was about. But, my emphasis was over the Pacific Theater during WWII.

I'm saying this to tell you that I'm picky when it comes to World War II movies. I'm really touchy when it comes to Pearl Harbor movies.

Do not talk to me about that lame, stupid, idiotic Ben Affleck movie Pearl Harbor. I had friends insist that I would love it. WRONG!!!! Only movie I saw in theaters that I nearly walked out on. I haven't seen it since it first came out, but I think I could do an essay on what it gets wrong.

Now, here is one of the good ones: 1953's From Here to Eternity (7.9 stars), starring Montgomery Clift, Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Ernest Borgnine, Frank Sinatra (who won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar), and Donna Reed (who won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar.) It also won Best Picture.

Every main actor was nominated for an Oscar--Deborah Kerr, Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift.

This movie is based on the "unfilmable" novel by James Jones. It was considered unfilmable because 1) it's an incredibly dense book. A lot subplots, a lot of characters. 2) It also has some extremely raw sex scenes, and a lot of cussing. Neither of which could really be depicted in a movie at this time. 3) The book presents the Army being very negatively. Maggio is essentially beaten to death in the stockade, and it's a lot more graphic in the book (in the movie, he just describes what happened before he dies.)

This movie condenses a lot of the plots to something that works. The Army isn't depicted negatively. It's a rare movie that I can honestly say I like more than the book. (James Jones would disagree. He considered the movie too sanitized.)

It's about an Army Private (Robert E. Lee Pruitt, played by Montgomery Clift) who gets a transfer to a unit in Hawaii in 1941. His new captain (Dana Holmes, played by Philip Ober) has heard about Pruitt's prowess in the boxing ring, but Pruitt wants no part of being a boxer after he seriously hurt another soldier in the ring. So, Holmes and his sergeant, Milton Warden (played by Burt Lancaster) take it upon themselves to make Pruitt's life a living hell until he agrees to box for the company.

(Well, actually Warden is pretty decent to Pruitt.)

Now, for the love affairs. Warden is in love with Holmes' wife, Karen (Deborah Kerr.) Even if you haven't seen this movie, you've at least seen the scene (or parodies of it) where a couple kisses on the beach and the tide crashes over them? It's from this movie.

And, Pruitt's friend, Maggio (Sinatra) takes him to a nightclub with "hostesses" (essentially, prostitutes), and he falls in love with Lorene (Donna Reed, who is almost unrecognizable with dark hair).

At the end of the movie, the attack on Pearl Harbor takes place. No, it's not really exactly historically accurate, but it's not too terrible either.

At the time he made this movie, Frank Sinatra's career was considered to be over. His records weren't selling. This was his first non-musical. Sinatra's "stock" was so low that he said that he would do this movie for free. His screen test is actually in the movie--the scene where Maggio walks off guard duty and meets Pruitt and Lorene in the bar where he pretends that olives are die is Sinatra's actual screen test.

I also see a lot of debates about colorizing movies. I'm against that. And here's a reason why:

This movie is in black and white. It won the Oscar for Best Black and White Cinematography. The director, Fred Zinnemann, didn't want this to be in color. He thought color would make this movie look trivial.

(There is also a blink-and-you-miss-him uncredited cameo by George Reeves in this movie.)

This is a great movie.

Till next time.

Kat

Continuing.

This is 1989's (National Lampoon's) Christmas Carol (7.3 stars), starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid... Huh, I didn't realized Johnny Galecki was this movie's son (I know him from Roseanne and, of course, The Big Bang Theory. Anyway, it's about the Griswald family, whose holidays/vacations don't exactly go as planned. In this one, Clark tries to give his family the perfect Christmas.

OK, this movie isn't all that great. However, it was tradition that we had to watch it. And, I've got a happy memory of this movie:

My sophomore year of high school, I had band first hour, and biology second hour. In band, we had done our Christmas concert, and it was the last two days before Christmas vacation. We came into band, and Mr. Orth had a TV set up. Since it was a down-time, we were going to watch a movie!

And, we watched "Christmas Vacation."

However, the hour was coming up, and we hadn't reached the part where the squirrel who was in the replacement tree wreaks havoc on the house. We started telling Mr. Orth that we need to see the squirrel. About 5 minutes before the bell rang, he turned off the TV, to our protests. He sent me to the office to let them know that the band students would be tardy to their second hour--we were practicing for our band concert. No one thought it would work--we had the Christmas concert a week before. But, I went to the office to deliver the message.

As I was walking back to the band room, the announcement came up to please excuse the band students from second hour--they are practicing for a concert.

I got back, and we watched the rest of the movie in peace. I was 30 minutes late to biology!

This is a funny movie. And it was one that I had seen time and time before. But, my favorite memory of that movie is that incident.

All right. Until next time.

Kat