Constance Towers

A vast improvement over its immediate predecessor, The Karate Kid III, this appealingly understated 1994 drama features a compelling performance by Hilary Swank, who would later win a Best Actress Oscar® for her work in Boys Don't Cry. Swank plays 17-year-old Julie Pierce, the recently orphaned and troubled granddaughter of an old war buddy of Miyagi Yakuga (Noriyuki "Pat" Morita, the lone holdover from the previous Karate Kid films). Harassed at school by adolescent boys under the sway of an evil coach (Michael Ironside), Julie reluctantly finds refuge in the calm teachings of Mr. Miyagi.

Wall Street titan Steven Taylor seems like a devoted husband. He isn't. Beautiful Emily Bradford Taylor seems like a faithful wife. She isn't. And when Steven hires Emily's lover to kill her, it seems like A Perfect Murder. It isn't. In fact, little is what it seems in this sleek thriller. Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow and Viggo Mortensen star in A Perfect Murder, inspired by the play Dial M For Murder, filmed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1954. Fans of that classic will be in for a lot of surprises. So will Steven. At each unexpected twist in his "perfect" plot, he improvises brilliantly.