I recently read the American Film Institute’s “Top 100 Greatest Movies of all Time.” Most of the movies on that list I agreed with. Some I did not. Many of the films were made prior to World War II, and I am sorry to say, the actors back then are just not as good as the ones we have today. Not that there weren’t any good actors and actresses back then, it is just there are better actors now.So I decided to make my own top ten list of the greatest movies of all time. Some of the movies you won’t see on this list include: “Citizen Kane,” “Casablanca,” “Bridge on the River Kwai,” “Wizard of Oz,” “Gone with the Wind,” “Godfather,” or “Titanic.”Now that the neoclassicists of moviegoers have moved on to another article, here is my top ten:10. “Swingers” (1996) This movie was undoubtedly, the greatest independent movie of all time. It is also, regrettably, a guy movie in the highest degree. It details how a man, who is chasing his dream of being an actor, tries in vain to get over his ex-girlfriend of six years. The movie is well written and extremely well acted. All of the actors in this movie have gone on to greater fortune in Hollywood. That is ironic seeing as how the backdrop of the movie is how actors struggle to make it big.9. “Much Ado About Nothing” (1993) This movie, one of many of Kenneth Branaugh’s Shakespeare adaptations, does something that no other Shakespeare movie does in that it captures the spirit of the play. This is the only Shakespearean movie on the list. Branaugh went to great pains to make sure the setting and feeling of this movie coincided with Shakespeare’s intentions, and I must say he succeeded entirely.8. “To Each His Own” (1946) Now I hear you, “Damnit John, I thought you said there would be no old movies on this list!” Noooooo, I never said that. I just expressed my displeasure of old movies on the AFI 100 list, not that all old movies are bad. This one is good. Olivia de Havilland stars in a movie that is much like a soap opera. It is about how two women have a child at the same time. One woman’s child dies, so naturally she steals the other woman’s child. King Solomon would have liked this movie. De Havilland’s character relents her child to the mother whose child died, and she eventually reunites with her son when he becomes a pilot in World War II. I loved this movie because it is extremely poignant and because it is extremely well acted.7. “Rudy” (1993) This is the only sports movie on my list. Honestly, it is unfair to call this a sports movie because it just happens to be that the backdrop of this movie is Notre Dame football. This movie is good because it shows how one struggles to meet his or her dream, no matter how low or high that dream is. This is the only movie that can routinely make me cry. I think this movie has something for all of us, and all of us, in some way or another, can identify with it.6. “Dead Poets Society” (1989) Anyone who has seen this movie can tell you that it is just great. It is great, because like all of the movies on this list, it reaches all of us in a special and unique way. We all have had a teacher in our life that reaches us and teaches us to think on our own. This movie totally embodies the spirit of an educator and his or her pupil. My only recommendation is if you are in the throws of making a decision on something DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE.5. “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” (1939) – I promise, this is the last old movie on my list. It does belong here though. I am not one for Jimmy Stewart, but this movie is good because it takes an innocent man and throws him in the midst of the corruption of 1930s Washington D.C. A senator dies unexpectedly, and the man who runs the political machine chooses a Boy Scout leader as his replacement hoping he can manipulate him easily. This is the kind of role that Jimmy Stewart was born to play and he acts it that way.4. “Matrix” (1999) Of all the movies ever made, I doubt there are any that have the special effects this one does. If you look at the way movies are made today, almost all of them look like “Matrix.” Even commercials and music videos have adopted some of the special effect techniques that were first used in this movie. Above all of that, “Matrix” is a great movie, with great action, a great plot and a great story.3. “All the President’s Men” (1976) This movie chronicles how two inexperienced reporters single-handedly brought down a president. This movie, to me, is the greatest suspense movie of all time because it is real. It is also a great journalism movie, and for journalism majors, this movie is a must see.2. “Schindler’s List” (1993) Anyone who considers him or herself to be a movie fanatic has to see this movie. I do not believe there is any other movie that equals this one on the scale of emotion and acting. Every actor and actress in it plays a superb role. This movie had such an impact when it came out a judge sentenced two self-avowed neo-Nazi’s to watch it. Their crime was writing anti-Semitic material on a desk in a public school. It is also, in my mind, one of the greatest war movies of all time.1. “Shawshank Redemption” (1994) This movie has what we all want in a great movie-a great ending. “Shawshank Redemption” has the greatest and most satisfying ending of all time. Though it has the now clichd plot of an innocent man sentenced to life in prison, this movie does not have the clichd ending of him being proved innocent. Though Andy Dufruesne’s (Tim Robbins) innocence is not proven, he is freed through his own choice and escapes. His companion in the prison, Red Redding (Morgan Freeman) narrates the movie and shows how the human spirit can overcome adversity even if that spirit is guilty of a horrendous crime. That’s why it gets my pick as the greatest movie of all time.