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Aliens (1986) Revisit ft. Kristin Battestella
Episode 3198th July 2026 • Greatest Movie Of All-Time • Thomas Duncan
00:00:00 01:30:57

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Dana and Tom with guest, Kristin Battestella (A Film Critic for In Session Film, Search Magazine, and Keith Loves Movies), revisit Aliens (1986), celebrating its 40th anniversary: written and directed by James Cameron, cinematography by Adrian Biddle, score by James Horner, editing by Ray Lovejoy, starring Sigourney Weaver, Paul Reiser, Michael Biehn, and Bill Paxton.

Plot Summary: Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), awakens after 57 years in hypersleep to learn that contact has been lost with the colony on LV-426 — the same moon where her crew first encountered the alien. Against every reasonable instinct, she goes back — this time accompanied by a squad of Colonial Marines who are cocky, heavily armed, and almost immediately in over their heads.

Guest:

Kristin Battestella - A Film Critic for In Session Film, Search Magazine, and Keith Loves Movies

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction, Cast, and Background for Aliens

04:05 Welcome Back, Kristin Battestella

05:00 Flashback to the Original Discussion on Aliens

09:09 Relationship(s) with Aliens

13:07 Alien or Aliens?

18:31 Franchise Fatigue?

28:45 Are Producers to Blame?

32:17 Plot Summary for Aliens

32:51 What is Aliens About?

39:30 Did You Know?

42:14 First Break

42:54 What's Happening with Kristin?

43:39 The Stanley Rubric - Legacy

51:27 The Stanley Rubric - Impact/Significance

58:31 The Stanley Rubric - Novelty

01:09:52 Second Break

01:10:30 In Memoriam

01:12:19 The Stanley Rubric - Classicness

01:17:59 The Stanley Rubric - Rewatchability

01:21:25 The Stanley Rubric - Audience Score and Final Total

01:24:54 Remaining Questions for Aliens

01:26:56 Thank You to Kristin and Final Thoughts

01:29:58 Credits

You can also find this episode in full video on YouTube.

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For more on the original episode, go to: https://www.ronnyduncanstudios.com/post/aliens-1986

For more on the episode, go to: https://www.ronnyduncanstudios.com/post/aliens-1986-revisit-ft-kristin-battestella

For the entire rankings list so far, go to: https://www.ronnyduncanstudios.com/post/greatest-movie-of-all-time-list

Keywords:

Aliens, James Cameron, Ripley, sci-fi, film analysis, movie franchise, movie legacy, film critique, 40th anniversary, sci-fi horror, film discussion, Alien, movie legacy, impact of movies, movie scoring, cinematic history, xenomorph, Paul Reiser, James Horner, podcast, movie, film, episode

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