Review It Yourself

A bold retelling of Titanic’s final hours — but does it sink or swim? In this explosive deep-dive, we tackle Titanic Sinks Tonight , the BBC’s ambitious 2025 dramatised documentary charting the final hours of the world’s most infamous liner, RMS Titanic. Did the series finally get the facts right? Or did it fall into the same old traps that have haunted Titanic storytelling for over a century? Joi...

Richard M. Jones joins Sean to discuss his 2025 book 'Titanic The Movie Ships'. The book explores the four ships which stood in for the Titanic during films over the years, the Asturias, Athinai, Cap Arcona and Queen Mary. Chapters: 0:05 Welcome to Maritime Month 2:07 The Inspiration Behind Titanic Books 4:45 The Impact of Disasters on Memory 8:49 The Stories of Iconic Ships 12...

Author and Historian Richard M. Jones returns to discuss his favourite Titanic film: Raise the Titanic (1980). Sean was disappointed. Rich and Sean then talk about Julian Fellowes Titanic (2012), modern-day 'sensationalist' Titanic documentaries and the identity of 'Jack the Ripper', Hunting Hitler and more. The second hour of the podcast delves into Richard's writing process and how he sometimes...

Richard M. Jones joins Sean to discuss his 2025 book 'The Titanic Fleet'; in which he explores all the ships involved in the Titanic disaster. Rich also talks about the other four books he has published this year alone and his older books. A book detailing all the ships connected with the Titanic disaster seems an obvious book to write, yet no-one had written it! Rich and Sean also discuss Titanic...

Sean and Dr Steph Lay discuss the 1994 film 'The Crow', whilst Sarah is distracted by Steph's gothy-little cat Jade. Our Guest: Doctor Steph Lay is a parapsychologist, photographer and writer. She is also a cognitive psychologist and wrote her PhD on the 'Uncanny Valley'. Check Out City of Secrets here: https://cityofsecrets.blog Chapters 0:57 New Introductions and Guests 2:49 The C...

Will the trailer for Scream 7 (2026) sucker Sean and Sarah back into the Scream Franchise? Will they rekindle their love of horror films with the trailer for Primate (2026)? Listen in to find out! Chapters: 0:29 Scream 7 Trailer Reactions and Expectations 7:58 Exploring Dark Tourism in Horror 12:19 Primate and The Potential of Modern Horror 16:47 The Search for Solid Films 21:3...

Military Historian, Author, and Battlefield Guide Paul Reed join Sean to discuss a BBC documentary that he took part in, Meet The Ancestors Series 5, Episode 3: The Forgotten Battlefield . The documentary details a group of amateur archaeologists called The Diggers, who discovered a complex trench system over 200 fallen soldiers, in the Ieper (Ypres) and Boesinghe (now Boezinge). In an act of what...

Sean and Fraser McCallum, Imperial War Museum employee and author of Cold War Britain: 50 Years in the Shadow of the Bomb, continue their Cold War discussion. Our Guest: https://shop.iwm.org.uk/blogs/news/cold-war-britain -A blog about the book on the Imperial War Museum Website, with a link to the shop. This podcast is not an advertisement, and the link is here for you to do your own research on...

'Keep a hold of those 99 balloons, tear down this wall Mr Gorbachev and make a shelter of your internal doors, we're diving into the Cold War in Britain'. Sean is joined by Imperial War Museum employee and author of Cold War Britain: 50 Years in the Shadow of the Bomb , Fraser McCallum. A two-hour exploration of the Cold War from a purely British stand-point, this begins as a discussion of Fraser'...

A classic episode as Sean, Clayton and Shawn dive into one of the most beloved Christmas films of all time: The Holiday (2006). Eyelid kissing, across-the-pond relationships and characters 'so English it hurts' combine to make this episode unmissable. Sean takes some time to teach Clayton and Shawn some chocolate-based English phrases. Who moved where, after the credits roll? Chapters: 0:08 C...

Cold War fists, broken pride, and the ultimate 80s showdown. When an exhibition fight turns fatal, boxing becomes geopolitics in one of the most iconic sports movies of the 1980s. In this episode of Review it Yourself, we dive into Rocky IV, exploring Cold War tension, masculinity, spectacle, and why this so-called “montage movie” still packs an emotional punch. Joining us is award-winning histori...

' The blast wave from a thermonuclear weapon has been likened to an enormous door, slamming in the depths of hell ' -Narrator, The War Game. Sean and Sarah go from very silly (Sean has been eating too many Brandy-infused Mince Pies) to incredibly serious whilst discussing one of the most harrowing films they've ever seen: The 1966 BBC Nuclear War pseudo-documentary programme, The War Game . Banned...

What do you get when two Titanic enthusiasts get together to geek out over one of the staples of 1990's Titanic documentary: Answers from the Abyss (1999)? You get nerdy chaos. Sean is joined by Ryan 'The Dalek Man' Wade this time around. Ryan brings his insight into the documentary, the Titanic disaster and lesson learned from the tragedy... when Sean let's him get a word in that is. Chapters: 1:...

Katja Hoyer, German-British Historian, Author and Journalist joins Sean and Sarah to discuss the dilemma facing German actors since 1945: whether to take Nazi roles or not. They examine 'memory politics' of the Second World War, the stereotypical Nazi portrayal seen in Hollywood over the years such as Wolf Kahler, through to modern German actors like Sandra Hüller, Daniel Brühl, Franka Potent...

Preview It Yourself Returns! Sean and Sarah watch what Sean thought was the teaser trailer for Christopher Nolan's Odyssey (2026), before discussing his filmography. It turned out to be a concept trailer. Never mind. Do you enjoy Nolan's films or endure them? Chapters: 0:07 Introduction to Odyssey Trailer 0:27 Thoughts on Matt Damon 2:03 Concerns About the Cast 4:42 Storytellin...

Luke from 'Howdy Beans' has never seen 'October Sky' (1999). Sean wasn't having it. Chapters: 0:04 Hey Luke, where's my sigh? 2:03 Housekeeping and Positivity 3:29 Trivia About October Sky 5:18 Introducing Homer Hickam 11:11 The Influence of Sputnik 27:01 The Role of Education 33:25 The Father-Son Dynamic 38:09 Understanding Each Other 44:29 The Rocket...

In Space No-One Can Hear You Rage, or Argue Like Hell! Paul from 'History Rage' returns to continue the Alien series, with Alien 3 (1992), Alien: Resurrection (1997) and Alien: Romulus (2024). Will Sean and Paul agree on anything in this one? Listen in to find out... Chapters: 0:05 Welcome to Review It Yourself 26:03 The Flaws of Alien 3 (1992) 26:18 A Dive into Alien Resurrection (...

Sean and Sarah are joined by Author Fiona Dodwell to discuss her new book 'A Cursed Collection of Haunted Dolls', to try and answer the question: Can dolls truly be haunted? The Book is Out Now! Our Guest: X (Twitter): @Angel_Devil982 Instagram: Fiona_Dodwell_ Chapters: 0:04 Introduction to Haunted Dolls 6:05 The Risks of Engaging with Spirits 12:38 The Cultural Perspective on Haunt...

The Dames of Doom, Tessa and Nicole from the 'Doom Generation Podcast' join Sean to rant about the cheesy, science-bereft 2003 film 'The Core'. Chapters: 0:06 Shout-out to Luke from 'Howdy Beans podcast' 0:50 Introducing Nicole and Tessa from 'Doom Generation' 4:33 "Why The Core?" Nicole and Tessa question Sean’s film choice. 31:29 Analysing the Film's Flaws (there's a few of t...

Sean is joined by Carla and James from 'The Traumarific Podcast'. In this second part of their E.T. review, they get bored of talking about E.T. (who could blame them?) and decide to discuss films in general. They discuss a shared love of Tropic Thunder (2008), the Terrifier films, and the Halloween series. Chapters: 0:16 E.T. Disappointment 0:23 Nostalgia vs. Reality 2:50 Watching...

Sean is joined by Carla and James from 'The Traumarific Podcast'. Although newcomers to Review It Yourself, Sean, Carla and James bond over a shared bewilderment over how E.T. is considered a classic. Chapters: 0:08 Welcome Everyone 0:58 The Trauma of E.T. 2:28 An Unbearably Long Slog of a film? 8:00 Modern Film Frustrations 9:32 The Art of Storytelling 11:28 Nostalgi...

Sean is joined by Author and Historian Roger Moorhouse to discuss his new book 'Wolfpack: Hitler's U-Boat War'. Sniff up that fabled 'U-Boat Stink' and keep your hands off anyone else’s Tauchretter, and immerse yourself in the U-Boat War of 1939-1945, from the optimistic beginnings and the happy years, until the turkey shoot of the final years as Nazi Germany is beaten back on all fronts. The book...

Sean and Sarah welcome Author, YouTuber, Journalist, Speaker, Podcaster, Film Critic and Baptist Minister, Peter Laws to discuss his upcoming book ' The Frighteners: Why We Love Monsters, Ghosts, Death and Gore '. The book will be published on 9th October 2025. ' The Frighteners ' finds Peter on a paranormal pilgrimage to seek out what is it that draws people to both the dark and macabre, but...

Ryan Walker is back! He joins Sean to discuss the iconic film Total Recall (1990). They also swear-ily discuss 1980's/90's action films, dating fails and Jean-Claude Van Damme. 0:05 Welcome to Review It Yourself 0:44 Manifesting Nicknames 2:07 Worst Dating Stories 3:39 Total Recall Discussion 8:12 Classic Action Films 16:43 Violence and Nostalgia 17:58 Practical...

Sean has just got home from seeing the legacy-sequel 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' (2025) in cinemas. Clayton can't wait to see what Sean thinks of the film. Chapters: 0:05 Welcome to Review It Yourself 1:15 Free Popcorn and Awkward Dates 3:19 Nostalgia and Killer Reveals 8:46 Cinema Renaissance and Legacy Sequels 11:49 A Dive into the Conjuring Universe 15:40 Mer...