Much of what livens up the testosterone-fueled action film franchise, The Expendables, are the legendary action stars. The franchise is more concerned about the brutality of the hits and the size of the explosion over the plot of the film. The success of the second film paved the way for The Expendables 3 to happen, and film stars Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham are very likely to return. Their co-stars Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, and Arnold Schwarzenegger are reportedly not signed on to reprise their roles in the third, but at this point anything could happen. Red Hill director Patrick Hughes will direct the film.

As if the film couldn’t get any bigger in terms of the cast size, a couple of new additions prove us wrong. Deadline reports that Jackie Chan, Wesley Snipes, Nicolas Cage, and Milla Jovovich are in extensive talks to join the cast of The Expendables 3. Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer made the casting confirmation to analyists early this morning.

Sylvester Stallone took to the Twitter recently to reveal who would direct The Expendables 3, first hinting at wanting an unknown, fresh talent…new blood, as he put it.

After some back and forth he finally revealed that the director would be Patrick Hughes, who last directed an excellent little Australian indie flick titled Red Hill, which starred True Blood‘s Ryan Kwanten. You can check out our review of the movie right here (or right here for a second, equally gushing, review).

Other than that the director only has short films under his belt, making him perfect for Stallone’s fresh talent prerequisite. Continue reading to check out one of said short films.

Red Hill
Netflix Streaming
DVD | Blu-Ray
Written and Directed by Patrick Hughes
Starring Ryan Kwanten, Steve Bisley, Tom E. Lewis, Claire van der Boom, Christopher Davis
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Originally Released: December 02, 2011

Red Hill is easily one of the best movies I’ve ever seen on Netflix, and is an unexpected and understated title that grabs and keeps your attention from beginning to end. It is a solidly written and marvelously executed movie that is an exceptional viewing experience. This is a most definite “must see” movie, so when you add it to your Netflix queue, push it to the number one spot. You won’t regret it.

Being Australian, I have a tendency to keep an eye out for new Aussie flicks that pop up on Netflix Streaming. Director Patrick Hughes delivers a killer effort with Red Hill, and is perhaps one of the more concentrated offerings from the Australian film industry in recent years.

Red Hill
DIRECTED BY: Patrick Hughes
STARRING: Ryan Kwanten, Steve Bisley, Tom E. Lewis, Claire van der Boom
Strand Releasing
RELEASE DATE: November 5, 2010 (limited)

If anything is terrifying for an authority figure to think about, it’s a very dangerous man that they had a big part in putting away for a long, long time coming back to town for bloody vengeance. This is exactly what happens in Red Hill.

The movie follows Shane Cooper (Ryan Kwanten), a good cop from the city who, after some difficult times and heavy stress lead to his wife (Claire van der Boom) losing their unborn child, transfers to the small town of Red Hill in hopes that their new attempt at starting a family works out a lot better. The day after they arrive at their new home, Shane begins his new job with the town, which is so small that they even still use horses to get around from time to time.