I have no workflows enabled on lists and am still unable to Approve more than a single item at a time using any of the methods described.
BTW, the Reports views are a part of the Content and Structure tool. There is no distinction here. You can also add your own custom views to the drop-down list via the Content and Structure Reports list (/Reports%20List/AllItems.aspx).
One good example is an All Draft Documents view which allows admins to manage minor versions across the entire site collection. You could create similar views for Check Out state etc.
All Drafts
<Where><Eq><FieldRef ID="{fdc3b2ed-5bf2-4835-a4bc-b885f3396a61}"></FieldRef><Value Type="Number">3</Value></Eq></Where>