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Batman: Gotham Knight
Like the Animatrix, Batman: Gotham Knight is a collection of filler stories. Created by the hands of different writers and animators, Gotham Knight was made to bridge the gap between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. But it's not just a collection of adventure stories -- these blips into Gotham take the story from all sides -- the villains that wreak havoc, the police whose work is interfered with, the kids who spot him in action, and even Bruce Wayne working with Lucius Fox on gadgetry. Be prepared for the look to be different -- this isn't your ordinary looking Batman -- but there are also nods to the past. Kevin Conroy voices Batman in this collection, just like he has for many years now on the animated series.

Of course, no true special release can be free of features, and Gotham Knight is no exception for this 2-disc release. On the first, you get a disc-wide commentary with Kevin Conroy, Dennis O'Neil, and Gregory Noveck (it pours through each episode) and a good preview of the upcoming animated Wonder Woman. On the second, you also get a long documentary called "A Mirror for the Bat" that discusses the character and the villains he fights, another called "Batman and Me, a Devotion to Destiny: The Bob Kane Story," and some final extras that focus on Batman: The Animated Series.

Further information on this release can be found, in-depth, at DVDTalk.

Buy the DVD

Now this looks pretty damn cool.

Amidst our somewhat crazed anticipation for The Dark Knight, I bet most of you forgot we were getting a direct-to-DVD anthology of six animated Batman stories called Batman: Gotham Knight. Much like the Animatrix, Gotham Knight takes place between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, while utilizing several different well-known animators and writers (with Begins' David Goyer being among the bunch). That said, we've seen images, trailers and behind-the-scenes featurettes, but now MTV has debuted a pretty slick five-minute clip that feels dark as all hell. In the scene above, mobster Sal Maroni squares off against a badass figure known as The Russian in a fairly spectacular gunfight which ends with a visit from that Bat-dude. The animation looks fantastic, and I imagine Bat-fans will definitely want to pick this sucker up when it hits shelves on July 8th, 10 days before The Dark Knight arrives in theaters.

What do you think? Are you hip to this new Batman adventure, or what?

Iron Man is hitting screens this weekend, leaving a trail of positive reviews in its wake. Check out James' and Scott's reviews, and if you need even more iron in your diet, head on over here. With that in mind, this week's Trailer Park is all about the heroes.

Batman: Gotham Knight
Returning as the voice of the caped crusader is Kevin Conroy, who lent his voice to The Bat in Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, and Justice League. This new version, however, doesn't look like any previous animated version of the character. Going straight to DVD shortly before The Dark Knight hits theaters, this feature offers six different visual interpretations of Batman from six celebrated anime artists. The approach is similar to The Animatrix, which gave an anime take on the universe of The Matrix films. The trailer looks amazing with striking interpretations of not just Batman, but also of the urban sprawl of Gotham City.

Hancock
I mentioned the teaser for this one in a previous Trailer Park, but now we've got a full length preview to ogle. Will Smith plays Hancock, a hero with super strength, the ability to fly and the power to piss off just about everybody (you don't get that from your average Kryptonian). His hard drinking ways have damaged his public persona seemingly beyond repair, but a PR agent played by Jason Bateman sets out to heal Hancock's relationship with the people. The humor is still there, but the new preview plays up the action, and I've got to say I'm dying to see this. While I'm not as down on Rob Zombie's Halloween remake as some, that film's detractors will probably get a kick out of the scene where Hancock tosses Daeg Faerch, the actor who played the young Michael Meyers, almost into orbit.

Not long after we got our first look at the Star Wars: The Clone Wars trailer, Yahoo has debuted the first preview for Batman: Gotham Knight (watch it there or above via YouTube). Unlike the Clone Wars look, this one comes with better quality and it won't be pulled in a matter of minutes (at least not from Yahoo). In the spirit of the Animatrix, Batman: Gotham Knight is very similar in that it utilizes several acclaimed directors (Yasuhiro Aoki, Futoshi Higashide, Toshiyuki Kubooka, Hiroshi Morioka, Jong-Sik Nam, Shoujirou Nishimi) over the course of six interlocking stories that are meant to serve as a bridge between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.

Kevin Conroy will once again don the voice of Batman, and some of the villains rumored to be making an appearance include Deadshot, Killer Croc and the Scarecrow. Batman: Gotham Knight will be released directly to DVD on July 8. I totally dug the Animatrix when it came out, and the animation on Gotham Knight looks pretty ridiculous based on this trailer. Of course, I have to ask: What do you think about this one? Is this a DVD you simply must own?