A software plan to watch films, save battery.

Is there software that I can set up a plan that when I want to watch a film on my laptop it switches everything else off?

The reason is my new(6 months now) Acer Aspire 5738z, Win 7 64 bit will only last on the battery about an 1.45 to 2 hours max!
I currently have it set to Balanced in the power options.

Does the battery have a memory? I often run it on mains, but occasionally take it off even when homebased and let battery disharge.

Or any advice about settings, etc that could help here please?

Thanks in advance.

Well some rules of thumb are not to keep your laptop plugged in all the time and do not let the battery die a lot. If you tend to keep it plugged in a lot, get used to using it without the charger for a while, and, if necessary just remove the battery and work off AC power. In a matter of months, keeping your laptop plugged in with the battery attached can wear down your battery life dramatically.

Also, Aero Effects use a lot of battery. My Toshiba has a utility called "eco Mode" which can turn off Aero effects at the touch of a button or when my laptop is running on battery power. Vista Battery Saver should do the same for you (works on 7): Vista Battery Saver

Turn off any instant messengers and things you don't need, and lower the screen brightness as much as possible. You can also change the power plan to "Power Saver" since you don't need that much power to watch a movie, although it does take up quite a bit of battery power to begin with.