Yeah, I'm not quite sure what everyone is talking about either..
On my 07, the filter element sits inside an allum. housing. The housing is removed with a standard socket wrench, I just can't remember if it's 3/8 or 3/4.. No other sockets or tools are needed. In addition, there is nothing to drain and therefore do not need the white plastic piece. Once the housing has broken loose, there are fingers (for the lack of a better term) to grab onto to spin the housing off.
I do have a small mess though when I first unscrew the allum. housing, as it's filled with oil. I just make sure that it's cleaned out real good before dropping the new element and gasket in. Other than that, unless I'm doing something wrong, it's pretty straight forward.