Quality fall films to mark on your calendars

What do Shia LaBeouf, biological zombies and owls have in common? They're all in movies you probably don't want to waste your precious, hard-earned and easily-lost money on this fall. 

The fall movie season, especially during the months of September and October, is generally pretty underwhelming when it comes to new releases. 

The studios have burned off the last of their explosive, heavily-muscled and scantily-clad action films and are most likely waiting for the holiday season to release the next "Avatar"-esque megahit  —  or, heaven forbid, "Alvin and the Chipmunks" — upon the nation. 

However, there are a few gems scattered among this barren cinematic desert, in the event that you should find yourself in the mood to catch a movie. 

What follows is a college student's guide to the fall movie season, complete with two movies per month worth seeing: one to feed your brain, the other to distract it for a few hours.

September:

"Easy A" (Sept. 17) – Everyone has been waiting for the next "Mean Girls." Just ask anyone who saw "Mean Girls." This latest high school set comedy has the potential to inherit that mantle, and not just because its star-on-the-rise Emma Stone looks like a more stable and less incarcerated Lindsay Lohan. 

Stone, whose sarcastic delivery and relatability has made her a draw since "Superbad," stars as a high school student who decides to take advantage of her preppy and rumor-filled school by appropriating "The Scarlet Letter" in a controversial social experiment. 

This promising comedy looks to be September's best bet for two hours of escape that won't challenge your world views, political leanings or tear ducts. Lisa Kudrow co-stars, evidently to prove that despite popular belief, she did not die after "Friends" ended. 

"Never Let Me Go" (Sept. 15) – This more cerebral and emotionally challenging option for September is an adaptation of novelist Kazuo Ishiguro's book, which Time Magazine called one of the best books of the 2000s. 

Recent Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan stars with former pirate of the Caribbean Keira Knightly and future Spider-Man Andrew Garfield in this drama of three lifelong friends who share the same romantic and existential burdens due to their upbringing at an isolated and idyllic boarding school that holds a dark secret.

 Romantic enough to pass as a date movie, yet dramatic enough to watch on its own merits, "Never Let Me Go" is the safe bet for a surprise September hit.

October:

"The Social Network" (Oct. 1) – Just to clear the air, yes, this is "that Facebook movie" that's been causing such a stir in recent months. 

While on the surface it seems like more of a guilty pleasure, a few positive early reviews that said the movie gets to the heart of the Internet generation, as well as a ridiculously catchy trailer, have bumped this movie up to near must-see status. 

Jesse Eisenberg of "Zombieland" fame stars as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in this dark recounting of the titular social network's founding. David Fincher, who paved his way with the grisly-yet-popular thrillers "Fight Club" and "Se7en," directs.