What verbs can you use in a sentence "The movie "Boyhood" runs for three hours"?
Solution 1:
The first micro-question to consider is "Why is 'runs' common?"
Movies seem to have inherited this term from theater where "limited runs", "re-runs", "plays that ran for a season", and "a play that ran for 3 hours" are all common terms.
The verb usage of runs with movies is just as ambiguous about whether it is the "length of time it was available in theaters" or "the length of a single showing".
Noun usage is much clearer. "That movie had a run..." speaks of availability. "That movie had a runtime..." speaks of individual length.
Micro-question 2: "What other verbs can be used, that do not express a qualitative opinion?" Almost any "presentational action" verb can be used:
- Shows, plays, lasts
- Situational: projects, displays, performs, *-casts
Micro-question 3: "What other verbs can be used, that do express a qualitative opinion?" Many "Adjectival verbs" can work
- positive: captivates, thrills, zips
- negative: drags, chugs, plods