Just a point, film grain is distracting and takes you out of the experience, regardless if it’s natural or artificial. Sure, the CGI backgrounds are obviously CGI, but why not make them a bit “blurry” (but not too much) to make them feel less fake?
Counterpoint: I disagree with this entirely. Film grain is not distracting and does not take me out of the experience. In fact, it tends to draw me in more.
Obviously it’s possible to go too far to the point where it is distracting, but in general, the lack of any type of film grain will distract me more than its presence.
So you’re saying modern live-action movies look bland, even if there’s no dreadful color filters applied?
Oh, absolutely.
There are exceptions where the director/cinematographer go “above and beyond” to make the look of their film stand out, but even then, things tend to look artificial and soulless to me.